So Much for a Green Christmas

Ever since I can remember, ever since I was a little tyke, I didn't care for the cold weather.

The golf course we lived next to was one of the best places to sled anywhere around. It was very, VERY hilly. That I enjoyed.

But I've always had problems with my sinuses in cold weather. The rest of the year they were just fine. But come cold weather, after one or two steps outside I would be reaching for the tissues.

Coming in from a lengthy sledding session on the golf course, my Mom would try to strip off my many layers of wet clothing as two snotscicles hung from my nose.

This morning I peaked out and there was a good dusting everywhere. That was three-hours ago and now it's snowing even harder and everything is covered solidly in white.

Is it pretty? Sure, while it's coming down.

But soon all the pretty white snow will be different shades of black. A black, slushy, icy, melty mess, and in little Marietta there is just nowhere to go with it. All we do is try to push it towards the drains on the street and wait until it melts into the river.

I've been particularly interested in this storm because we have planned to travel to Myerstown on Sunday to celebrate Christmas with my family. I have been really looking forward to seeing everyone.

I've had my fingers crossed hoping that the storm would track south of us. That doesn't seem to be the case. It looks like we're going to get slammed. Ugh.

I didn't make the family's Thanksgiving gathering because of the condition I was in from the drug dose I was then on. Basically I was awake for about an hour-a-day.

Now I feel much stronger. But it doesn't look good. We'll see. Either way, Barb and I are still always smiling in Marietta. What the heck...we have a big, giant box of assorted chocolates! (smile)

I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

I went to sleep last night to news that we could expect one- to three-inches of snow by the time we wake up Sunday morning.

I woke up this morning to news that we could expect eight- to twelve-inches of snow by the time we wake up Sunday morning.

(sigh) What a mess. My family is planning on celebrating an early Christmas on Sunday. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone. Or at least I was . . .

Yeah, I know. It's pretty and it's all white and fluffy. And in no time it's slushy and all black from traffic, and it's just a slippy, slidey, huge mess.

These are the days when I wonder why I'm still here in Pennsylvania.

Well I guess that all areas have their drawbacks. After all, Florida does have bugs the size of my arm.

Maybe we could just change the date we celebrate Christmas? Maybe some time in June? Would that work for everyone?

Minor Miracles

Now I've never been a big believer in miracles. But I do believe it's certainly possible. And the way the last few weeks have been going my belief in the unexplained is just getting stronger.

First we came home and Barb said "Hey! Our neighbors are in our backyard."

They were out there trimming our trees and brush like crazy. Why? I have no idea.

Our neighbors have property in Berks County and are often there. And when they are in town we rarely see them. Now suddenly, out of nowhere they were trimming all of our trees and even mulching all the debris.

I was extremely thankful because this is something I've been concerned about getting done. I was so thankful that I didn't care to ask them why. I just kept my mouth shut except saying over and over and over "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Not long after another one of our neighbors showed up at our back door and asked us if we would consider having him rake and bag all of the leaves in our yard. Dumbfounded I said, "Of course." He did a great job. It was another big job I was worried about getting done in my condition

Soon after the yard, our neighbors hired painters to paint the outside of their house. Our neighbors had a little problem with the way the painters handled something and she negotiated with them to paint the back side of our house. It's not a very visible section of the house. But it has been something else on our list of things to do.

Presto, it was done. Unreal, I couldn't believe this. First it was the trimming of all our trees and bushes. Then it was raking and bagging of all of our leaves. Now it was painting one-side of our house. Where would it stop?

Well it hasn't stopped yet. Yesterday a gentleman came to our back door asking if he could pave our parking spaces. He had just finished another project about two-blocks away and he could give me a low price since he already had all the equipment, materials and support here.

It's yet another item on our list of things we wanted to do to this place, this old house.

They're out smoothing out stones in the parking area right now.

I don't know.

Stuff like this just doesn't happen. Does it?

Here We Go Again

I've enjoyed my small holiday from the harsh cancer drugs. But the holiday ends today as our "team" (Susan, Barb and myself) travel to the cancer center to have an injection of Interferon.

At least my weekly intake of Interferon is not going to be as large as before. Rather than three injections a week I will now switch to just one injection per week, or one-third of what I had been on before.

I'm anxious to see how the body reacts to all of this. You never know. I think it's pretty obvious, from past experience that it won't make me feel stronger or better in any way. But you just never know, predicting cancer is like predicting the weather, you just never know.

I've been off any kind of cancer drug for just over two-weeks now. I definitely have felt better. I've felt stronger. But I haven't exactly felt like my old self, especially after 3-plus years of being on constant chemo of one shape or size.

Early Gifter

Yes. I do have a problem. Admitting the problem is the first fence to climb towards being able to correct it.

I am an early gifter.

I can't help it. It brings me joy. I love giving. Getting? Well there really is no comparison, I'd rather give than get - anyday.

I'd make a terrible rich person. I find no joy in just hording money. I just don't. I feel responsible to ensure that myself and my loved ones are taken care of. But giving is just always more rewarding to me.

Last year beginning in the first week of December, I started handing out presents. Oh, I saved some for Christmas morning. But I was "early gifting" with a pretty robust nature.

One thing I heard a lot was "Ooooo, that's so nice. Thank you. NOW STOP GIVING EVERYTHING OUT EARLY!"

So I joined an online support group for early gifters (not really :)

I have been doing much better so far this year I believe. So far I've only given our three presents. Hmmmm. That might not be better. But I'm trying!

The gift that told me that I'm doing the right thing was something that even surprised me. When I see peoples' faces when they see this gift it just sums up all the reasons why I'd rather give than get.

As soon as it came to the door, I knew I needed to give this to Barb right away. I plopped on my recliner with this HUGE thing on my lap - smiling from ear to ear. I waited for her to come back down the steps and when she saw what I had on my lap her chin dropped to the floor and she broke out in one of those uncontrollable "giggle smiles."

It was the biggest box of chocolate either of us had ever seen! It was 2.8-pounds worth in a GIGANTIC box. I took a couple pictures with it sitting on Barb's lap. I'll try to post one tomorrow.

So far, everyone has agreed, Barb's Mom, Alyssa, Charlie, it is the biggest box of chocolate anyone has seen.

Each time someone has dropped by they've been shocked by its massiveness. We think there are at least three layers of assorted chocolates, but there may be more.

I've enjoyed the expression on every face that has seen it for the first time. It's so much more rewarding to give than to get.

Wait, wait, wait, I'm starting to feel like giving out another early gift. OK Jim, take a deep breath, easy now big fellow...

Back and Blogging

I woke up yesterday and there were weird lights bouncing all over the bedroom, coming from the TV. At first I thought I was somehow in the movie "Poltergiest."

But I quickly shook that thought off, pinched myself to make sure I wasn't still alseep, and wondered downstairs.

First thing in the morning, every day, I make my wife a pot of coffee and feed Freckles. The day starts off at its best when the coffee maker can be pulled squeaky clean from the dishwaser and I don't have to clean it up while I'm still half-a-sleep. Also I like to see Freckles dish empty or nearly empty just to see that he's eating well.

Well Friday morning the coffee maker was sitting on the counter with yesterday's coffee and grounds, plus Freckles had gotten sick in three different places in the kitchen.

He's OK. It just looked like he ate a little too much. Or perhaps he ate another spider. Yes, a spider, I've caught him snackin' on a couple over time.

So it wasn't my favorite start to a day on Friday. But I set up Barbie with her coffee. I set up Freckles with his food and water. And I hit my recliner with a glass of ice water in hand.

I turned on the TV and there it was, poltergiest again. I checked a few channels, flicked around, and it wasn't right all over. I checked the internet and at best I had a real shaky connection. I checked the phone and we had no dial tone, and then we did, and then we didn't.

No biggie, I thought to myself, we can live Amish for awhile. I don't mind that at all.

Barb called Comcast she woke up and got a cup of coffee in her. After she waited about 30-minutes to talk to a live person that person told her they'd be out to look at it somewhere between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. That's not too bad, I used to remember when they would tell me anytime between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

About 9:30 a.m. things around the house started working again. Evidently the strong winds we had the night before knocked something a little loose and more people than just us were experiencing "data loss" and "service interruption."

But I was already into my daily schedule of activities and the time I usually set aside to try to blog something intelligent (or silly) had passed. So, sorry I couldn't update on Thursday's visit with my oncologist.

I thought this would be a fairly predictable meeting, and for once it actually was.

The doctor had no problems with my "drug holiday" from Interferon. Well actually he was the one who originally suggested it. Being away from Interferon has definitely made me feel better, slowly and surely better. He also suggested that we consider going back to Interferon on a lower dosage, either half a dose three times a week, or a full dose once a week.

Barb and I had already discussed this and we're going to go back to the Interferon once a week for a full dose. The doctor added that consistency wasn't in taking this drug wasn't as important as it is with typical chemo. So if I wanted to just take off again over Christmas week, that would be fine.

He gave me a full physical exam as he always does. He said I checked out good. He didn't see any problems. All of my blood tests were strong, and one result was even up a little. He said that he thought at the least that I was "stable."

So I'm still dealing with some pains, but they all seem to keep getting consistently better. Next week we'll start the lower dosage of Interferon and we'll see where things go from there. It's always an adventure!

Thanks for all the continued love and support. Believe me, I feel it!

I always thought that there were some pretty messed up people in this world (after all that's what we see on the news everyday). But my sickness has taught me that there are much, much, much more wonderful people in this world. Thank you!

Going to See the Doc

I always try to get my act together before I go to see the oncologist. He is a very sharp, intelligent guy, so I feel like I have to prepare to meet him so I can get the most out of the meeting.

I think today's meeting will be fairly predictable. But then I almost always feel that way and there always seems to be a surprise.

Today there isn't any scans to review or discuss. Todays meeting will mainly be about drugs and chemo.

As always he'll come into the treatment room, shake our hands, and ask us how we're doing (Barb will be with me). He'll sit down, open up my chart, pull his pen from his pocket and ask me what I would like to talk about today.

Well, I'm going to tell him about the "drug holiday" I took, then I'm going to tell him that I'm ready to start taking the nasty Interferon drug again.

I'll ask him when he's planning on doing a scan again to see what, if anything the Interferon might have done. Then based on the results of that scan I wish to talk to him about whether he would consider prescribing a new kidney cancer drug.

I'm going to mention that I have had some pain.

And that I'd like to discuss overall general health.

Then he'll take off from there. He usually brings up something I never expected. He always gives me a solid physical exam.

The "drug holiday" was originally his idea when he learned how rough the Interferon had been on me. I've taken a lot of harsh drugs over the past three-and-a-half years. Nothing was like this though.

I've been off the Interferon for about two-weeks and much has improved.

I know the doc has this strict three-month time frame he prefers to adhere to between scans. I'm anxious to see what this nasty Interferon has done. But I'm willing to wait until what we expect to be early December for the next scan.

As far as pain goes, the harshest and strangest pain I have right now is in my left calf. It's had me hobbling around at times. But it's odd. It's constantly in the same part of my calf, but it moves around from side to side to back. I'm really hoping he might know something about that.

I have this weird suspicion that it might be from the La-Z-Boy, as strange as that may sound. During the bad, bad, bad Interferon days I was pretty much planted on the recliner. Being so tall, my legs hang out over the end of the recliner. The last place my body touches the recliner is right where the pain is in my calf? I don't know.

Barb and I have a pretty strong idea of how things will go today. We'll discuss getting back on the Interferon, one full dose a week, rather than three full doses. We'll discuss the left calf and maybe decide to do a much more affordable x-ray. And we're hoping he will bless the new cancer drug just approved by the FDA if Interferon proves not to be working.

Wish us luck...