Pictures (Feb, March, April 2008)

The TCU women's Bball game (TCU -vs- Air Force) Senior Night

Rolling Carnival at one of the local malls; Raegan and Daddy date (note if you are over 220 don't go on this type of slide with a burlap sac b/c you will wind up on the concrete sliding on your rear.

Another picture from the carnival as we are on the haunted house ride.

Raegan and Ravyn Easter 2008
Raegan and Ravyn Easter Baskets
James hanging out at the Spa (UT SouthWestern Hospital) during my annual evaluation, my bronch and before the fevers 4/10/08
Post bronch the fever is brewing, and I am on the happy medicine (I can not be held accountable for anything I said.

Raegan, Ravyn, and cousin TeTe at the zoo by the elephant exhibit. I was able to walk the whole zoo.

Another zoo shoot, outside the horse / Long Horn pin, I walked the whole zoo but at this point everybody was hot hot hot and bothered.

Another zoo shoot can you guess what exhibit we are near????

Feeling Good

I feel GOOD, I think I am rounding the curve now since the transplant, it has been about 14 months now and one week and my body does not feel like I have been going through two / three A Day football practices with each practice starting off with county fair, followed by hills, one on one, and topped off with bull in the ring. Sorry young bucks you all don't have to do such drills you can only read about them.

The softball game was on Saturday, I could not take it deep like I expected to all that batting practice for nothing as I had no power at the plate. The game was fun though, I made it around the bases was pushed by the speed demon behind me and his young legs

I was feeling so good that on Sunday I grilled out, and did not complain about the neuropathy in my feet once.

Am I leveling off and reaching the new norm since transplant????????????

PreGame

Saw the pulmonary specialist in Fort Worth today, it was really great to seem him and find out how he was doing, I am glad I didn't have to do a six minute walk with/for them the last one I did for his office was pretty painful and broke me (last summer at the height of my battle with CMV, and the staph infection).

I have not given much thought to what my pre game meal will be as I prepair for the 14th annual South West Transplant Alliance Softball Game. I am worried I am not pumping enough fluids into my body I don't want to dehydrate out there on the field of dreams; on the other hand I don't want to have to much on my stomach and be known/remembered as the only guy in the history of this CHARITY softball game to through-up while in the batters box. I will keep you posted.

Work is picking up and I am really happy with that I am expecting to be officially labeled as a full-time employee again any day now. I am working with another group now too on new project(s) so that is always good too as new task keep the technical juices flowing.


I was laughing with one of my classmates from SMU at work today, as we were joking about how me being an ex-athlete (side note I am still an athlete I can work a TV remote and scroll through the stations at World Class speed) I have doctors notes that excuse me from most physically demanding things, (i.e. cutting the grass). We were talking about our yards and how I can't / have been STRONGLY advised against any and all yard work due to the pollen, bacteria, and fungi in the grass and soil (they aren't good for heart or lung patients). Basically he was asking for help on his yard my response was NO my doctor(s) say NO.......
got doctors notes like a fat kid in gym class
or
like a fat kid getting out of gym class

X-Ray Thursday

Had a set of X-Rays taken today in preparation of my visit with the pulmonary doctors on Friday. A funny note is/was that it seems like regardless of the hospital / medical facility and regardless of what I am having done (X-Rays, lab work, breathing test, picking up new medicine) I seem to know the professionals by name and have a personal relationship with them. Have I sunk so low, am I Norman the burger eating kid with the note that allowed him out of gym class??? oh well if I am that kid now at least I get great parking.......

X-Rays (more Radiation)

x-rays of the chest on Thursday

Pulmonary doc. visit on Friday I intend on asking him the following question:
why did he present my case to lung txp centers as a treatment for my lung cancer?

I will be real busy this coming Saturday:
blood work on Saturday Morn.
Transplant softball game in the afternoon
skin cancer screen on at UNT Health Science Center

oh yea got to get a mothers day presents too

Cancer doc visit (Cinco De Mayo)

Cinco De Mayo

I discovered a new route to the hospital due to traffic jam(s) in Dallas this morn.; I had a good walk to get to the cancer building and it would have been fine until I caught a cramp about 200 meters in front of the main entrance; I had to drag my limp leg into the clinic... who knew that you have to stretch before walking now.

Lab Work today 2 sticks, 3 tubes, 2 bruises.

lungs sound good, need CAT scans w/ contrast 4 times per year... that will be a fight I let the cancer docs and the transplant docs duke out; (contrast is hard on your kidneys as if the transplant meds aren't bad enough).

Busy day

Had a very busy day today, I started out in church kind of nervous because I don't like being around big groups of people in a closed in environment; that holds true for (church, work, hospitals, stores, movies ..........) you get the picture.

Took a little batting practice today, I have noticed that my hip on my back leg is real tired the day after batting practice.

I cut the grass / WEEDS in my front hard and on the side of the house, as the guys don't come over to cut the yard for another week.

Cancer doc visit in the morning.

Still coughing up crud

I feel like I am getting another cold/ bug coughing up crud, tired often, but I can't sleep. Most of the stuff that I cough up happens in the A.M. I think it is just crap that builds up in my lungs overnight.

False Alarm

False alarm (for now) folks Bo did not get the transplant, so we shall consider this a minor glitch on the road to getting rid of the cancer. Some false alarms / dress rehearsals are good though because you don't want to get the wrong lungs and have even more medical stuff to contend with after transplant, heck it is hard enough adjusting to the lungs.... it has taken me over a year to somewhat adjust and I am still trying to find the new norm. One thing I will say is that it takes cancer patients who are fortunate enough to get a transplant longer to get back in shape after transplant if they have neuropathy in their hands and feet.

I will keep you all posted on Bo, I have not communicated with him as I am giving him space to make sense of what all he and the family just went through, and I know they are being bombarded with questions from friends, and family.

Bo Got the Call

1712 CST
Hey Everybody just got a call from Bo he just got the call, I just spoke with him, Pray everything Goes Well, I will keep you posted as I get info. He was driving down and sounded calm and mellow and Christi was with him and doing well too.

2342 CST
up all night wondering how the procedure is going for Bo I hope this isn't a false alarm call (a false alarm call is a call that you get to come to the hospital for your transplant procedure and it does not happen for one reason or another. Examples of things that might stop the procedure would be if the donor lungs had some sort of undetected virus in them, if the recipient has a cold/virus or is running a temp, also for a lung transplant patient they check us over at the time of transplant to make sure the cancer has not spread to our lymph nodes if so the transplant won't take place.) Bo and Christi will be enjoying his new lungs in a few days once he is out of the ICU.

I now know how Stu (Lockheed Lung Transplant Buddy in California) felt when I called him to tell him that I had just gotten the call to come into the hospital for the transplant.

I will have to take a sleeping pill to sleep tonight.

Happy Birthday to me

happy birthday to me

happy birthday SM

happy early birthday to BigFrog

More Storms

More storms here in TX, all these winds can pick up a house and move it away, I better type quickly before we lose power. Speaking of power I need to let the electric company and the people they subcontract with/to know that I am disabled (a respiratory patient) and need my power I need my dang Air Conditioning in the Summer (period).

Bo Got listed offically

Bo is officially on the list now; thank you Duke.

I will be taking my last antibiotic tonight from the prescription I was released from the hospital with.

I have been Broken

Not much to report, I am pretty boring. I have two more day of oral antibiotics so I can clear my system of the crude that has taken up residence in my lungs (pneumonia).

The girls have won, they have beaten me down, I need help b/c the two year old she is the ring leader nothing goes down without her approval, (I know most of the major characters in high school musical, bow wow wusby, wonder pets... and have a whole Dora the Explorer CD memorized) Go Wonder Pets......

Pluging along

• I feel like I am on the mend from the pneumonia, slight rejection, and new virus
• The many IV marks on my arms and hands are starting to fade so I don't look like a junkie anymore.
• The girls are wearing me out as my wife is out of town on business, I need my partner back so we can tag team them WWF old school style (Junk Yard Dog, and Rick Flair)
• Still trying to get in shape for the softball game, taking batting practice; my goal is to swing for the fence and walk the bases. SPEED KILLS

Dry post after the rain

• I am fighting with the insurance company to stay on one of the medications that I have been on since my transplant; it is an antivirus med.
• We had another storm of the century last night, From Winter to Summer, Texas weather at its finest.
• Trying to get back in shape for my softball game on May 10th; Last Saturday my breathing was in the upper 70% range to the lower 80% range due to the pneumonia and bruised lung.
• We did the zoo (Fort Worth Zoo) today and surprisingly I walked the whole thing while pulling a wagon. We also watched a little bit of the TCU Relays today, I wanted the girls to see a track meet and women athletes.

Finally recovered from the Spa

Finally recovered from the Spa as I am not coughing up anymore clots of blood from my lungs due to the bronch, I am almost on a normal persons schedule without the around the clock IV bags, and the every 4 hour vital sign checks (which I can do without because if I were planning on kicking the bucket I would just call the nurses station and let them know my temperature was spiking or my blood pressure was out of whack....).

My wife returned home yesterday so I can manage the girls better, luckily everyone is potty trained (even me) but this is what I lived through when our girls were younger, also this is the main reason I can't go into medicine BECAUSE of the strong gage reflex I have.

I made the big leagues

I have been asked to play in a softball game on May 10th with the rest of my transplant homies, our victims will be local media and the battlefield / I mean ball field will be the Texas Rangers Stadium before the Rangers game that afternoon. For more info you can go to their website http://www.organ.org/v2/events.html or the Southwest transplant Alliance homepage http://www.organ.org/ . I don't think I will play like I used to, I plan on bunting (not allowed in slow pitch softball), getting hit by a pitch, taking one base at a time, and also leading off so I don't have to run, also no sliding for me.

I am just worried about the drug test and hope they let the steroids (vitamins that the doctors prescribe to stave off rejection) slide, please don't make me testify in front of congress for this.

Free at last, so long SPA

I meet with the parole board yesterday evening and they granted me a conditional pardon... (I am on a new oral antibiotic for a few days, the plan in to treat the pneumonia, and the other virus and by doing so the slight rejection will take care of itself)...

Got out of the hospital, DROVE myself home (most of the time you need a responsible person to check you out of the hospital/Spa I guess I am a veteran and the feel I can handle the whole process)

Picked up the girls Raegan (aka diva1) and Ravyn (aka diva2) they were excited to see me, so we shall see how long the peace and harmony last because they don't like to get up early or go to sleep at bedtime.

I looked at my arms and hands today and I am a little worried that someone might mistake me for a junkie given all the needle wounds and bruises I have to remember this spa vacation.

Still at the SPA

Gloomy Monday not that it is raining but that I am stuck in this hospital, on the floor I am not to fond of... (long story there but the short version is they are always, always, always late with meds that need to be given on TIME)...

I have high hopes that I will be able to break free from my medical prison sometime today as I will be thrown to the wolves when I get home running the household by my self for two weeks as diva1 and diva2 think they can get over on me,

More lab work, and more IV's to come..... stay tuned.

Back to the Spa

Well I got put in the hospital on Friday afternoon so I did not finish the second part of my one year transplant evaluation. I was running the fever 102+ post bronch and coughing up a good amount of blood. The initial test results from my bronch are pneumonia, slight rejection, and a new virus EBV. All in all this visit has been pretty uneventful so far. I am being treated for the pneumonia with heavy IV antibiotic drugs (note: IV drugs burn your veins really bad, worse that chemo I am having to get a new IV about every 18 hours because the IV antibiotics burn up my veins and HURT).

TV sucks, I am burned out on CNN still in hospital

Annual Lung Txp doc visit

Well it is April 11, 2008 first every lung transplant annual evaluation for me. Day two of my lung transplant evaluation is supposed to be today but we shall see what the day brings....

Recap of Day 1:
We were up and out of the house at 0 Dark Hundred (translation it is very early for two guys that aren’t morning folks or I am not a morning guy and James is retired now so he gets to sleep in OH I am jealous as I have A LONG TIME before I can even say retire). I was real tired as I was up since 0246 when the Typhoon / Sunami rolled through the DFW and knocked out power 4 times.

Traffic was a mess, we saw a lot of tree, power lines, signs, tractor tralers and other stuff along the highway that had been blown down in all the wind/rain/hail that we had last night.

• We made good time and got to the hospital at 0720.
• Got my blood work done I needed to eat I had to fill up darn near 20 viles of blood for various test, I NEEDED TO EAT, I ATE, forget the NPO stuff I ATE ……. Food was good two vegi-breakfast tacos and a large chocolate milk, nap time as I head off to the transplant clinic ( I can always catch a nap up there).
• CT scan / X-Ray went fine
• I got the Aorta ultrasound but had to reschedule the abdominal ultrasound because I ate….. and it was freakin' good too (no regrets the stomach gets what the stomach wants, feed the hunger)
  Back to the lung transplant (lung txp) clinic; saw the docs. More blood work was order (whoopee thrilled) then off to the bronch.
• Bronch took place they had a hard time getting my IV started, one too many sticks… oh yea I got the shoot I always hate in the rear.
• Oh yea ran a fever of 102 last night, I think it was b/c the bronch so I called the docs and I may have to be admitted into the hospital later today. We shall see, although a hospital visit will break my (Stay the hell out of the hospital streak).

Day before lung transplant annual

Well folks my annual is on tomorrow so we shall see how it goes.

One of my buds rolled into town tonight and he will go to the doctors visits with me on Thursday and Friday. James helped me out tremendously before and after the transplant in California. I hope we don’t have to sit at the hospital too long on this week we have my wifes honey due list to get taken care of at home, watch some football (TCU has their spring game), tour the Cowboys old Stadium, take a tour of Lockheed so he can see the line where the F-16, F-22, and F-35 JSF are built, and church on Sunday if he is not still on CA time, many other DFW (Dallas / Fort Worth) things TBD (to be determined).

Clinical Trial for lung cancer video

I finally got a chance to download and convert a video I participated in before the transplant. The focus of the video was about the need for lung cancer patients to participate in clinical trials to improve the care for future lung cancer patients; by doing so we can effect change (although slowly) within the medical community. Take a risk, the data gained might not help you but you can make the road a little less bumpy for the next person.

Dallas Morning News (No risk factors, but they got cancer anyway)

Hello below is the link to the article I mentioned yesterday; I will try to post the content and pictures within this post soon I am having to work out some HTML issues.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving/health/stories/DN-nh_rare_0401liv.ART.State.Edition1.215739b.html