What else needs to be said? Cancer affects everyone and it is not prejudice. It will go after whoever it wants and whenever it wants. It doesn't matter who you are, what color you are, what religion you are. It does not care if you are an infant or an 80 year old senior. It will take you. Stating the obvious? I suppose.....
Three years ago my Father was diagnosed with lung cancer. While he was preparing for lung surgery they performed a full body diagnoses and found he had bladder and prostate cancer. October 2009 he had his lower lobe of the left lung removed. He then did 12 weeks of chemo. He needed the chemo for the lung and they hoped it would shrink the tumors on the bladder but it did not.
August 2010 (on his birthday actually) he under went major surgery and had his bladder removed. He came through the surgery fine but recovery was long and tough. Because of heart disease (heart attack, triple bypass in 2004) they kept him sedated for 5 days and slowly brought him out of it. Pain meds they given him had a done a number on him. He had awful nightmares of war.
Six months ago my father was pronounced cancer free...then within the next 3 weeks he developed a cough a bad nasty cough and no one could tell him what it was. He started coughing up blood and then they found the cancer had returned but this time in the top stem of the left lung and also in the lymph node. He is currently undergoing testing to see if the right lung can sustain him with or without oxygen full time. He is on the fence about surgery and the testing they are doing will be his deciding factor. Either way he is facing another 12 weeks of chemo with or without surgery.
In the last 8 years my father has endured a heart attack, triple bypass and his 3rd bout with cancer is about to get under way. He is a fighter and I can only hope when I encounter such adversity that I can attack it with same tenacity.
I haven't been around much and I have only managed to drop a pound but hey its better then nothing and right now it's not about me....
This past Week or so has indeed been a busy one. Last Saturday (9/14) Kelli and I along with our friends participated in 5K Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. Walking a 5K is pretty much a breeze for me...or so I thought. I finished no problem but I did learn along the way that walking a 5K on the public streets is not the same as walking a track or a treadmill. I did end up finishing with a pretty decent time of slightly over an hour. We had a great time and it was for a good cause. We were walking in honor of our friends Mom who had passed roughly 8 months ago.
We called our team Bosom Buddies and on the back we had his Mom's initials.
Almost to the finish line...styling in my pink shirt..
Kelli (knick1016) and I
Finish line!!
Sunday was busy day as well between Laundry, Grocery shopping day to day stuff. Kelli had band surgery Monday. She got the Realize band. She was in surgery for about an hour and everything went great. As with all patients she stayed over night at the hospital and came home on Tuesday afternoon. She is on the mend but is dealing with the usual gas cramps and fighting some nausea today. I am excited for her as her journey is just beginning and she is inspiring me to keep on keeping on....
I am sure she will post in a day or so if she hasn't already. Her screen name is knick1016
I never thought I would find that question so offensive. I am guilty of asking such a question when I was younger to my own Sister. I do believe people have no malicious intent when they ask such a question but yet it can come off so offensive. My Wife and I have tried for three years to get pregnant with no luck. We both went through extensive testing and seen numerous specialists. It was determined I was the problem. I was not producing viable sperm. I under went Surgery last February to determine if I had a blockage and to see if they could extract viable samples to be used in conjunction with IVF. They got a little and we had it frozen until such a time we could move forward with the IVF. We were warned by both my Doctor and My Wife's that we should be prepared for back up options such as a donor as they had little to work with. My wife and I decided donor was not something we wanted. If we could not have them biologically then maybe we would consider possible adoption down the road.
My surgery was in February of 2012 and the IVF cycle was in May. Even though we were told the odds were not favorable but yet possible we had very high hopes and less than 24 hours later after the IVF cycle our world came crashing to a halt as we were notified it didn't work. We both cried for two days and I personally took it harder than I expected I ever would. I guess part of it is because even though I did nothing wrong I felt like I failed us both.
Now 8 months later we talk about it less but the memories are fresh. I still blame myself and haven't really moved on. This past weekend we were visiting my Wife's cousin who has 16 month old twins who we simply adore and love to spend time with. My Wife posted the below picture on facebook which lead to a lot of "When are you going to have babies of your own?"
Naturally, it is our own fault for posting the picture but I cannot help but be annoyed. One of the people who asked is an Aunt who does not have kids herself due to medical complications. One would think she would've been more tactful.
Next time you consider asking someone when they are going to have kids take a moment to consider that there maybe more to the story and that it could be a sensitive subject!! I guess this is my payback for asking my Sister and Brother in law many years ago. I am however a proud Uncle of a 22 and 15 year old!
