Yesterday we went down to sign my will and powers of attorney, as well as a DNR form. It was a great weight off of my shoulders getting all this stuff finalized. It will make everything easier for Liz and the family to deal with all the things that come up in the course of my demise. Everything is pretty well laid out for the family to see and shouldn't cause any rough housing among then children. If there is, I'll come back and haunt the quarrelers to the nth degree. It made Liz cry a little. It was sort of adding to the finality of everything. By me signing all the paperwork that I did, affirmed that my end was coming. If I were to offer any advise it would be, do this all now, while you're healthy. Then it just looks like a wise decision on your part. Waiting until you might be terminal or are terminal just kind of adds to the stress of the moment. It wasn't like Liz and I hadn't already discussed doing this, I just kept getting clean bills of health, and that in turn made me move the Will, and all the DNR and Hospital variances to the darn back burner. Had it been done ahead of time, I wouldn't have been so stressed about getting it done now. It's a shit storm to get all that ironed out after your dead. Don't do that to your family. All told it probably wasn't but 4 hours out of my time to get all this finished. The attorney had more time, but only because of the legal forms that have to be used. I didn't realize that it took so much more than "She gets it all" to have a will finished. That's okay though. It's finished and I, as well as Liz, can relax a bit.
I've had so much fun in my life that it's probably not fair to other folks. I always looked, and still do, for the good in any situation. And as a rule, there is always something funny going on either right in front of you, or just off to the side. For example, I was a pall bearer at Liz's Grandfather Spoonemore's funeral. It's me and 5 other older men. All of them shorter than me, and almost all of them far more weak than I at the time. It had snowed, not unusual in Ks, but they hadn't cleared a path from the road to the grave site either. There are huge above ground headstones in the old cemetery, and a lot of those that are ground level. The old guys are kinda sliding around, and here I am on the rear, trying to steer them toward the grave site without losing anyone. Suddenly they take a bad turn and I find myself sliding across a ground level head stone. "Big Jim. To Know Him Was To Love Him" was who I skidded across. For some reason it struck me funny, and I had a hell of time during the rest of the service to keep from laughing. I'd look at Liz, she'd look at me and start to giggle too.
My daughter Sarah got to have one of those times with my mom when she was dying and stuck in ICU. Sarah is pregnant and mom has her sitting on the edge of her bed. Sarah said they were just kind of talking quietly, mom had her bed moved so she could see out of the room. Sarah says mom grabbed her arm and said "Boy, there are some ugly people around here, aren't there?". That made em both laugh. It was a good thing, that was the last thing Sarah heard from mom, a laugh.
It boils down to what we see as we go about our daily lives. I tend to see the good side in almost everything. The guys at work even got to calling my mantra "It could be worse." as their own. Because, in reality, just about everything could be worse. In the field, if things break down, there's not only oil or water to leak, or a pumping about to crater. One of the guys and I had been going over a pumping unit and I noticed a bad saddle bearing. We noted, too, that another company had given the unit an "all clear" sign. We caught it before it cratered.That's a good thing, because it could have been way worse. The saddle quotes and the beam and weights slide toward the gear box and do a lot more damage.
"Your cancer is back, you've got a year at the most, more likely less". Coulda been worse, I could have had only 6 weeks like my dad had. Everything has a better edge to it than what one might think. Generally it's a lesson to be learned. It's almost always a test of character. That's the better end of "It coulda been worse". You might have thought that there was nothing to be gained from any given situation. Until that type of thing pops up again. Then what you've learned from the first incident comes into play and this time the lesson learned makes the fix that much simpler. It all really can be worse. Nearly everything can be worse. I'm certain there are scenarios that are worse.
I find myself dozing off if I'm setting still in the recliner. I doze while I'm trying to read, while I'm tying the blog. I don't doze while I drive, or even get sleepy. If I did, I'd surrender the keys so fast it'd make your eyes water. I can't think of anything worse than falling asleep at the wheel. Not only do you risk wrecking and killing yourself and your passenger. But how about other drivers? What a shame it would be to kill someone else because you're too stubborn to know when to stop driving. I know I can't drive 11 hours straight like I could in July. That's just not going to happen. I get screaming muscle pain, cramping muscle, even from the pec that's in my mouth. That will cramp just like any other muscle, only this one tries to dislocate what's left of my jaw. That's enough to make your eyes water, I'm hear to tell ya. So I have to either stop and rest, or let someone else drive. And I hate to let others drive. It's something I've had to learn to do, and I'm a slow learners as far as surrendering the wheel goes. Silly, I know, but that's me.
Something to think about: If all your best days are way in the past, and that's all you can relate to, something is terribly wrong with your life. This day, and all the days that follow this day, those are the best days of your life. Is it wrong to remember? Oh hell no it's not. But to make that the focus of everything, isn't healthy in my opinion. The past is there to remember loved ones and good times. It's not something to base all your happiness upon, or to have even been the best times of your life. The best time of my life? Yesterday when Liz and I settled everything that I needed to have signed. The will and all the legal documents that set up how I end my life. Today will be the best day of my life as well. Something will happen that will make me smile, or laugh. And I get to see my kids and Liz face one more time. How do you top that with things that have happened years ago? I can't. And yet all those times were as fun and the times more recent. I just don't relive them over and over to feel good about myself. Last year I was having the best year of my working career. I miss it, simply because I can't work any longer. If I were still working, this year would be the best of my working career. Only because I choose it to be so. Not because 10 or 15 years down the road, I'll look at a picture and say "Man, those were the best time I ever had.". Sorry, I'm not built that way
You all have choices in your life, just as I have had in my life. Whatever you choose, do it with the intent of making it the best choice you've ever made for yourself. Be honest with yourself as well. If it's not working like you'd expected, look and see if it's something you can change within yourself first. If that's not the case, then start looking for something new. There's no use in being in a job or position your simply can't stand.
Love and hugs and all that stuff.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Friends
As the folks who follow the blog know, we had Liz's birthday party on Saturday. Yes, it's a day late but who's counting. Liz has some of the best friends and co-workers on earth. They look out for her, and that's always a great thing to have. She's gonna need them when my ride is finished, and the cool thing is, she won't have to ask. They'll be there. Good friends are like that. I had a couple of friends from High School, one of them was my best friend, and although we lost touch forever and a day, we can usually pick right up where we left off.
Kise Randall and Daric Smith came to visit me this weekend. They drove all day Saturday, spent the night, and left again on Sunday afternoon. I tried to convince them to leave Topeka Ks earlier on Saturday so they could come to Liz's birthday party but they'd have none of that. They felt it might be intruding. Strange, they both sound a lot like me in that regard. So, we met up at Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning. Went through some pictures, caught up on some old times, and generally had a nice visit. Then we came back to Casa De Roc and shot the shit for five or so more hours. What a great day it was for me. I didn't realize how much I'd missed their company until I saw them drive away. My eyes leaked again. A lot. It's funny, we sat down, each of us with kids of our own, lives, jobs, hobbies, all the things that we've acquired as we've gotten older, and when we started talking it was as if it was fall of 1978, waiting to graduate in May of next year. The conversation was easy and not rushed, just like when we were kids and knew every damn thing there was to know. I miss that, and I miss Kise, Daric, Kise's husband Tom, more than I expected myself to miss them. I'd liked to have kept in better touch with all those folks. I don't regret my lack of correspondence, but it would have been a positive thing to have stayed in better contact. And now, at the closing side of my journey, we get together for just a few hours, and it's like we never lived more than a few blocks apart. They made me smile, and laugh, just like they did when we were younger. I'm going to miss them, and I'm very glad we had a few hours to catch up a little. It's time I'll treasure. Thanks Kise and Daric. I'm glad you didn't tell me you were going to drive straight through. And I'm glad you made it home in once piece. It was a long day and a long drive. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your lives to come spend some of my time with me. Love ya
The horror is now, I'm bleeding like a stuck hog. Well that's not entirely true, but I'm bleeding a lot more than I had been. I cough a lot, but since they got me some cough syrup it's held that down to the point I'm not throwing up during the coughing spells. That helps a lot. The strange thing is, when I was bleeding inside my mouth, besides coughing up what I'd aspirated, I suctioned a lot out of my mouth. I'm not getting hardly any bloody mucus or saliva. Not when compared to what I'm hacking out of my trach tube. I have to wonder, is that coming out of my lungs? If it is, is it cancer moving off into there (might explain why I run out of wind so easily), or is it just something that is irritated and causing me to hack up a much higher volume of blood. Even more strange is the fact that it will clear up for a while, and I won't hack up blood at all. Then BOOM it's back with a vengeance. Weird, huh? I'll discuss this with my Hospice nurse when he comes in Tuesday, see if he want's to go over it with the doctor. Now, having said that, my docs in Houston said I would bleed, but they never said where or approximately how much, or any of that stuff. I'm sure they didn't want to get pinned down with specifics, because somewhere out there is some guy that's dying from his own cancer that might not happen exactly as the doc's said, then he'd sue them. I can almost smell that. I understand that specifics can change in a flash and never be exactly what they thought they would be back three months ago. At any rate, that's how I see my cancer, as the moving around shit that's fucking up my perfectly happy life. So be it. I die, it dies. I win in the long run, and that's all I care about. As far as the cancer goes that is. I care about my family. And they'd see me winning as something entirely different, like dad being completely clear of cancer and able to go back to work. That's what they'd see as a win for me. That'd take a miracle. While I wouldn't mind having to go into the next benefits meeting and saying "Yeah, yeah yeah. I know I said last year was my last trip here. But I had a miracle and I'm here working." Eating that little dab of crow wouldn't hurt my feelings at all.
I'm having more neck and shoulder pain too. I doubled up my pain patches to see if that was the way to go since I had just ordered more of the 25mg patches. I can tell a big difference in the pain. But I'm also really groggy and feel like I need more sleep. As a control, I'll drop one of the patches on Tuesday when it's time to change them again. If I get more pain, and still feel as groggy, I'll go back to 50 mg. Anyway, I get more rest during the day. I still wake up 2-5 times a night having to clear my tracy. I can live with that. Although, a nice 5 or 6 hours straight through would be neat. I think I'm passed getting anymore of those days, though. Woke up this morning with what I thought was a screaming sinus headache. Turns out it was the muscles in my neck. The back of my neck felt like it had two 2X4's stuck in it. I think that was from the hoodie I wore on the couch. The hood must have wadded up behind my neck and forced my head forward. That must have made my neck stiff, and as soon as it was able it went on up into my head and jaw. As soon as I got my posture lined up correctly, or as correctly as can be expected, the head ache stopped. Gotta love that. A little bit of home remedy. I don't want to be one of those Hospice patients that calls every time the slightest thing goes awry for them. Nope, I may be a mess but I'm not an afraid of my own shadow. I ask later, and then only in generalities.
I get a lot of good things that happen in a day, and they far out weigh the bad things that go hand in hand with them. I laugh, I smile. I get pleasure out of watching my grandson try to weasel around with his mom. He's pretty good at it, and getting better. Although, he sometimes doesn't back off quickly enough. Then his mom pounces. That in itself is pretty funny. She reminds me of me dealing with two kids. I think they would tag team dad, unless they wanted the same thing. Then they attacked from different angles and work at me from different directions. That didn't work all the time, but it did often enough. I was a bit of a push over. As long as they were clear about what they wanted and the babysitter didn't have any complaints, they could have a snack of something that wasn't best for them.
Just seeing the sunrise or sunset is a good thing. That means I'm not stuck in the house all the time. That I'm still able to get out and be me, even for a couple of minutes. So yes, everything has a silver lining. And I like to hunt for it every time.
Short one again today. That's not all bad, I don't think.
What shall we do today, my friends? Carpe Diem? No, that's been done to the point of nausea.
Book Of Rock: It's not my fault you're unhappy, I can't fix that. If I could, I'd tell you to get off your ass and learn something. Make yourself happy first, then other people will either resent you being in a good mood, in which case they need an opterectomy, or they'll join in and have fun with you. Either way, as long as your happy, that's all that matters. Remember, this ain't the girl scouts. If you want your cookies, you gotta get em yourself.
Have fun, my friends. Of my youth and of my years here in Midland. Each and every one of you holds a special place in my heart. Thanks for being there
Kise Randall and Daric Smith came to visit me this weekend. They drove all day Saturday, spent the night, and left again on Sunday afternoon. I tried to convince them to leave Topeka Ks earlier on Saturday so they could come to Liz's birthday party but they'd have none of that. They felt it might be intruding. Strange, they both sound a lot like me in that regard. So, we met up at Cracker Barrel on Sunday morning. Went through some pictures, caught up on some old times, and generally had a nice visit. Then we came back to Casa De Roc and shot the shit for five or so more hours. What a great day it was for me. I didn't realize how much I'd missed their company until I saw them drive away. My eyes leaked again. A lot. It's funny, we sat down, each of us with kids of our own, lives, jobs, hobbies, all the things that we've acquired as we've gotten older, and when we started talking it was as if it was fall of 1978, waiting to graduate in May of next year. The conversation was easy and not rushed, just like when we were kids and knew every damn thing there was to know. I miss that, and I miss Kise, Daric, Kise's husband Tom, more than I expected myself to miss them. I'd liked to have kept in better touch with all those folks. I don't regret my lack of correspondence, but it would have been a positive thing to have stayed in better contact. And now, at the closing side of my journey, we get together for just a few hours, and it's like we never lived more than a few blocks apart. They made me smile, and laugh, just like they did when we were younger. I'm going to miss them, and I'm very glad we had a few hours to catch up a little. It's time I'll treasure. Thanks Kise and Daric. I'm glad you didn't tell me you were going to drive straight through. And I'm glad you made it home in once piece. It was a long day and a long drive. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your lives to come spend some of my time with me. Love ya
The horror is now, I'm bleeding like a stuck hog. Well that's not entirely true, but I'm bleeding a lot more than I had been. I cough a lot, but since they got me some cough syrup it's held that down to the point I'm not throwing up during the coughing spells. That helps a lot. The strange thing is, when I was bleeding inside my mouth, besides coughing up what I'd aspirated, I suctioned a lot out of my mouth. I'm not getting hardly any bloody mucus or saliva. Not when compared to what I'm hacking out of my trach tube. I have to wonder, is that coming out of my lungs? If it is, is it cancer moving off into there (might explain why I run out of wind so easily), or is it just something that is irritated and causing me to hack up a much higher volume of blood. Even more strange is the fact that it will clear up for a while, and I won't hack up blood at all. Then BOOM it's back with a vengeance. Weird, huh? I'll discuss this with my Hospice nurse when he comes in Tuesday, see if he want's to go over it with the doctor. Now, having said that, my docs in Houston said I would bleed, but they never said where or approximately how much, or any of that stuff. I'm sure they didn't want to get pinned down with specifics, because somewhere out there is some guy that's dying from his own cancer that might not happen exactly as the doc's said, then he'd sue them. I can almost smell that. I understand that specifics can change in a flash and never be exactly what they thought they would be back three months ago. At any rate, that's how I see my cancer, as the moving around shit that's fucking up my perfectly happy life. So be it. I die, it dies. I win in the long run, and that's all I care about. As far as the cancer goes that is. I care about my family. And they'd see me winning as something entirely different, like dad being completely clear of cancer and able to go back to work. That's what they'd see as a win for me. That'd take a miracle. While I wouldn't mind having to go into the next benefits meeting and saying "Yeah, yeah yeah. I know I said last year was my last trip here. But I had a miracle and I'm here working." Eating that little dab of crow wouldn't hurt my feelings at all.
I'm having more neck and shoulder pain too. I doubled up my pain patches to see if that was the way to go since I had just ordered more of the 25mg patches. I can tell a big difference in the pain. But I'm also really groggy and feel like I need more sleep. As a control, I'll drop one of the patches on Tuesday when it's time to change them again. If I get more pain, and still feel as groggy, I'll go back to 50 mg. Anyway, I get more rest during the day. I still wake up 2-5 times a night having to clear my tracy. I can live with that. Although, a nice 5 or 6 hours straight through would be neat. I think I'm passed getting anymore of those days, though. Woke up this morning with what I thought was a screaming sinus headache. Turns out it was the muscles in my neck. The back of my neck felt like it had two 2X4's stuck in it. I think that was from the hoodie I wore on the couch. The hood must have wadded up behind my neck and forced my head forward. That must have made my neck stiff, and as soon as it was able it went on up into my head and jaw. As soon as I got my posture lined up correctly, or as correctly as can be expected, the head ache stopped. Gotta love that. A little bit of home remedy. I don't want to be one of those Hospice patients that calls every time the slightest thing goes awry for them. Nope, I may be a mess but I'm not an afraid of my own shadow. I ask later, and then only in generalities.
I get a lot of good things that happen in a day, and they far out weigh the bad things that go hand in hand with them. I laugh, I smile. I get pleasure out of watching my grandson try to weasel around with his mom. He's pretty good at it, and getting better. Although, he sometimes doesn't back off quickly enough. Then his mom pounces. That in itself is pretty funny. She reminds me of me dealing with two kids. I think they would tag team dad, unless they wanted the same thing. Then they attacked from different angles and work at me from different directions. That didn't work all the time, but it did often enough. I was a bit of a push over. As long as they were clear about what they wanted and the babysitter didn't have any complaints, they could have a snack of something that wasn't best for them.
Just seeing the sunrise or sunset is a good thing. That means I'm not stuck in the house all the time. That I'm still able to get out and be me, even for a couple of minutes. So yes, everything has a silver lining. And I like to hunt for it every time.
Short one again today. That's not all bad, I don't think.
What shall we do today, my friends? Carpe Diem? No, that's been done to the point of nausea.
Book Of Rock: It's not my fault you're unhappy, I can't fix that. If I could, I'd tell you to get off your ass and learn something. Make yourself happy first, then other people will either resent you being in a good mood, in which case they need an opterectomy, or they'll join in and have fun with you. Either way, as long as your happy, that's all that matters. Remember, this ain't the girl scouts. If you want your cookies, you gotta get em yourself.
Have fun, my friends. Of my youth and of my years here in Midland. Each and every one of you holds a special place in my heart. Thanks for being there
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Short and sweet
I wanted to throw Liz a surprise birthday feed. My oldest daughter and two of Liz's friends were helping me out with it. So this how a surprise party gets to be a "Dammit, you better act surprised!" Party.
Liz and I were out farting around Friday afternoon when she gets a text. "OOOO! Cheri wants to know if I can play golf with her in Rankin for a "Night Golf" tourney this Saturday. Can I?"
"No, no you can't"
"Okay I'll.....wait, no? Why not?" You have to understand, I never say no when Liz wants to do something with her friends. Not then, not now, not ever. Her expression was priceless.
"Because, dammit, we were putting together a surprise birthday party for you, that's why. You better damn well act effing surprised too!" I was kinda laughing. Her friends have near perfect timing.
That's no big deal, Liz can pull that off, then later we'd have to fess up and tell folks that she knew and why. In fact, the only time I've ever really surprised her was with renewing our vows this past September. She had no clue.
The youngest daughter, Addison, job is to get Liz out of the house and keep her gone for as long as necessary. We'd all cleaned Saturday morning, and Sarah had snagged a gift card to somewhere. Addison took Liz to a movie, then they were doing what ever until Sarah, I, and Liz's two friends were ready. Stuff was supposed to be finished by 1900 hrs so we could spring a lovely supper of grilled chicken thighs, four huge Tbones, side dishes from everyone, two packs of hot dogs, and around 20 or so bacon wrapped, pineapple cream cheese stuffed jalapeños. I was going to grill for the first time in, what for me, seems like ages. Throw in a new wrinkle. Friends or ours from when we lived in Elkhart text me and said they were going to come to Midland from San Antonio if I was up to company. Well hell yes I'm up for company. Now, how do I handle this. Surprise is already busted. I break the news to Sarah, Brandon, and Dianne that Liz needs to come home early so she can chat it up with old friends.
We got close, but no cigar. Although I did have help cleaning seeds and such out of the jalapeños, so it was a win for me. Liz is hard to catch in a surprise. Seems like the stars line up her direction for surprises. C'est La Vie. I grilled away, Liz had to help me once or twice, because my legs were giving up but I enjoyed cooking on the grill again. For the record, if I should come back as another guy that likes to grill, bear in mind I hate cooking on gas. Propane or otherwise.
It's true. My sticks are going. I can't stand for very long. Too much walking gives me a limp. Apparently my right leg feels like it's been abused since it's missing a goodly chunk of it''s quad. It's kind of a three stage thing with my legs. First, they start to ache. Time on that varies. Yesterday it was about an hour into cleaning the house. Then they feel like they weigh a ton each. That's pretty consistent, about 30 minutes after the aching starts. Then I have to set down to rest them. They get shaky and don't want to hold my weight up any longer. I was at the last stage while I was trying to grill. Makes it a pain in the ass to grill decent victuals when you have to set down every 10 or 15 minutes to give them a chance to recoup a little. We got there though, dang it, and that's what counts. The food was a hit, Liz got a chance to sit out back around the fire pit and shoot the breeze with friends. I had the chance earlier in the day. It was Liz's turn to just let everything slide and just relax with her buddies. I was so exhausted, in a fair amount of pain, and needed to wind down myself. I got the recliner and crashed out for a spell. I'm glad I have friends that will allow me to do that without feeling guilty over napping while company was here. As a rule I find that beyond rude. But at this point in my life, I have to do that or run the risk of being that "Angry old man that's dying of cancer" reputation. I don't want that, nor have I earned it....yet at least.
I'm still plenty tired, and that's okay. What probably is okay as well, but doesn't seem like it, is the amount of blood I'm starting to hack up. I know it's going to increase. I figured on something coming in gradually so I'd be used to seeing the extra. Whoops, wrong assumption. More oft than not yesterday evening it was blood only, no mucus. So much for my theory of aspirating it from my throat. Nope, that theory is blown out the window. That which I'm suctioning isn't bloody at all. That kinda sounds like the opening to one of those cheap startle movies of the late 70's early 80's. The only thing lacking was a soundtrack that included "fweet, fweet, fweet" before the slasher strikes. It's still going on this morning. Although so far it's been off and on, and a mix of everything. I'll talk to my Hospice nurse Tuesday if it's not stopped by then. I'm hoping it has. If not, then that's a sign, I am going to assume again, that the cancer may have moved to my lungs. That will suck the ass out of a dead raccoon. But, it would go a long way to explaining why I get winded so fast now. Probability mode in me says "Yep, that sounds about right", let's move on, shall we? I love my probability mode. I'm still very sore today as well, and not from just from coughing a lot yesterday. (Come to think of it, I have been coughing a lot more lately). I do have some cough meds with hydrocodone in with it. That's helping with the raw in the back of my throat. That's always nice. Which leaves this part with this thought: "Good or bad thing, the extra blood in the coughing towels"
Here's why I have to contemplate that a bit: I'm torn, right now, with this. One: "Thank God it's moving faster". It's not that I don't like being here, but the cancer stuff is beginning to wear on me. Not just the extreme stuff. Hell, that's easy do deal with. It's how the little stuff piles on.
Two: "Shit, I'm not ready to go yet". And I'm not, no where near. But, being a pragmatist, I look at stuff as what I'll miss, not how much I've already seen or done. Because there are things I'd like to do all over again. The scales are tipping toward the death area of the scale.
Here's why I don't really wanna kick out yet. I've not spent enough time with Liz and all my kids. Next week I go to Fort Worth to watch friends throw in a Highland Games (and yes, I saw some of them in McPherson already, these are new guys), and to see some friends in that part of the world. I get to see my oldest son, his girlfriend, and Wyatt. Wyatt is a riot. Well, he was last time I met him. He's getting bigger now, and I'd love to see him and Bo play together a little. It's my last chance to see my old games friends. I want to see the family and those guys more. Alas, this is going to be it, I'm afraid. I don't know when I'll go, so I do have that motivation to see as many of my buds as possible, and to give them a hug. They (meaning all of you) are the reason I'm fighting this so hard. And I need to let you know about that more often.
Short one today. I'm bushed
Shout out to Karla, Renee, and Alex. Thank you so much for going out of your way to stop by and visit. I really appreciated it, and I'm sorry I got tuckered out so fast. Love ya
Today your job, as is dictated by me, is to slow down a notch. Sit for a minute and just look over your family and friends. Memorize their faces, the lilt of their voices. Carry those with you every day, all day.
Pinch on the fannie
Liz and I were out farting around Friday afternoon when she gets a text. "OOOO! Cheri wants to know if I can play golf with her in Rankin for a "Night Golf" tourney this Saturday. Can I?"
"No, no you can't"
"Okay I'll.....wait, no? Why not?" You have to understand, I never say no when Liz wants to do something with her friends. Not then, not now, not ever. Her expression was priceless.
"Because, dammit, we were putting together a surprise birthday party for you, that's why. You better damn well act effing surprised too!" I was kinda laughing. Her friends have near perfect timing.
That's no big deal, Liz can pull that off, then later we'd have to fess up and tell folks that she knew and why. In fact, the only time I've ever really surprised her was with renewing our vows this past September. She had no clue.
The youngest daughter, Addison, job is to get Liz out of the house and keep her gone for as long as necessary. We'd all cleaned Saturday morning, and Sarah had snagged a gift card to somewhere. Addison took Liz to a movie, then they were doing what ever until Sarah, I, and Liz's two friends were ready. Stuff was supposed to be finished by 1900 hrs so we could spring a lovely supper of grilled chicken thighs, four huge Tbones, side dishes from everyone, two packs of hot dogs, and around 20 or so bacon wrapped, pineapple cream cheese stuffed jalapeños. I was going to grill for the first time in, what for me, seems like ages. Throw in a new wrinkle. Friends or ours from when we lived in Elkhart text me and said they were going to come to Midland from San Antonio if I was up to company. Well hell yes I'm up for company. Now, how do I handle this. Surprise is already busted. I break the news to Sarah, Brandon, and Dianne that Liz needs to come home early so she can chat it up with old friends.
We got close, but no cigar. Although I did have help cleaning seeds and such out of the jalapeños, so it was a win for me. Liz is hard to catch in a surprise. Seems like the stars line up her direction for surprises. C'est La Vie. I grilled away, Liz had to help me once or twice, because my legs were giving up but I enjoyed cooking on the grill again. For the record, if I should come back as another guy that likes to grill, bear in mind I hate cooking on gas. Propane or otherwise.
It's true. My sticks are going. I can't stand for very long. Too much walking gives me a limp. Apparently my right leg feels like it's been abused since it's missing a goodly chunk of it''s quad. It's kind of a three stage thing with my legs. First, they start to ache. Time on that varies. Yesterday it was about an hour into cleaning the house. Then they feel like they weigh a ton each. That's pretty consistent, about 30 minutes after the aching starts. Then I have to set down to rest them. They get shaky and don't want to hold my weight up any longer. I was at the last stage while I was trying to grill. Makes it a pain in the ass to grill decent victuals when you have to set down every 10 or 15 minutes to give them a chance to recoup a little. We got there though, dang it, and that's what counts. The food was a hit, Liz got a chance to sit out back around the fire pit and shoot the breeze with friends. I had the chance earlier in the day. It was Liz's turn to just let everything slide and just relax with her buddies. I was so exhausted, in a fair amount of pain, and needed to wind down myself. I got the recliner and crashed out for a spell. I'm glad I have friends that will allow me to do that without feeling guilty over napping while company was here. As a rule I find that beyond rude. But at this point in my life, I have to do that or run the risk of being that "Angry old man that's dying of cancer" reputation. I don't want that, nor have I earned it....yet at least.
I'm still plenty tired, and that's okay. What probably is okay as well, but doesn't seem like it, is the amount of blood I'm starting to hack up. I know it's going to increase. I figured on something coming in gradually so I'd be used to seeing the extra. Whoops, wrong assumption. More oft than not yesterday evening it was blood only, no mucus. So much for my theory of aspirating it from my throat. Nope, that theory is blown out the window. That which I'm suctioning isn't bloody at all. That kinda sounds like the opening to one of those cheap startle movies of the late 70's early 80's. The only thing lacking was a soundtrack that included "fweet, fweet, fweet" before the slasher strikes. It's still going on this morning. Although so far it's been off and on, and a mix of everything. I'll talk to my Hospice nurse Tuesday if it's not stopped by then. I'm hoping it has. If not, then that's a sign, I am going to assume again, that the cancer may have moved to my lungs. That will suck the ass out of a dead raccoon. But, it would go a long way to explaining why I get winded so fast now. Probability mode in me says "Yep, that sounds about right", let's move on, shall we? I love my probability mode. I'm still very sore today as well, and not from just from coughing a lot yesterday. (Come to think of it, I have been coughing a lot more lately). I do have some cough meds with hydrocodone in with it. That's helping with the raw in the back of my throat. That's always nice. Which leaves this part with this thought: "Good or bad thing, the extra blood in the coughing towels"
Here's why I have to contemplate that a bit: I'm torn, right now, with this. One: "Thank God it's moving faster". It's not that I don't like being here, but the cancer stuff is beginning to wear on me. Not just the extreme stuff. Hell, that's easy do deal with. It's how the little stuff piles on.
Two: "Shit, I'm not ready to go yet". And I'm not, no where near. But, being a pragmatist, I look at stuff as what I'll miss, not how much I've already seen or done. Because there are things I'd like to do all over again. The scales are tipping toward the death area of the scale.
Here's why I don't really wanna kick out yet. I've not spent enough time with Liz and all my kids. Next week I go to Fort Worth to watch friends throw in a Highland Games (and yes, I saw some of them in McPherson already, these are new guys), and to see some friends in that part of the world. I get to see my oldest son, his girlfriend, and Wyatt. Wyatt is a riot. Well, he was last time I met him. He's getting bigger now, and I'd love to see him and Bo play together a little. It's my last chance to see my old games friends. I want to see the family and those guys more. Alas, this is going to be it, I'm afraid. I don't know when I'll go, so I do have that motivation to see as many of my buds as possible, and to give them a hug. They (meaning all of you) are the reason I'm fighting this so hard. And I need to let you know about that more often.
Short one today. I'm bushed
Shout out to Karla, Renee, and Alex. Thank you so much for going out of your way to stop by and visit. I really appreciated it, and I'm sorry I got tuckered out so fast. Love ya
Today your job, as is dictated by me, is to slow down a notch. Sit for a minute and just look over your family and friends. Memorize their faces, the lilt of their voices. Carry those with you every day, all day.
Pinch on the fannie
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Just...Wow
Last evening I got to watch my son march at a football game. It was windy, and a bit chilly. The north wind was definitely biting. Normally that's no big deal. I've watched a football game in 30 mph winds and sleet. This time it wasn't the chilly that got me, it was pain. My throat, neck, shoulders, and back just sprung up with sharp, stabbing pain. Usually I get a little warning. You know, like that stiff muscle that you can't get to relax no matter what you do. Not this time. I suctioned out my mouth, and WHAM! the pec started to cramp, my what's left of my jaw popped and my neck and shoulders all gave me that WTF! thing and started to hurt themselves. So, I got to watch two out of three routines. They are a very good band. The Boy volunteered to play tuba when they march, because they were one person short, and he does it well. Considering that he only touched one in August, I'd say damn well.
The "Wow" thing is this. I started noticing some things that I hadn't before. I've noticed my legs are getting weaker. And even though I'm still trying to walk they get me every once in a while. The defectors any way. I also know I'm losing upper body strength. That too is a given, but at least they are starting to show a little response to the piddly workout I can do. That, though, makes my pec in my mouth swell and cramp, kind of a catch twenty-two. I can live with that a little.
What I'm noticing is a definitely larger and more frequent bleeding. I used to think it was from the irritation of vurping and not being able to swallow the stomach acid. And while that may be true, it's not the complete picture. I don't see the blood in my saliva like I should, if this were bleeding from my mouth more. I'm not suctioning it up like I had in the past. No, this is coming fresh out the trach tube. All lovely pink mucus and bright red flecks. Now, if I'm aspirating the mucus, then it would be that way, and I think some of it is. When the cancer in my throat and mouth was bleeding I could taste the blood. More oft than not, I can't taste it. Has the cancer decided my lungs are a good place to hang out? It may have. In the long run it's not going to make a lot of difference if it is, so getting it looked at is a monumental waste of time and money. I am assuming it's in there, but as we all know assume makes an ass out of u and me.
I also tire more rapidly. Way more rapidly. I start out pretty well on my walk, and then it all just goes at once. No warning, just tired. Hard to keep the legs shuffling, the whole bag of worms. Liz mentioned yesterday that we should check into getting me a temporary handicapped mirror card. I agreed. Which is also odd for me. Last week I'd have told her she was out of her ever loving, pea picking mind. Not so much now. My right leg is really weak since it's missing a goodly chunk of it's quad, I give it a break. My left leg tries to overcompensate for my right, and it gets tried as well. The added use of my right leg makes my irritated sciatic nerve really angry. That's alright, I expect that. Knowing that everything is connected, all this also makes my shoulders and neck hurt like a mother.The pain takes the fire out of my day and makes it a pain in the ass to even get up and waddle ass around. So I am doubling up my pain patch today to see if that helps, and hopefully won't make me so groggy that I can't get around on my own. Time will tell the tale on that particular bag of fun and games.
I was asked the other day, "What are the good things about your life today? I already know the bad things, what's going on that makes today worth getting up for?" I kinda had to think about that a second, oddly enough. I'd think that would be a real easy list to fill out. Turns out it's not. Not that I don't have a lot of things that make it worth getting up and getting around for. Or reasons that I keep trying to do more things on a daily basis.
Here's what I came up with: It's good just to get out of the recliner and get around. Any day alive, that I can function in, that's got to be a BIG Positive.
I see my kids and grandkid. Some of my best shows up in those kids, and the grandson, he's just funny. He's 6 and that's a good age to be around.
I hug Liz every chance I get. Being able to hold my lover's hand is always a plus for me. I probably don't do that often enough. But it's enough, I think. At least she's not told me to hit the road, Jack
Even out here there are a few mornings and evenings with pretty sunrise and sunsets. No where near as often as in Kansas
I can still read. Well, up until the last week or so. I get tired and face plant into the book I'm reading. I hope that adjusts it's self.
So yeah, it looks as if I get to stay alive another day and see if that all comes true
Book of Rock: Your strength is what makes you who you are. Not physically strong. Rather strong in spirit and mind.
I hear a lot from people "I can't do what you're doing" Of course you can, I'd rather you never have to go through what I am, but still, yes you can do this. You can because I say you can. Find the self confidence to learn to either work around your fears, or come to terms with them. You can do this, and probably better than I
Get your boobs checked ladies, for yourself and your family.
Love ya, and shit
The "Wow" thing is this. I started noticing some things that I hadn't before. I've noticed my legs are getting weaker. And even though I'm still trying to walk they get me every once in a while. The defectors any way. I also know I'm losing upper body strength. That too is a given, but at least they are starting to show a little response to the piddly workout I can do. That, though, makes my pec in my mouth swell and cramp, kind of a catch twenty-two. I can live with that a little.
What I'm noticing is a definitely larger and more frequent bleeding. I used to think it was from the irritation of vurping and not being able to swallow the stomach acid. And while that may be true, it's not the complete picture. I don't see the blood in my saliva like I should, if this were bleeding from my mouth more. I'm not suctioning it up like I had in the past. No, this is coming fresh out the trach tube. All lovely pink mucus and bright red flecks. Now, if I'm aspirating the mucus, then it would be that way, and I think some of it is. When the cancer in my throat and mouth was bleeding I could taste the blood. More oft than not, I can't taste it. Has the cancer decided my lungs are a good place to hang out? It may have. In the long run it's not going to make a lot of difference if it is, so getting it looked at is a monumental waste of time and money. I am assuming it's in there, but as we all know assume makes an ass out of u and me.
I also tire more rapidly. Way more rapidly. I start out pretty well on my walk, and then it all just goes at once. No warning, just tired. Hard to keep the legs shuffling, the whole bag of worms. Liz mentioned yesterday that we should check into getting me a temporary handicapped mirror card. I agreed. Which is also odd for me. Last week I'd have told her she was out of her ever loving, pea picking mind. Not so much now. My right leg is really weak since it's missing a goodly chunk of it's quad, I give it a break. My left leg tries to overcompensate for my right, and it gets tried as well. The added use of my right leg makes my irritated sciatic nerve really angry. That's alright, I expect that. Knowing that everything is connected, all this also makes my shoulders and neck hurt like a mother.The pain takes the fire out of my day and makes it a pain in the ass to even get up and waddle ass around. So I am doubling up my pain patch today to see if that helps, and hopefully won't make me so groggy that I can't get around on my own. Time will tell the tale on that particular bag of fun and games.
I was asked the other day, "What are the good things about your life today? I already know the bad things, what's going on that makes today worth getting up for?" I kinda had to think about that a second, oddly enough. I'd think that would be a real easy list to fill out. Turns out it's not. Not that I don't have a lot of things that make it worth getting up and getting around for. Or reasons that I keep trying to do more things on a daily basis.
Here's what I came up with: It's good just to get out of the recliner and get around. Any day alive, that I can function in, that's got to be a BIG Positive.
I see my kids and grandkid. Some of my best shows up in those kids, and the grandson, he's just funny. He's 6 and that's a good age to be around.
I hug Liz every chance I get. Being able to hold my lover's hand is always a plus for me. I probably don't do that often enough. But it's enough, I think. At least she's not told me to hit the road, Jack
Even out here there are a few mornings and evenings with pretty sunrise and sunsets. No where near as often as in Kansas
I can still read. Well, up until the last week or so. I get tired and face plant into the book I'm reading. I hope that adjusts it's self.
So yeah, it looks as if I get to stay alive another day and see if that all comes true
Book of Rock: Your strength is what makes you who you are. Not physically strong. Rather strong in spirit and mind.
I hear a lot from people "I can't do what you're doing" Of course you can, I'd rather you never have to go through what I am, but still, yes you can do this. You can because I say you can. Find the self confidence to learn to either work around your fears, or come to terms with them. You can do this, and probably better than I
Get your boobs checked ladies, for yourself and your family.
Love ya, and shit
Friday, October 18, 2013
Wow I'm tired
Today is Liz's birthday. My love, my rock, and my soul mate, have a wonderful day. I'll make sure you can do anything you want.
Yesterday Liz and I went to see RUSH. The movie about Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. In the opening scene the cars are all set for the start of the race and I recognize all the drivers names on their cars. I followed F1 and GT gran prix racing during that time very closely. Unlike today where the cars are the stars with paddle shifters, telemetry on the engine and suspension. Those guys drove. They listened. The felt how the car was driving. They ran clutch, brake, gas, and shifter like a symphony. It was real racing then. They are fast now, but it's not the same to me, watching the drivers not even have to drop a hand to shift. It's just different, and as far as racing goes, I'm way old school. Niki Lauda, besides being a great driver, was also a leader in safety. Even after his horrendous wreck and burning, he wanted to race, just race under the safest conditions possible. He and Jackie Stewart were leaders in that area. So many terrible wrecks and so many of those avoidable if the track owners had done what they needed to in order to handle much faster cars. All that being said, it was a good movie about two competitors that over the years also became friends. The movie doesn't show that as much, but it was still a good movie. Not and In Your Face kind of affair, but a bit more subtle. Lauda had most of his face burned away, and was back in a Ferrari 43 days after his wreck. Huge determination, and inspiring. Liz like the movie as well. So it was a win/win there.
So yeah, I'm way tired these last few days. It's part and parcel to an aggressive cancer that is doing it's best to piss me off. And it's succeeding. The rat bastard. It's working on me by not allowing me sleep that's all continuous. I have to wake up more often at night now to clear my trach tube so I can breath better. I've had to give up my bed again. I've tried sleeping in it a few times, but I end up feeling like I'm drowning. That sucks. The bed is more comfy, and I can reach over and feel my wife. Turns out after 21 years I got used to going to sleep with one hand on her. Go figgar. So I wake up tired. There's been weather changes here as well that kind of have me off normal. The cool weather is great, but it's also not helping some of my physical ailments. Imagine having a runny nose, or sinus drainage that has no where to go, and makes it hard to catch a breath through your nose or mouth. Then imagine that causing you to gag and possibly vomit. Yeah, that's been me for a week or so now. Weed pollen is high and of all the things we can do to dry up my sinuses, alway dry my mouth out so badly it gets sore. I also have a sore spot in the back of my mouth today. Not sure if it's to do with the drainage or cancer. I'll have the hospice nurse check it for me.
I started trying to do some extra stuff early yesterday and this morning, hoping to retain some of the muscle mass that I'm losing. It's damn painful at times, but I think it's necessary for my body and my mind to get into a holding pattern at least. It's damn rough mentally for me to watch myself kind of shrivel away. Folks say I look ok and that I'm looking strong. Bless them, it's a boost for me. I feel it going. And maybe, since it's my own body, I'm hypersensitive to how it's working. I know I don't feel as well as I did three weeks ago. I do know, however that the lymphedema therapy has done wonders for pulling the swelling out of both sides of my face, neck, and shoulders. That helps a lot, both physically and mentally. To me the biggest part of this fight I'm in is mental. I can't stop the physical sides of what going to happen, that's a given. But by God I don't have to let it run me mentally as well. Even when it's a struggle to stay up beat and ahead of what's coming, I will strive for that every day. No, not every day is easy. In fact they get progressively more difficult. For example, at the movie yesterday I had to get up three times, got to the hall and suction out my mouth and as much of my throat as I could. Was it fun? Fuck no it's not fun, but I didn't let that take away from going to the movies with my wife. Our first date was to a movie, DOA with Kenneth Branagh. I was a little preoccupied to notice much of the movie. Liz is a beauty and I had trouble keeping my eyes on the screen and not her face. I was sure hoping that evening that we could have a few more dates down the road. Turned out to be a lot of dates and a lot of years. Best part of my life, really.
It's been really nice out. So to take advantage of that, I'm going to try and clean up the back yard some. It needs it badly. Redneck Paradise has fallen into disrepair since the city put on added payment for water bills. It's a sliding scale. Use up to X amount and its so much per hundred gallons, over that the rate increases. Then really increases. We are in a drought, so I didn't mind not watering the lawn. Although front and back look terrible now, the new water source should be into Midland by the middle of next year and Liz can start watering again. That'll help out a lot. So, here's how I'll have to do my thing in the back yard. I can work about 10 minutes, then set and catch up for about 20 minutes. Yes, that's how much the cancer has taken from me so far, but fuck him, I'll do what I can just to spite the miserable bastard. Liz is working the football game tonight. They have portable x-ray equipment at the stadium. I think she's scoring me a pass so I can get in with her and watch the game, which also means watching my son march in the band at half time.
Jumping into the Way Back Machine. I made a mistake once in 1982. We had a wireline company coming out to reperforate a well we were doing a workover on. These guys had been out a lot with us all that summer since we were balls to the wall trying to improve production over an entire area. Nothing but work overs that summer. The other rig companies got all the rod and tubing work. Bless their little pea pickin hearts. Anyway, the guy starts walking up to the rig and I hollered "Dude! How's your wife and my kids?!?!" He screamed and started running at me. Being of more survival instinct than normal, I jumped onto the rig and headed up the ladder. I knew the guy was afraid of heights and was hoping he's stop way before I ran out of derrick. He did, and when he calmed down, he told me that his wife had been screwing around on him for several years, and that 2 of his kids weren't really his. I was a bit more mindful after that, about what came flying out of my mouth.
Book of Rock: Be assertive, but don't be an asshole. You'll get more accomplished with other people if your attitude is "Let's all of us do this. But remember, I'm still the boss here. If things aren't going like I'd like them, we'll stop and find out why". Works pretty well. In fact the only times I've blown a complete gasket while ramrodding gangs in the field, was when it was blatantly obvious that they were ignoring everything I told them to do. I put things in a certain order at work, so that when we are going along, we aren't doubling back constantly. Start wasting my time, and your ass is grass. If we have to change plans, and that happens, it's not big deal. We sort that out. Last year I was put in charge of rebuilding an entire tank battery. Six production tanks, one water tank, and eight heater/treaters all jumbled in like they were put there by mistake. I had 8 days. We were cleaning out the heaters and had to have them all finished in one day so the crane could come move them out of the battery the next. A truck driver took one load to a disposal. Should have been gone about an hour. Four hours later he shows back up. I was asking him nicely what took so long, since we are so far behind now. He messed up. He smiled at me, turned his back to me and started to laugh with his swamper. By the time I got done eating his ass out as loudly as was possible for me, the other three drivers and roustabout gangs saw Mr Temper. We finished that battery in 7 days, with the exception of two small wells that we didn't quite get hooked up. New well came on and it was ready to rock and roll. I never once had to stop and find out why we weren't moving along ever again. If there was trouble with something, the gang pusher came to me and we worked out a different direction. Works wonderfully.
Do the right thing today, even if no one is watching. Go the speed limit, use your directional lights. Acknowledge some stranger. A little of that goes a long way for other people, and yourself.
Firm handshakes for all. No one likes a handshake that's like grabbing a recently deceased person's mitt.
Love ya
Yesterday Liz and I went to see RUSH. The movie about Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. In the opening scene the cars are all set for the start of the race and I recognize all the drivers names on their cars. I followed F1 and GT gran prix racing during that time very closely. Unlike today where the cars are the stars with paddle shifters, telemetry on the engine and suspension. Those guys drove. They listened. The felt how the car was driving. They ran clutch, brake, gas, and shifter like a symphony. It was real racing then. They are fast now, but it's not the same to me, watching the drivers not even have to drop a hand to shift. It's just different, and as far as racing goes, I'm way old school. Niki Lauda, besides being a great driver, was also a leader in safety. Even after his horrendous wreck and burning, he wanted to race, just race under the safest conditions possible. He and Jackie Stewart were leaders in that area. So many terrible wrecks and so many of those avoidable if the track owners had done what they needed to in order to handle much faster cars. All that being said, it was a good movie about two competitors that over the years also became friends. The movie doesn't show that as much, but it was still a good movie. Not and In Your Face kind of affair, but a bit more subtle. Lauda had most of his face burned away, and was back in a Ferrari 43 days after his wreck. Huge determination, and inspiring. Liz like the movie as well. So it was a win/win there.
So yeah, I'm way tired these last few days. It's part and parcel to an aggressive cancer that is doing it's best to piss me off. And it's succeeding. The rat bastard. It's working on me by not allowing me sleep that's all continuous. I have to wake up more often at night now to clear my trach tube so I can breath better. I've had to give up my bed again. I've tried sleeping in it a few times, but I end up feeling like I'm drowning. That sucks. The bed is more comfy, and I can reach over and feel my wife. Turns out after 21 years I got used to going to sleep with one hand on her. Go figgar. So I wake up tired. There's been weather changes here as well that kind of have me off normal. The cool weather is great, but it's also not helping some of my physical ailments. Imagine having a runny nose, or sinus drainage that has no where to go, and makes it hard to catch a breath through your nose or mouth. Then imagine that causing you to gag and possibly vomit. Yeah, that's been me for a week or so now. Weed pollen is high and of all the things we can do to dry up my sinuses, alway dry my mouth out so badly it gets sore. I also have a sore spot in the back of my mouth today. Not sure if it's to do with the drainage or cancer. I'll have the hospice nurse check it for me.
I started trying to do some extra stuff early yesterday and this morning, hoping to retain some of the muscle mass that I'm losing. It's damn painful at times, but I think it's necessary for my body and my mind to get into a holding pattern at least. It's damn rough mentally for me to watch myself kind of shrivel away. Folks say I look ok and that I'm looking strong. Bless them, it's a boost for me. I feel it going. And maybe, since it's my own body, I'm hypersensitive to how it's working. I know I don't feel as well as I did three weeks ago. I do know, however that the lymphedema therapy has done wonders for pulling the swelling out of both sides of my face, neck, and shoulders. That helps a lot, both physically and mentally. To me the biggest part of this fight I'm in is mental. I can't stop the physical sides of what going to happen, that's a given. But by God I don't have to let it run me mentally as well. Even when it's a struggle to stay up beat and ahead of what's coming, I will strive for that every day. No, not every day is easy. In fact they get progressively more difficult. For example, at the movie yesterday I had to get up three times, got to the hall and suction out my mouth and as much of my throat as I could. Was it fun? Fuck no it's not fun, but I didn't let that take away from going to the movies with my wife. Our first date was to a movie, DOA with Kenneth Branagh. I was a little preoccupied to notice much of the movie. Liz is a beauty and I had trouble keeping my eyes on the screen and not her face. I was sure hoping that evening that we could have a few more dates down the road. Turned out to be a lot of dates and a lot of years. Best part of my life, really.
It's been really nice out. So to take advantage of that, I'm going to try and clean up the back yard some. It needs it badly. Redneck Paradise has fallen into disrepair since the city put on added payment for water bills. It's a sliding scale. Use up to X amount and its so much per hundred gallons, over that the rate increases. Then really increases. We are in a drought, so I didn't mind not watering the lawn. Although front and back look terrible now, the new water source should be into Midland by the middle of next year and Liz can start watering again. That'll help out a lot. So, here's how I'll have to do my thing in the back yard. I can work about 10 minutes, then set and catch up for about 20 minutes. Yes, that's how much the cancer has taken from me so far, but fuck him, I'll do what I can just to spite the miserable bastard. Liz is working the football game tonight. They have portable x-ray equipment at the stadium. I think she's scoring me a pass so I can get in with her and watch the game, which also means watching my son march in the band at half time.
Jumping into the Way Back Machine. I made a mistake once in 1982. We had a wireline company coming out to reperforate a well we were doing a workover on. These guys had been out a lot with us all that summer since we were balls to the wall trying to improve production over an entire area. Nothing but work overs that summer. The other rig companies got all the rod and tubing work. Bless their little pea pickin hearts. Anyway, the guy starts walking up to the rig and I hollered "Dude! How's your wife and my kids?!?!" He screamed and started running at me. Being of more survival instinct than normal, I jumped onto the rig and headed up the ladder. I knew the guy was afraid of heights and was hoping he's stop way before I ran out of derrick. He did, and when he calmed down, he told me that his wife had been screwing around on him for several years, and that 2 of his kids weren't really his. I was a bit more mindful after that, about what came flying out of my mouth.
Book of Rock: Be assertive, but don't be an asshole. You'll get more accomplished with other people if your attitude is "Let's all of us do this. But remember, I'm still the boss here. If things aren't going like I'd like them, we'll stop and find out why". Works pretty well. In fact the only times I've blown a complete gasket while ramrodding gangs in the field, was when it was blatantly obvious that they were ignoring everything I told them to do. I put things in a certain order at work, so that when we are going along, we aren't doubling back constantly. Start wasting my time, and your ass is grass. If we have to change plans, and that happens, it's not big deal. We sort that out. Last year I was put in charge of rebuilding an entire tank battery. Six production tanks, one water tank, and eight heater/treaters all jumbled in like they were put there by mistake. I had 8 days. We were cleaning out the heaters and had to have them all finished in one day so the crane could come move them out of the battery the next. A truck driver took one load to a disposal. Should have been gone about an hour. Four hours later he shows back up. I was asking him nicely what took so long, since we are so far behind now. He messed up. He smiled at me, turned his back to me and started to laugh with his swamper. By the time I got done eating his ass out as loudly as was possible for me, the other three drivers and roustabout gangs saw Mr Temper. We finished that battery in 7 days, with the exception of two small wells that we didn't quite get hooked up. New well came on and it was ready to rock and roll. I never once had to stop and find out why we weren't moving along ever again. If there was trouble with something, the gang pusher came to me and we worked out a different direction. Works wonderfully.
Do the right thing today, even if no one is watching. Go the speed limit, use your directional lights. Acknowledge some stranger. A little of that goes a long way for other people, and yourself.
Firm handshakes for all. No one likes a handshake that's like grabbing a recently deceased person's mitt.
Love ya
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Went to see my buds at work, maybe for the last time
Yesterday was Safety Meeting Day at my Apache field office. Since it's open enrollment time for next years benefits, three area offices were in attendance. 120 plus men and women. That's a lot more than we had two years ago. Then there would maybe have been 50 or maybe 60. Doubling the employment for field and field office help in two years is pretty amazing. Their benefits from health, dental, vision and life insurance are very good, always have been. There are some other options going in new next year as well. I went to not only see my work buddies, but to be the poster boy for taking advantage of everything Apache has to offer benefit wise. They've taken great care of me, and helped my wife after I went on Long Term Disability when I wasn't considered an employee any longer. That's going above and beyond, and I let the HR people know that, and asked if they'd let Houston know that as well. Great company to work for, and if any of you would be wiling to move to West Texas, I'd advise looking into Apache above the other companies.
There, my benefits and Apache rant is complete, let me move along. It's such a pain for me to travel anywhere now, that driving fifty five miles one way, sitting for around three hours of safety meeting and benefits meeting wore me plumb the fuck out. I will say this though. It was worth every minute of it. After the meeting was over, a bunch of the guys hung around shooting the breeze. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. On a not so happy note, it may have been the last trip out there I can make. At least solo driving. It took so much out of me that I could barely move when I got home. I know I've got to get more active, and that will help some, but it's still difficult right now. There's a lot of things, though, that makes me want to suffer through the extra bullshit and go see my work friends more often. Besides being a bunch of really good men, we accomplished something out there in the field that we should be very proud of indeed. I chatted, as best I can write anyway, with our area Supervisor. I told him "thanks" for giving me the opportunity to live up to my own hype, and how much I appreciated his support. It wasn't an easy decision on his part, when I first moved to that field I wasn't the most cooperative employee. Field Foreman and I didn't get along. New Field Foreman later, and I was promoted to Instrument Tech. And I got the chance to show the bosses I wasn't just bullshitting, that I really could do the work. I like to think I succeeded. I also told him that I was proud to work under his supervision for the entire three fields he supervised. We accomplished a lot of rebuilds, adding new production that's been very stable over the past nearly two years. It was an entire turn around for the field, and we all deserved a little pat on the back for it. The guys that replaced me are doing good work as well. I'm very proud of the way the field turned around, and that the men who replaced me see that as well, and continue to do yeoman's work to help carry on that standard. Trust me, that ain't easy either. The job didn't define me, I defined what my job should be, and along with my Field Foreman, we hit that goal. I will try and get back to the field office at least a couple of more times. But as I told my boss and the Area Super, that was probably my last trip out there. I'm gonna have to suck it up, put on my "non bitch" oil field pants and suffer the consequences and go back out there a couple more times.
So, all that being what it is on my "have fun" front, I promised I'd keep updating on the cancer's progress. I know I have mentioned my throat bleeding a bit more often and that's no shit, it's getting worse. We've had a change in the weather from very warm and dry to cool and humid. That's causing me to secrete more mucus and saliva. My coughing increases from that since I can't swallow much of anything at all anymore, which in turn as made my cancer spots in my throat and more to become irritated. That is part of the increase in bleeding. It's not all of it though. A big part of it is that the cancer, besides working itself into a frenzy to kill me, likes to cause my throat to bleed. My cancer is an asshole. Sometimes, the harder I fight it, the meaner it gets. So I fight it harder. And it gets meaner, so I fight it harder. Beginning to see a pattern yet? Yesterday I was asked what the good things in my life are. That's something no one has asked before. I had to think about it. Waking up topped the list, even if it means I'm not getting enough sleep, it's still a good thing to wake up. Walking around a bit is a good thing. I can't go as far, but it's still out in the open, right? I write this blog, which I thoroughly enjoy. Yeah yeah, I had to get pestered into writing it, but I'm glad I started it. It's, I hope, a little educational and a bit therapeutic for me. It's a good thing. Watching my family go through their daily routines, that's a really good thing. If I stop and take the time, my really good things far outweigh the dying parts of this trip called Terminal Velocity.
Yeah, the bleeding is getting worse. I once again felt how far my legs have gone. My right leg gets a slight limp when it gets tired. It get's tired quickly, since it's missing a goodly sized chunk of quadricep.
I'm not ready to be a tottering old man who can barely get around. So beginning today, I'm going to work a little harder and regaining some muscle mass all over. All the while hoping that I don't cause my face to swell up again, like it's done in the past. It's a bit painful, as well, to work my upper body. I have to really watch what I'm doing, or I'll tighten the area where they removed my pec and cause it to be mad at me and cramp. Or go into chronic hurt. That's what happened the last time I worked out steadily. I did more harm to myself than good. I say that because I lost range of motion in my left arm and shoulder, as well as losing it in my neck and head. I know at this point I'll never get as much neck and head movement that I could have had they been able to continue reconstructive surgery on my pec areas. So I must watch myself. And I'm terrible at watching myself.
The last times I've worked out at the gym I had something happen I'd never experienced before in all the time I trained. I lost heart. I got down on myself for not making the gains and strides I felt I should have. I'm messed up, right? Missing a big portion of my quad, my pec is stuck in my mouth, I've got an aggressive cancer trying it's best to kill me sooner rather than later, and I get down on myself? Hell, boy, what the fuck is wrong with you? It's how I am, that's whats wrong. I like to see gains, but this is the first time, knowing all that's not right with me physically, that I got disheartened. I had to step back and remind myself that this is going to take more time to do than any other time I've lifted after a hiatus.
I didn't even let it bother me when my bicep tendon repair job had me slowed to a snails pace lifting wise. I'm not really certain why I got the way I did, but I certainly wasn't giving myself the needed break to continue. I tell people, because I heard it from more than one trainer, that lifting and training are 90% in your head. And it's true. This time the head won though. I must get started doing something, and I know it's going to be with the elastic bands I got when I first started PT. I can use those and maybe hold off losing more muscle mass. Or at worst, slow it down a little. It bugs me that I've gotten too gun shy to lift. Mental thing, but also a reality. Time to get my shit together a bit, while I'm still strong enough to carry it around.
There are some other things going on that I'm not so sure aren't cancer related. I wear out quickly. Some of that is because I'm more sedentary than I had been in the past. I can fix that. But I know some of it is because the cancer also exacts a price for feeding itself off of my body. As it grows, my stamina decreases. That's why I went to see the Doc again a little less than a year ago. I knew something wasn't right, because I was losing steam too quickly. This is what I'm feeling now. The cancer is moving about and gaining ground. That is going to cause me to lose ground. I dislike that, but it's something I know I have to contend with. It could be worse, I could be to the point that I can't get out at all. That would suck all around. I take today, and give it 100% of what I have in me at the time. That's not a change for me, I tended to do that when I was healthy. I also find that if I get in the proper mindset I can get done more than I originally thought I could. That's a goal to set. Just to piss the cancer off even more, by working harder at what I can do, and gaining some personal goals, no matter how small they are.
Okay, that's the rant for the day.
Book Of Rock: If you don't like your job, and find yourself bitching about it all the time, QUIT! Don't let your negative bullshit infect the people around you who may enjoy what they do. Everyone has a day or so at work where it's bitch time. Everyone. But most people enjoy what they do and that bitch time is short lived. If all you've got are things to complain about, get the fuck away. If you thrive on your own misery, bitch to yourself away from everyone else. Constant complaining is like a cancer in the work place. Eventually, it starts to affect others as well. They don't need to hear you gripe, ever.
Now, go forth, enjoy the day. Revel in what ever you can find that's out of the ordinary. It may be the last time you see what ever is out of the ordinary again. Make the most of it. Every day is a gift, treat it as such.
Hugs and quick grope for the ladies. Fellas, you're on your own for a quick grope
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Dammit
It's been my week to piss people off, and it's only Tuesday. That's getting close to a new record for me. I used some very strong language on my Aunt's FaceBook status. Something I shouldn't have done, apologized for, and set a new rule for myself. Without going into detail, I won't be offering any help, good, bad, or indifferent to the person that needed it. Not ever.
So, along with my volatile temper, I'm finding that I don't drain fluid throughout my body as well as it did even a month ago. That makes for different kinds of pain in a lot of different places. The Lymphedema massage helps greatly. At least for now. My face as of this morning isn't as swollen on either side. The area around where the put the pectoral muscle isn't rock hard like it was yesterday. My neck is somewhat reduced as well. Twice a week is all I'm scheduled for, but that does wonders. When it ceases to help, and it will, I'm going to miss the help it does give. It reduces all different kinds of pain for me in more than one area. The retention of the fluid balls up in my neck. That makes my traps sore, which in turn makes the area around my shoulder blades sore, which also makes my lats sore. And in some cases just plain damned sensitive. On the way to the Therapist yesterday, my lats and shoulders got to hurting and spasming enough I was afraid I'd have to stop and get someone to come get me. Bad enough little drops of water fell out of my eyes for a few minutes. Then it all kinda backed off long enough for me to drive that last mile and get in for therapy. I was at an 8 when I went in (told the therapist 6, because she worries if I'm 8 or over on the pain scale), and by the time I left it was down to a 2 on the pain scale. I like that.
My reconstructive pec muscle in my face has been cramping up like there's no tomorrow. More than a few times a day. It also runs the gambit of just a little light cramp, up to and including cramping so hard it pulls me head towards it, and makes the other side of my jaw pop in and out of place. That'll but hair on your chest. First time it happened I was near freak out. Did I panic? I did not! But I wanted to for a second or so. It hurts bad enough I see colors flash past. Reds and blues most often, sometimes orange and yellow. It's base is also still attached to my chest, so when it cramps like that it will pull my noggin down and to the left, and tends to close my left eye. Talk about looking like a cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Popeye with one squinky eye. As a rule, until the last six or eight days, it only cramped once in a while. That's becoming a time or two every week. And since Sunday, 4 times a day. So far this morning I've managed to miss that. I'm not certain how because the cramping stuff started about 4 yesterday morning and hit about every 4-5 hours all day long. Yesterday and some early this morning was "Let's cough and keep Rocky awake" time. I slept a couple of hours, coughing fit. Chatted with a person online. Fell asleep for about an hour and half. Coughing spell. This time I just stayed up. I did spend the better part of an hour coughing until my sides hurt. It finally slowed up enough to allow me to get my meds in. Got that done, waited a bit, then fed. Fortunately, digging around in my box of feed bags, I found one with large bore tubing. Fifteen minutes to feed. That's a lot better than the forty-five minutes to one hour it takes to get 16 oz of formula in for a portion of my days eating.
I'm going to our field office tomorrow after therapy. Possibly my last trip out. It's only 110 miles round trip, but even that wears on me now. And it's a bit rough emotionally. True, I'm glad to see the guys I work with. But it's hard to think that I'll not be back to work. No, not think that. I know I won't be back to work. I didn't let work define who I was, but I certainly like the challenges it offered. It was nice to be needed and relied upon. I'm at an impasse with that right now. I feel pretty damned useless at home. My strength is going, so I can't carry some of the things I used just reach out and grab. I wear out rapidly, so I can't get accomplished some of the things I'd like to get done on any given day. That's probably why I have very little tolerance for people that whine, or get snotty when you offer them help. I'll work on that, but giving it a try is all I can promise. The same thing goes with someone who has been through cancer treatment, get sick because they HAVE to be out in bad weather, then piss and moan about being sick. I don't believe I have time to coddle over the choices a person makes. Not all mine have been perfect for certain, then again, I don't whine about them either. My purpose of going to the field office is that the HR people are going to be there going over all the stuff in our benefits package. I'm going to be there Poster Boy, and they don't know it yet. I worked way hard keeping the jobs I've had through several boom/bust cycles. It wasn't luck, it was determination. I worked in place of a couple of people, more than once during that period. Never bitched about it either. Just went out and did what they asked of me, to the best of my ability.
The reward for that is keeping all the insurance, stock options, and retirement that I have now. I went where the work was, did what they asked of me, and did that without bitching. Okay, I didn't bitch to anyone but myself. At least not some in ear shot of other people. I chased the money as well. I don't have a college degree, and for what I do that doesn't matter. I always did the best I could, never counted on a raise or even keeping my job. Giant Pet Peeve: People who go to college to acquire a degree in some area of education that you can't make huge money doing. Then they complain that the pay isn't any good, or that the benefits aren't great. You knew that going in, don't piss about something that you've chosen to do in your life, knowing full well what the pay was going to be right out the gate. I've offered different people at different times help in finding a job in West Texas. Oil related for certain. Nearly all of them said "No way I'd live in Texas!!". Fine, fucking starve on unemployment then while you're waiting for the next job that isn't coming around.
I seem to be a bit ranting and rambling this morning. Apparently I was a bit more pissed than I thought I was. I tend to get that way when people are snarky, and expect to be taken care of at my expense. I probably should end this here, lest I become incredibly preachy about being self reliant.
Have fun today. There are far more good things out there than bad. Find those and enjoy them. I'm going to enjoy watching the insides of my eyelids in a bit. Right after I take the boy to school
So, along with my volatile temper, I'm finding that I don't drain fluid throughout my body as well as it did even a month ago. That makes for different kinds of pain in a lot of different places. The Lymphedema massage helps greatly. At least for now. My face as of this morning isn't as swollen on either side. The area around where the put the pectoral muscle isn't rock hard like it was yesterday. My neck is somewhat reduced as well. Twice a week is all I'm scheduled for, but that does wonders. When it ceases to help, and it will, I'm going to miss the help it does give. It reduces all different kinds of pain for me in more than one area. The retention of the fluid balls up in my neck. That makes my traps sore, which in turn makes the area around my shoulder blades sore, which also makes my lats sore. And in some cases just plain damned sensitive. On the way to the Therapist yesterday, my lats and shoulders got to hurting and spasming enough I was afraid I'd have to stop and get someone to come get me. Bad enough little drops of water fell out of my eyes for a few minutes. Then it all kinda backed off long enough for me to drive that last mile and get in for therapy. I was at an 8 when I went in (told the therapist 6, because she worries if I'm 8 or over on the pain scale), and by the time I left it was down to a 2 on the pain scale. I like that.
My reconstructive pec muscle in my face has been cramping up like there's no tomorrow. More than a few times a day. It also runs the gambit of just a little light cramp, up to and including cramping so hard it pulls me head towards it, and makes the other side of my jaw pop in and out of place. That'll but hair on your chest. First time it happened I was near freak out. Did I panic? I did not! But I wanted to for a second or so. It hurts bad enough I see colors flash past. Reds and blues most often, sometimes orange and yellow. It's base is also still attached to my chest, so when it cramps like that it will pull my noggin down and to the left, and tends to close my left eye. Talk about looking like a cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Popeye with one squinky eye. As a rule, until the last six or eight days, it only cramped once in a while. That's becoming a time or two every week. And since Sunday, 4 times a day. So far this morning I've managed to miss that. I'm not certain how because the cramping stuff started about 4 yesterday morning and hit about every 4-5 hours all day long. Yesterday and some early this morning was "Let's cough and keep Rocky awake" time. I slept a couple of hours, coughing fit. Chatted with a person online. Fell asleep for about an hour and half. Coughing spell. This time I just stayed up. I did spend the better part of an hour coughing until my sides hurt. It finally slowed up enough to allow me to get my meds in. Got that done, waited a bit, then fed. Fortunately, digging around in my box of feed bags, I found one with large bore tubing. Fifteen minutes to feed. That's a lot better than the forty-five minutes to one hour it takes to get 16 oz of formula in for a portion of my days eating.
I'm going to our field office tomorrow after therapy. Possibly my last trip out. It's only 110 miles round trip, but even that wears on me now. And it's a bit rough emotionally. True, I'm glad to see the guys I work with. But it's hard to think that I'll not be back to work. No, not think that. I know I won't be back to work. I didn't let work define who I was, but I certainly like the challenges it offered. It was nice to be needed and relied upon. I'm at an impasse with that right now. I feel pretty damned useless at home. My strength is going, so I can't carry some of the things I used just reach out and grab. I wear out rapidly, so I can't get accomplished some of the things I'd like to get done on any given day. That's probably why I have very little tolerance for people that whine, or get snotty when you offer them help. I'll work on that, but giving it a try is all I can promise. The same thing goes with someone who has been through cancer treatment, get sick because they HAVE to be out in bad weather, then piss and moan about being sick. I don't believe I have time to coddle over the choices a person makes. Not all mine have been perfect for certain, then again, I don't whine about them either. My purpose of going to the field office is that the HR people are going to be there going over all the stuff in our benefits package. I'm going to be there Poster Boy, and they don't know it yet. I worked way hard keeping the jobs I've had through several boom/bust cycles. It wasn't luck, it was determination. I worked in place of a couple of people, more than once during that period. Never bitched about it either. Just went out and did what they asked of me, to the best of my ability.
The reward for that is keeping all the insurance, stock options, and retirement that I have now. I went where the work was, did what they asked of me, and did that without bitching. Okay, I didn't bitch to anyone but myself. At least not some in ear shot of other people. I chased the money as well. I don't have a college degree, and for what I do that doesn't matter. I always did the best I could, never counted on a raise or even keeping my job. Giant Pet Peeve: People who go to college to acquire a degree in some area of education that you can't make huge money doing. Then they complain that the pay isn't any good, or that the benefits aren't great. You knew that going in, don't piss about something that you've chosen to do in your life, knowing full well what the pay was going to be right out the gate. I've offered different people at different times help in finding a job in West Texas. Oil related for certain. Nearly all of them said "No way I'd live in Texas!!". Fine, fucking starve on unemployment then while you're waiting for the next job that isn't coming around.
I seem to be a bit ranting and rambling this morning. Apparently I was a bit more pissed than I thought I was. I tend to get that way when people are snarky, and expect to be taken care of at my expense. I probably should end this here, lest I become incredibly preachy about being self reliant.
Have fun today. There are far more good things out there than bad. Find those and enjoy them. I'm going to enjoy watching the insides of my eyelids in a bit. Right after I take the boy to school
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