Latest News for the Month of
October 2007
Dang...I am real late on an update huh ???
Things in sunny Florida have been OK. No major worries of any sort and life has just been gradually moving on. We have been spending a great deal of time on our bikes lately as the temperature has dropped a few degrees. While its still hot it has dropped enough to make riding bearable again.
We joined the Southern Cruisers which is a group of bikers that have the same interests as us. We have a great chapter filled with some awesome people who make riding fun. Ally has enjoyed it as one of the female bikers is an Aussie. :) This group is very active and they spend a lot of time riding to different destinations ( which always seems to center around food ). The main reason we joined this group is because they are a family organization and their activities center around having fun without alcohol. It's been a lot of fun and of course we have Bruce go a long with us. Speaking of Bruce, we have had a lot of fun riding this fall together. I am so glad he is back because we laugh a lot and cut up together. He is just a loyal and dear friend and is like a brother to me. A better man you will not find.
Ally is doing great and is busy teaching her long haired math. How anyone can enjoy doing that is beyond me. I hated math in high school and I still hate math. I would rather have a dang root canal then have to go to a school everyday and teach Calculus. YUCK.... But she enjoys it and loves the kids. This weekend is homecoming so we have to do the Homecoming parade and game Friday and then chaperone the homecoming dance on Saturday so its going to be a busy weekend. She really likes to support the school including all these extra activities.
I heard from Lindy ( I hear from a several times a week actually ) and him, Kim and Ella are just finishing up a week long camping trip in their coach. It sounded like they had a ball visiting caverns, a mock antique village and other sites in Ohio. Natalia is working her fool head off as usual. She puts in a lot of hours but still manages to call her Daddy and harass him.
On the health front its been an up and down battle the last couple weeks. My latest blood tests came back and showed an elevation in my hemaglobin. My platelets and white cells looked good but the red cells are always the hardest to control. I was hoping to begin dropping my chemo dose down and work to get off it, but it looks like I am going to have to stick to the heavy doses and continue the injections. I have been chasing my pro thrombin times ( clotting factor ) like a mongoose after a Cobra snake. I went from a very high reading to a very low reading and back again. It's caused a lot of dizzy spells and heart arrhythmias along the way but I have hung in there and continue to battle it. I am hoping things stabilize and I still cannot understand what caused them to get so far out of whack. I have always been stable with my PT numbers in the past so this is a rarity.
I think some of the great news is that I am really excited about getting my new hearing aids this week. Yes folks, I broke down and bought a set of hearing aids. I lost some hearing two years ago but I could still hear people OK. Then sometime this year I had a huge drop in my hearing and discussed this with Dr. Brockmyre. It was his feeling I had another stroke and it hit the auditory center of my brain. The loss of hearing from that stroke was very marked and abrupt and really started effecting my life. It was almost like it happened overnight ( which I assume it did ). I started having significant problems hearing and understanding people and I had to have the TV up to near full volume. Ally has been patient through it all but it did grind on her nerves sometimes I think. She seemed to always have to repeat herself a few times when talking with me. Being the cheap old coot that I am, I elected to buy a very cheap set. I want to try them out first to see if I am going to be able to stand having hearing aids stuck in my ear all day. If I get comfortable with them then I will probably buy a new set that is more expensive and comfortable. I can always ask for a new set for my 50th birthday. :) A cheap set can run less then $ 100. A real good set as much as $ 1,200 and a top of the line set can be as much as $ 5,000. Pretty big difference. At $ 5,000 I think I would rather be deaf. :) I would be happy with the $ 1,200 programmable set as these work great. I will let ya'll know how the cheap set goes. They are going to be a pain in the butt as they do not have the conveniences that the programmable ones have but they will give me an idea as to how I will get along with hearing aids.
Several of you have asked about Top Cat, my Catalina. I haven't done much work on the car as of late because I have been busy with other projects. I plan on getting back to the car this week since it has gotten cooler and I finished off several of the other items on my " honey do " list. Hopefully I will have it running again by Sunday, the 21'st.
I will try and get some pictures posted as I haven't been very good lately on taking new ones. I believe Kimberly has taken new ones of Ella and their camping trip so I will have to steal some from her web site. :)
I hope this finds all of you in good health and spirits. For our Northern family and friends - it is that time of year again isn't it ? Rake the leaves, winterize things and wait it out for the snow. But if its any consolation to you, I read where the winter is again supposed to be mild in the North. To our family and friends in Australia......look out here comes summer and the hot humid weather.
Happy Halloween !!
This has been a rough ending to a month that started out pretty decent. Actually I am very glad October is about over and I am hoping November will be the start of a great month for me.
First the good news. Our next door neighbors Jim & Mary are back down here in the sunny climates of Florida and its been great to see them again. Jim keeps me laughing and I really enjoy our talks. If I am having a bad day I only need to find him and start up a conversation and he has me laughing my butt off in record time. We really get off on tangents sometimes discussing politics, the world, etc. Despite being a Canadian, he stays on top of American politics better then most Americans. It was good to see their rig pull in and park. Isn't it amazing how some people make a difference in your life ? Glad to have you back here Doc & Mary.
Speaking of friends. My buddy Bruce has been miserable as hell. He found he has shingles and the pain where the blisters are ( his left arm and hand ) has been horrible. To make matters worse, he has had so much pain and so many blisters he hasn't been able to ride his motorcycle. its been driving him insane. :) But it looks like the shingles is now improving and the rash and blisters is clearing up. I myself have never had them and by the looks of them I do not want to have them. What is weird is that shingles is actually the chicken pox virus. If you have had the chicken pox then you can develop shingles in the future. It doesn't look to pleasant and we have felt bad for Bruce having to go through this. Thankfully he is improving and will back to riding soon.
In other news, can you believe the United States has run out of Intron A Interferon ? I use a special powdered form of this chemo drug that requires mixing two solutions into one for injection. It seems to be the only drug that my bone marrow responds to when taken in massive doses. Well imagine my surprise when I called the other day to re-order a months supply from Walgreens only to find out its " backordered ". I couldn't believe it. They indicated the manufacturer is behind on production and that it is backordered at the supplier level. Not believing them I contacted other local pharmacies who utilize different wholesaler/suppliers and they had none or could not get it either. I contacted Walmart and Publix pharmacies thinking since they had completely different suppliers that they could get it. They said the same thing. All suppliers ( drug wholesalers ) were out of this very important medicine.
Let me explain just how important this drug is. It is considered a synthetic chemo drug. It is used by people with melanoma cancers, leukemia's, multiple sclerosis, Hepatitis, AID's, lung cancers and a host of other diseases. It is an extremely important drug used by many patients and like myself this drug is responsible for their still being alive. To some patients it is a life giving drug. This isn't a shortage of an aspirin type drug or something like Coumadin where they have a generic substitute. This is a very important and critical chemo type drug that is paramount to ones life and battles with their disease. And the manufacturer runs out of it ? I think I have heard everything now. Talk about poor production planning.
Walgreens was able to get the premixed vials for injection of the same drug ( different formula ) but we have found that it doesn't work well on my counts and also requires two injections per day versus one. Actually, I found it raises my liver enzymes more, has little effect on my blood counts and has a very short shelf life ( measured in hours ) when left out of the fridge. I simply cannot understand how a manufacturer could short an entire country on such an important and critical drug such as Interferon. This is just bloody amazing. Trust me I will be writing letters soon to the manufacturer and the FDA.
To end this month in style I just came down with the sniffles last week after a neighbor visited me who had a nasty cough. And of course in true " Chris fashion " his hacking and coughing helped me start the sniffles which now has turned into bronchitis. So back onto antibiotics and the fight started to prevent pneumonia. So far it has worked and I am fighting the good fight. I had Jim ( my next door neighbor ) listen to my lungs to be sure they were not filling up with crud. He pronounced me alive and said it was simply bronchitis. It's great having a doctor living next door to you. He is retired but I like to keep the old boy in shape and up to date on his medical knowledge. :) The antibiotics seem to be working and I am hoping I will fell better soon. Until then no motorcycle riding as I have been so weak I cannot stand the bike up to ride. I am hoping all this is behind me soon. Please folks. If you have a friend you want to visit who has an impaired immune system or has been taking chemo type drugs which effect their white cell count - do them a BIG favor and stay away from them until your better. People such as ourselves have immune systems that do not work very well and its so tough fighting off these germs. :) Nuff said on this subject.
I believe Ally and I are heading out with the coach on November 10 and going to the Atlantic side for a few days near Titusville. They have an up scale resort there and Jim & Mary gave us a free nights stay coupon so we thought we would give it a try. It is supposed to be a gorgeous resort and Jim and Mary really enjoyed their stay there. We will try and get some pictures for ya'll.
By the way, I did start a new hobby ( sewing ) and will report to you on that in Novembers update. It's not dress or clothes sewing but more the industrial sewing type of work. I bought a new commercial machine and plan on doing all the upholstery work for Top Cat as well as make some sun shades for the coach. I also am planning on trying to make a new convertible top for our Chevy Tracker as well. More on all this next month.
Until the next update, keep enjoying life and be safe out there. I hope you all have a great Halloween. Thanks everyone for your support and thoughts. Keep those prayers coming,
Chris
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