Black Friday

I didn't make it; I got sick last night more vomiting and coughing. I seem to be doing better since I call the UT Southwestern (spa) and got them to call in a really strong antibiotic for me to take.

I broke down and got up VERY EARLY this morning and experienced this whole Black Friday phenomenon (Black Friday Craze) for the first time. I was not impressed I didn’t see any of the fighting, or cursing that is annually displayed in the news. I also got good parking; it is good to have handicapped parking.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my health, family, friends and organ donors everywhere (it is your selfless gift(s) that allow those of us with conditions once considered to be terminal a second chance at life. I am also grateful for the peaceful passing of my father, the patriarch of our family I do miss him terribly; but having faced death on a daily basis and living with the scars that remind me daily that each breath I take may very well be my last, I am grateful I am thankful that he passed away in his own home peacefully and does not have to suffer anymore.

Today will be an uneventful day, I will eat, watch football, nap, eat, watch football, nap and oh yea work on a few projects (at my pace) around the house. The family will be eating and visiting my wife’s family members in town so I will have the house to myself.

Pre-Thanksgiving

It is the Day before Thanksgiving, and I am sad that I won’t be eating any fried turkey on tomorrow; I am sticking to my guns; I won’t be frying a turkey this year. I am still feeling like a little virus or something might be rearing its ugly head. I will ride it out and call the UT Southwestern transplant doctor on call if my symptoms get any worse.

A little under the weather

I am not feeling well; I am experiencing some night sweats, no fever, but some aching joints and possible cold symptoms. I have decided that I won’t be frying a turkey this year as I don’t know what will happen with this unpredictable Texas weather. I will just eat, sleep, and watch football at home while the girls eat over the house(s) of my wife’s relatives.

Bowling Pictures

Team R²

Raegan showing here form, giving bowling tips

Keeping Ravyn from running down the lane,

No that is not a slip n slide

Rhonda and Ravyn (R 1.0 and R 3.0) watching

the ball roll slowly down the lane

It is not cheating unless you get caught, guess

what you just got caught, smile for the camera

Girl Power

Not the winner

The winner

The many faces of victory

The many faces of victory continued, Oh and I don't want to toot my own horn but, TOOT TOOT Victory Tour, HE GOT GAME !!!!

concentration

Intimidation

Busy Weekend

It was a busy weekend I will say this up-front Texas Tech got taken to the wood shed and tossed around the way you handle a little brother that has just worked your last nerve.

Moved furniture on Saturday, Hey I am getting my strength back... in just a few weeks a new gym will be opening at work.... Hello big boy weights I have missed you for it has been almost three years since we broke up.

Got in some sprints while practicing soccer with the family on Sunday, I ran awkwardly up and down the field (neuropathy).... I was tired.... I do have a long way to go to get ready for the 2012 transplant Olympics and total domination of any event I enter... I pity the fools that compete against me (Mr. T voice).

After soccer we hit the lanes to bowl, it was the first time Ravyn got to actually bowl as a participant in the game, I think she enjoyed it. I need to get my average up a few points I would like to average about 190 per game so I can DOMINATE the bowling in 2012.

I am still debating what to do about Turkey Day, should I fry the Turkey or what, last year I fryed as usual and only got to eat Turkey for one day as I was in the hospital for about a week the day after, Black Friday........... the wife and girls were very sad that I was in the hospital but the sales and bargains seemed to comfort them in my absence

Bad News (strep throat)

It seems I can't seem for losing; Raegan was taken to the doctor today and the diagnosis strep throat. I will have to avoid her for the next few days.

Good news for lung cancer patients seeking transplant.
The hospitals that are doing or considering a BAC patient as a lung transplant patient.
Stanford
UCSF
Duke
UT Southwestern
All these hospitals of excellence with great oncology and transplant programs have started opened up with regards to transplanting cancer folk(s) if they meet the transplant criteria. It is good to have an additional option when dealing with cancer rather than the norm with lung cancer, terminal lung cancer which is take your palliative treatment and go home waiting on DEATH to come. We are making progress.

Good News

I spoke with Janet on yesterday she is still at the Stanford Spa but, she is out of ICU, mending and looking forward to getting out. I told her we needed her out b/c the bowl season would soon be upon us and we need to have some of her famous wings.

I missed a call from Bo (BJ) he sounded well, we'll talk soon and I will tell him he is in a marathon not a sprint now, take your time and pace yourself.

The President elect is causing me problems. His promise to get the family (daughters) a dog is putting me in the dog house. The girls R³ all want a dog, I may give in to keep the peace but it must hypoallergenic due to my lung restrictions. Some of the hypoallergenic dog I have seen are unique in their appearance; if we get one of these dogs I won't be able to help myself I might slip up having a color purple moment saying to the dog "You sho is ugly".

Stand Off

Had a medical stand-off, or at least I stood my ground which is not a first (or Last) for me (medically speaking). I had to go see the pulmonologist locally that monitors my sleep or lack there of. I told expressed to him that I wan not going to ever where that CPAP mask again, the engineering of it is flawed and leave much to be desired from a comfort level, I am now going to go with the oral device that a dentist will have to make for me. He also spoke about how bad I looked when he first saw and meet me in the hospital almost 3years ago and that from a medical standpoint had I not had such a radical course of treatment I would be dead by now. Lastly we discussed if anyone in the medical community was writing / re-writing their whitepapers about my case, and I told him I had don’t interviews and other media events but I was unsure about medical papers as I think they are waiting until the five year mark and all their old theories are blown out of the water.

Lung Cancer Walk in NC

I need to be in NC right now taking part in the Lung Cancer Walk in Greensboro right now. I missed my chance to go due to my own procrastination; I tend to wait to the last minute to book my travel now simply because I never know if I will be felling well enough to go on the planed trip. I had a good price on a ticket but in the time frame of one hour (while dropping the girls off at school/daycare and running errands) the price of a round trip ticket went through the roof. Next year I will be there.


Dusty Donaldson

The Spa is tryin' to KILL ME.....

Well it is Wednesday and I think I am on the mend now I have been sick for the since my spa visit on Monday. I was perfectly healthy going into the doctor’s visit but when you have to see multiple specialists in one day it leads to a long spa visit. I learned a lesson that I will in the future bring a lunch on Spa days at UT Southwestern. I came down with food poisoning from eating some nasty crap they over charge everyone for at the Spa cafeteria. The food poisoning had me hugging porcelain for two days and filling like I had been in a football game as my ribs and insides were and still are hurting. Where is my old Pele lunch box from back in the day?

Aside from getting sick or being made sick at the Spa, my visit was good; my breathing is up and getting stronger, I also am still cancer free. I will be seeing a dermatologist since the meds leave you susceptible to other cancers with skin cancer being one of the cancers that the doctors worry about.

Doctor Day (D-Day)

It is D-Day for me in Dallas, TX. I will be occupied with the doctors today (oncology, endocrinology, lung transplant). I am waiting on the lung transplant doctors I probably have about a 3 hour wait so I will go eat and sight see (not losing my place at all). I already saw the oncology docs. and my CT looked great no evidence of carcinoma.

R2 found us

The girls are home, the silence is broken along with a cup and two plates, life is back to normal and I wouldn't have it any other way. I think Raegan is harder than any coach I ever had, she refuses to ride her bike unless I chase her, it was cute the first 7 or 8 times but now she has to realize dad is not in shape yet.

Date Night

Today R² are camping out over their aunts house, so the house will be quite, to make up for the silence Rhonda and I will go out on the town. I am feeling pretty good, so I will be loud, arrogant, and cut a fool (reliving my college football days).

Cancer Free

I picked up my CT results from 10/31/08 and there is no evidence of cancer in my lungs so today will be a good day. I do however still have the bruise on my arm from where the CT IV was run. I bruise easy now and I have a doctors note so I get out of everything, I might get my doctors note framed and strategically hang it throughout the house (pointing to it often when the honey due list pops up).

Vote

I hope everyone that did not take advantage of early voting or was in an area that has not yet instituted early voting gets out to vote today. I am sad for many reasons with the election comin' to an end today:

What will I watch when I get hospitalized the next time??? Food Network (it is hard to stomach when you are NPO waiting on test) or the hospital baby channel?? (two is enough R² are a handful)

I wish I could I could talk over the elections with my dad; he paid alot for his country with his military service and also given the fact he was shot as a teenager while walking the picket lines so WE could vote.

fully recovered

I think we are all fully recovered from the busy weekend so far, all the chocolate I am not supposed to eat (be eating) helps.....Mmmm chocolate (Homer Simpson Voice).

DFW lung cancer walk

I made it through the walk; although my coach (Rhonda) only allowed our team to do the short course 3K, we all made it. I ran the course (in my mind) in spots short burst to keep up with the girls on their bikes or to push Ravyn up the hill(s) which still give her trouble. I had a blast, and the event coordinator Katie Brown more than exceeded her anticipated monetary goal of money raised to go to/for lung cancer research (Way to Go)


Below is a picture of Bud, and myself. Two athletes and lung cancer survivors, basically two hombres that are Tougher Than Cancer. We spoke before the walk/run to motivate, rally, inspire, and put a survivors face to the national health care crisis that is Lung Cancer.

• Remember it is irrelevant whether someone smoked or didn't smoke.
• Anyone can get cancer, yes including lung cancer, yes you can, just look at me and BJ (Bo Johnson and many, many other I have not mentioned)
• Lung Cancer won't be a commonly discussed health care issue until it is de-stigmatized and the medical community makes it a priority to help retrain the public through a partnership with mass media
• THERE IS NO COOKIE CUTTER MOLD or PROFILE of WHO IS A LUNG CANCER CANDIDATE.

DFW Walk for LUNGevity at River Legacy Park Arlington, TX on Saturday, November 1, 2008 Walk for LUNGevity Foundation is a walk/run and family awareness event benefiting lung cancer research.DFW Walk for LUNGevity