Friday, January 30, 2009

January Blah's

So here we all are, some of us frost bit, some a little warmer, but winter is moving very slowly through our lives right now. We can only look forward to March.



Dept. of grand children:

Krista is getting an early start to be ready for prom. She is dating a Junior, so she will be going; got to get that perfect dress.

Kevin usually enjoys wrestling and does well. He is on a weight cusp, so he will soon be wrestling bigger boys. His big news is he will be graduating from 8th grade this year.

A couple of weeks ago, I learned that I would need radiation therapy to remove or reduce the main mass of cancer in my right lung. I've had 7 daily treatments as of today with 8 more to go and I am fortunate that the side effects are not too harsh. I am still eating ok and sleeping ok. I had to take another break from the fitness center, though.

One thing: the doctor said today that it will be several months before all of the cancer will be cleared up from the radiation treatment. Some of it dies hard.

looking forward, we have plans for a trip to central coast of California and Yosemite Dational Park in the first week of May. That will be the subject of a later journal.
thanks for allowing me to check in with the latest from classic 1970's Oregon, Illinois, one place I can say Blago never comes to.

love,
Grandpa, father, uncle, cousin Mike

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The latest News from Oregon, IL

Hi, all!

I know, if you're not here, you are in a warmer place than we are. We will probably see a high temp today of zero. Still, we are plenty busy. Doctor's visits take up some time. Today, I went to see Dr Schultz, my oncologist, who wanted to see the results of a CT Scan; tomorrow, Dr Retzer, for my annual checkup. He wants to test my cholesterol. Don't these people understand that at 71 years old most of my parts can be assumed not to work very well and testing may be unnecessary.

The Ct Scan revealed that my illness refuses to give up and go away so I need to sign up for more treatment. Looks like Radiation Oncology is in my future and soon, along with more Chemotherapy.

So whatever happens at tomorrow's Doctor visit, the results of my cholesteral test may seem less significant than they might ordinarily be.

You all know I don't want to let my medical problems get everybody down and I don't want to conceal the truth. I need to say things in these journals to deliver a truthful message. Thanks for letting me do it.

Love,

Uncle, brother, dad, grandpa, cousin Mike

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Best wishes for the New Year

Look at the calendar. It's a brand new year; and the bad, old year is fading away and disappearing behind us. Everything in the future looks good seen through my rose colored glasses.

It's not really fair, what I am saying, however. I may not have liked 2008 very much, but there were some really good things happened in 2008. people got promoted at work; there are new babies in the family; Steve Sr. is slim and svelt; and, we got together and enjoyed the holidays.

New baby:
I spoke to Grandma Patsy, today. She has held Jeff's new baby and he is healthy and cute just as he should be.

Shopping with grandchildren:
Krista and Kevin took us shopping last week. They are really good shoppers. Carolyn and I saw them grab clothes quicker than we could follow with our eyes. Then they went in and tried them on and came out looking great. They also go to stores that I never heard of. Hollisters?, that's not JC Penneys! It was all great fun.

Photos:
Jeni and Tracy brought some great pix to Oregon on the 20th and gave us copies. Like from Sarah and Brian's wedding. There were also some great pix taken that day. Those are slowly making their way around, I hope.

Thanks to all for letting me check in with you. These are the good days, so let's all take advantage and hope every day in our lives is this good.

Love,

Uncle, grandpa, brother, cousin Mike