Category: Life

Home Sweet Home….

Home at last….home at last….thank God Almighty I am home at last.  (with apologies to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Today my ‘day’ surgery ended and I am home.  That was a helluva ‘day’.  I have been home for some five hours or so.  In that time the Cowboys managed to find a way to loose a football game and I took a nap.  Last night I was woken up no less than six times.  Hospitals are never places to get a good night’s sleep.  I napped, and woke disoriented.  I was sleeping that deep.  I also took care of some personal things as well.  I trimmed the beard and shaved.  Shaving is now an interesting experience.  Some nerves were cut during the surgery so the underside of my chin is now numb, like dentist type numb.  Yes, I can cut myself shaving and not even know it.  I have to be careful, and pay close attention to what I am doing.

The routine tonight has been very quiet and peaceful.  We had a small dinner and I did play with the kids some.  We will put the kids to bed, then we both can collapse.  I do not know what the future holds, but I am not afraid.

D-Day + 8 weeks, South Beach Beachhead

***RED ALERT***RED ALERT***RED ALERT***RED ALERT***

Intelligence reports show enemy activity within our camp.  We have been compromised and betrayed.  They have infiltrated us,’mass’ing inside us.  The only way to rid our troops of the enemy, is to actually attack ourselves.  Treason is only punishable by death.  After a surgical strike, we may have to resort to using radiologic and biologic weapons.  It has been said that, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”  Well, even if they help with weight loss, they are no friends of mine.  We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us.  My own body is attacking itself.  The beachhead is in disarray right now.  We are gathering more intelligence to see what the best course of action now is.  We are awaiting information from top advisers in this matter.  We hope to have this information by mid-week.  We can then hopefully make better decisions about diet, exercise, and nutrition.  Even with this information we have maintained weight loss and are still down 27.5 (oops, my bad) 25.5 pounds total.

I got my new Star Trek ornament!

Today I finally remembered to go out an get the new Start Trek Keepsake ornament.  why?  Because nothing says Merry Christmas like Klingons and phaser fire.  It is the USS Reliant from “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”  Only the best Star Trek movie ever!  That is the good news.  I got my new ornament.

Did I tell you I got my new ornament yet?  Did I tell you I have cancer too?  Whoops, must have slipped my mind.   I went in for an FMA, Fine Needle Aspiration, 13 days ago.  That is the preliminary biopsy.  They do not get a whole lot of tissue with that, but they are between 60-70% I have Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  The final diagnosis will have to wait for a complete surgical biopsy.   That will more than likely happen within a couple of weeks or so.  This biopsy will give them all the tissue they could ever need and help them to figure out exactly what form of Hodgkin’s it is, then decide on the best treatment plan.  Treatment usually involves something called chemotherapy.  Uh, call me silly, but what is therapeutic about that.  Chemo is usually worse than the disease itself?

I have already done some research online, just preliminary stuff from wiki.  The five year survivability rate is over 90%, but 20-25% of patients still end up dying from in later on.  There are also other problems that it can cause, but I will not delve into that now.   I do not have any of the classic symptoms and the diagnosis is stuff for another post.  Until then…count each day………

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to get eggs……

Monday night I headed to CVS, after soccer practice, to get our prescriptions and eggs.  It is kind of an odd combination, but you do what you gotta do.   I got the scripts just fine and was waiting at the counter to pay for the eggs.  There was a man in font of me waiting in line as well.  He was much younger, 23 it turns out, had multiple piercings through the cartilage in his ears, and had a flame like tattoo peeking up from the back of his shirt.  He did not appear to be someone that I would want Crisana to date, not trying to be judgmental mind you.  His jeans were also about four sizes too big and wrapped around his thighs.

While in line his buddy came in asking what the hold up was.  His buddy looked to be a man of better character, but not a whole lot.  The guy gets called up to the front and orders two cigars from behind the counter.  I am not a cigar connoisseur, but I can figure out these were not real high class cigars.  I think he ordered two orange menthol cigars for about $1.29 each.  He bought them to get change for something else.  Drug deal?  I have no idea.  The lady asks for to see his ID.  He pulls out his ID…and this is what I heard…. Continue reading A Funny Thing Happened on the way to get eggs……

Win, Place, or Show….

Monday, the 22nd, was the final weigh-in for ‘The Biggest Loser’ contest at work.  I knew I was not in the running for 1st place in the contest.  I figured I was not in 2nd, thought I had a good shot at 3rd.  I ended up in 4th place.  I found out that the difference from 4th to 2nd was about 7 pounds.  That is pretty close.  2nd and 3rd were just one pound apart!  The entry fee was $50.  3rd place gets their money back.  1st and 2nd split the rest of the pot 75/25, not to shabby.

I did not win.  I did not place, but I did show.  SHW threw in a bonus $1000 into the post with $200 going to the top five losers.  So, I won $200!  I still have about 30 more pounds to lose and would have won with that weight loss, but I am proud of what I did, and won.

2 down, none to go….

They are His.  No, really, they are His.  That’s right, both of them.   Both have been His for some time, but today was an important day.  Crisana was baptized today.  She came to saving knowledge some eight months back, but today was the day she was dunked.  She was so excited too!  She woke up this morning and wanted to get into her swim suit instantly.  It was a joy to be there for her.  She did great too, no crying, screaming, etc. that little kids could do when being dunked.

We had some special friends visit church too, as well as Aunt Buff and Grandma.  We also had a little a party afterwords at casa del Speer.  I grilled a bunch of chicken while Debbi worked on salads, fruit, veggies and the like.  As with all special parties, for kids, there was a cake as well.  I can assure you it was a South Beach approved cake.  No sugar was used in the making of the cake.  Only 100% whole wheat unenriched flour was used in the cake too.  In fact, it was a carrot cake….with zucchini…and only extra virgin olive oil was used too….yeah…that’s right.  In fact, it was just a pita…not a cake…and I only had one piece too…yeah…that’s right.

D-Day + 7 weeks, South Beach beachhead

The invasion is going well, but it is slowing down.  We have lost over 25 pounds though.  What is the condition of the beachhead?  Well, like all beachheads, the commands are all present.  The officer’s quarters have been built as has the golf course.  The exchange is doing brisk business too.  The enlisted personnel live in a ditch about two miles from here.  They do all the hard work, but get none of the rewards.  Sound familiar?

The diet is going real well actually.  I have my final weigh in, for the biggest loser at work, tomorrow.  I have a chance at coming in third, but will probably end up in fourth place.  Not too bad out of 15 or so.  I have enjoyed the thinner me and fitting into smaller clothes.  I may reach the halfway point by the next report.

20 years ago…

to the day, I left for the small town of Ismailia, Egypt. I left September 15, 1988. I flew on a TWA flight to New York, then JAL (Yugoslav Airways) to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. This was before the fall of the Berlin wall. The USSR was still in power and I was behind the iron curtain. I had a 12 hour layover in Belgrade, so I took a bus into town and ate at McDonald’s. I assume it was a communist McDonald’s. 😀

I then flew onto Cairo, and took a bus to Ismailia. I arrived some time on the 17th. I traveled with a fellow missionary named Blaine. We were both going to teach at an English language school. I ended up teaching math. I do not recall what Blaine taught. Egypt was a great experiance and would not trade it for anything. I ended up falling in love with some girl named Debbi while I was over there too. It was an amazing journey, that is now 20 years old. I wonder what the next 20 will hold.

25 Years ago….

I was in the Aggie Corps, but that is not what this post is about. 25 years and a couple months ago I graduated from high school. Yeah. Lake Highlands Class of 1983 had its’ 25 reunion last night. My understanding was that it would be a casual affair and somewhat informal. More like a bunch of people getting together, not a formal, organized reunion. Wow. I would say about 100+ classmates showed up plus their spouses. It was quite a large group. One guy just retired after 20 years in the Marine Corps. One slacker that I knew is a successful attorney. One genius writes the flight control software for the F-16. One is a cardiologist. Continue reading 25 Years ago….

Stream of conscientiousness post….

There are so many things to say, so many ways to say them, and none of this is going to be eloquent at all. So I will start with Star Trek.  How could I go wrong with that?

September 8, 1966.  Happy Birthday to Star Trek!  My obsession is now 42.  I know waaaaay to much about it.  I probably know more about it than I do about my wife.  At least she is the girl I know best.  :-D  If I am lucky God will have a test.  I doubt I will be that lucky.

The diet is running smoothly.  I still have cravings for a whole lotta stuff, but am doing good.  I have lost about 23 pounds with about 33 to go.

Today is Patriots’ Day as well as my birthday.   It was a good day.  Seven years ago it was still a good day, just a tragic day as well.  Evil men doing evil things.  Not a whole lot has changed in 6000 years or so.  Many more could have been killed that day.  God’s hand was there as well, though many do not see it.

It was a good birthday.  I am feeling a little overwhelmed and somber too.  Tomorrow is the biopsy.  I have no idea how long it will take to get the results.  I have other challanges ahead too.  I certainly could use some guidance and discernment.