Joe Not doing Well

My brother In-law returned from seeing his father in Florida yesterday and he did not bring any good news with him.

Joe and his wife Barbara were down for Christmas and I could see the difference first hand from the last time I saw him in September when they came down to visit the grandchildren. I saw that he was in a great deal of pain. He would shake so badly that one might think that he had Parkinson's disease.

It's so sad to see Joe like this. So sad to know that his time is near. This time, seeing Joe become weaker, is reminiscent of my father

Joe Reports His Progress

I received this update from Joe today.

"Hello everyone. As you know I started my chemo treatments on July 29th. I had three pre-medicatipns to help with side effects and then had three different chemos, Taxol, Carboplatin, and Avastin. Six hours of laying with an IV in my arm. That day, Tuesday, I felt pretty good.

The next day I had some tingling in my fingertips, stomach discomfort, and generally tired. These symptoms continued and the stomach discomfort really overshadowed all other side effects. The following Tuesday I went for my weekly wellness visit. I had lost nine pounds (what a tradgedy because you know I don't have it to lose) and my white blood cell count was down to 1.5. Normal for men is 4-10. This was because of the chemo.

They started me on five straight days of Nupogen injections which stimulate your bone barrow to produce more white blood cells. Two days later, Thursday, I started getting chills and when I called the doctor he told me to go to the emergency room which I did and was admitted. My white cell count was down to 1.0 and everyone around me had to where masks.

They said I was "neutropenic", which means that I was very susceptible to everything because of my low white cell count. They saw a small spider bite looking spot on my left thigh and thought that was the source of the infection. For the next couple of days I had x-rays, CT scans, blood work, etc. to rule out other possible infections. The spot on my leg grew larger but reacted well to the intravenous antibiotics which were many and often changed by the day. They said that the spot was a staph infection. My white blood cell count went up to 13.8. All test came back negative for other sources of infection. My red blood cell count is a little low but they decided against a transfusion at this time.

I was released on Monday. We meet with my oncologist tomorrow to figure out where we go from here.

Thank you all for your continued concern and especially your prayers. Love to all."

Joe's Cancer Report

The following is an email Joe had sent out informing us (his loved ones) what steps he was taking with his cancer.

"I went to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa on July 2nd and had a consultation with their top medical oncologist. We discussed treatment options and then I went back on the 7/10 and 7/11 for additional scans and an MRI of the brain. There were no new spots uncovered which is good.
He wanted me to participate in a chemo trial that he was involved with.

I came home and discussed it with my local oncologist to find out he had the same trial available so I decided to do the trial close to home. I started the trial on Tuesday. It was a long day. I had an IV in my arm for 6 hours receiving 4 different pre-medications and 3 different chemotherapy drugs. Other then having some gastric discomfort and feeling a little more tired than usual, I feel pretty good.

I receive a treatment every three weeks with weekly follow-up visits to for blood work and weigh-in etc... After 6 weeks, I will have CT scans to see if the treatment is having an impact. Decisions will be made at that time as to my continued treatment.

I want to thank you all for your continued support and prayers. Love to all.

P.S. When they said that I would probably lose my hair I was devastated. It took me 12 seconds to get over it. My hair has always defined who I am."

Joe is such a joker. The Post Script above shows his personality shine through. Joe has had very little hair for a long long time now...in fact I don't believe I ever knew him with a full head of hair. I'm glad that he is still being witty; his usual self. In these dire times your wits are what get you through the day.

More Bad News - Will this ever stop?

Yesterday I found out that my Grandmother was taken to the hospital in the morning due to the fact that the day nurse taking care of her at home said that her pulse was "deadly low" and that she "needed to go to the hospital".

I did not visit her yesterday but made it there today, but just not as early as I would have liked it. I left the office at around six o'clock and went to Doctor's Hospital where my Grandmother was in ICU.

Upon exiting the elevator on the third floor I spoke to one of the nurses at the nurse station and she informed me that a lot of my family were "going in room 307" and that my "grandmother can only have two people at a time" by her bedside. I saw room 307 to my right and walked towards it not knowing what to expect. I peered into the room and saw a relative of mine which I have not seen in a while. His name is Jude and he is my cousins 74 year old grandfather.

He is not doing so well. He his having a a colonoscopy tomorrow morning. Apparently has has lost a lot of blood and the nurses there were giving him more at one point. He was busy drinking tea and drinking broth too.

I went and saw my grandmother who was totally out of it sleeping. She looks so frail now...well she's been looking this way for a few months now...slowing loosing weight. This is the last of my grands; the rest have already left this world. She is really special to me. I remember back in the day when I was a little boy she would call me 'Bong-see'. It's obviously not a real word, just my nick name she gave me with love.

Later in the waiting room I got the ok from one of the nurses that it was alright to see granny. She was awake now and I was able to talk with her. I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as I told her "I love Granny." I said to her that she needed her sleep and to have a good night and that I would see her in tomorrow.

After arriving home from 2 plus hours in the hospital I got some more shitty news. I found out that Joe has been given 6 months to live. My eyes welted up with the emotion that filled my heart. "This sucks!!" I can't believe this!

This has indeed been a "Terrible Tuesday", just as my gmail custom message was set to today. I'm so tired of death...but it's one of those shitty harsh realities we all have to deal with. All you can do is live each day like it's your last.

Abaco Wedding Trip

On the 19th of June I headed to The Abaco's for a week excursion Wedding Trip! We all had such a fantastic time (especially me *wink wink*). First we flew from Nassau to Marsh Harbour via the official air carrier of The Bahamas, Bahamasair.

We arrived safely, though it was a hot flight, and headed off to the ferry dock where we also had lunch at Curly Tails. I got the Chicken Teriyaki Wrap which I do not recommend to anyone! It was so salty...yuck! They used too much bloody sauce. The service however was good and others thought what they had ordered was good too.

The Curly Tails Gang

It was finally time for the ferry to depart to Guana Cay where we all had cottages and golf carts rented. All the bags were loaded except for a grocery bag which slipped off the dock and bobbed against the hull of the boat. The journey lasted about 45 minutes, which is a long time to go without a cocktail, so I had to have a light American beer to get by.

We made it to Guana Cay dock just as it started to rain. We all scurried in the rain off loading our luggage from the ferry and loading them up on carts. As this was going on passengers were also trying to get off the boat, and my brother-in-laws father, Joe had an accident as he tried to climb out. He was unable to pull himself up the stairs and so fell a little way cutting his leg wide open. My brother caught him by his arm as he fell, but the damage was already done.

Joe was carried to a golf cart to relax while we continued to hustle in the rain which began to pour now. Lots of work and laughs were in full swing. Someone had gone over to check the condition on Joe which was not good. Joe is a bleeder and so there was a fair amount of blood on the cart. It was decided that he had to go back to the main land since there is not much to help him in Guana Cay. Joe was helped back to the ferry, and it left shortly after that. If he not left on that departure he would have had to wait about four hours until it arrived again.

We headed off to our destination which is about 200' from the beach, but one can see panoramic views of it from the wooden stairs which was only about 10 to 15 feet from the sliding door. The cottage we stayed was called 'Peas 'n Rice' and the other family of ours stayed in the cottage right next door called 'Crab Claw'. The cottages were the same layout, just different paint jobs. Both had a very homey feel to them.

That night we had a Barbeque at my place (Peas 'n Rice) consisting of Pork Chops, Steak, Homemade Boerewors [a South African sausage which translates into Farmers Sausage.], garlic bread, corn and salad. Everything tasted so delicious. Yum!

After the braai (a South African word meaning barbeque) some of us (the boys) headed off to finish the evening at Nippers. It concluded nicely there.

The next day we hung out at 'Peas 'n Rice' and drove around Guana Cay with friends and family and purchasing extra items like more water & beer :-) Later that day we we gathered at the other house, 'Crab Claw' and had a late lunch or early dinner. After that we headed off to get Nipped at Nippers. This time we were all there! People came out of the wood works and socialized with one another. It was one of the most memorable times I've ever had there. "F to the Antastic!" ...(my new saying people). We even had two bonfires and fireworks lighting up the pitch black sky.

Unfortunately, it was not all fun as someone stole my Chinese Symbol 'Joy' Tervis Tumbler. I was pissed! One moment I was drinking from my cup, and the next it was gone! Someone picked it right off the table where I was. (BTW this picture is not where it disappeared.)

Also one of my friends could not locate their golf cart (because someone took hers), so she hopped in mine and took off. When I decided to leave I could not find mine so I stole one too. Later that evening my friends ran into me and they were looking to beat up someone who took their cart, but had a change of heart when they realized it was me.

We had a few laughs about this and danced in the street...(unfortunately the pix all came out blurry). We went looking for my cart (like they did) but we were unable to locate it, so we decided that I would just steal one, and I did. We pulled up to the yacht club at Grabbers and I tried my key in a few that I liked, but had to settle on another one...it worked though, and got me home :)

The next day on my way to the grocery store for more water I ran into some friends who spilled the beans on who had my cart. I turned the corner and low and behold there was Rachel sitting on my cart. She was about to pull off but I pulled right in front of her so she could not. I told her that the cart she stole was mine and she reluctantly traded with me. Now that cart I had I washed my hands of; it was not my problem anymore. I had my ride back and that was all that really mattered to me at that point.

Here's where things start getting hazy. I guess that the alcohol has taken affect on my memory. I knew what happened step by step, but it's been a little while now since the trip. My memory is good; but in all honestly I am purposely leaving out certain information.

After all the adventures prior...in was finally the Wedding day, which did not go off 'without' a hitch.Things were not going right. Electricity was off and on all morning; mostly off. The water was not working due to the fact that power was needed for the water pump. I had to go get the iron from the office so that we could all get our clothes pressed nicely, which we were able to do before the power went off the first time.

The food needed to be prepared and the tomatoes were a little spoiled. There was also a large collection of clouds which were threating the island and everyone who came thought that it would soon rain. Thunder could be heard in the distance as the storm grew closer. The entire day I kept my eyes open to this fact. It spried a little by there was no down pour, so the wedding was saved.

It was a fantastic time! I'd say "F to the Antastic!" Lot's of people said that it was the party of the year. Everyone had a terrific time. I'll post a link to some videos and pictures later if I do not put them right here soon...

More Sad News - Cancer

Earlier this year I was informed that my brother In-law's father (Joe), who was great buddies with my father, has cancer in the neck. I never heard of that before. Boy cancer doesn't quit...it just spreads and changes it's form.

The first thought was to have the cancer operated on, but unfortunately the doctors said that because of the size and the location, it would not be possible. So the second step of attacking the virus that is attacking Joe is radiation.

Man, I just did 'time' (one year-ish) trying to deal and come to grips with my father passing away; now I got to go through this shit again?! I remember my father always telling me so-and-so has colon cancer, so-and-so has melanoma, so-and-so has breast cancer, and so-and-so just died from cancer. It seems that everybody had, has, or will have this terrible disease.