Latest News for the Month of
January 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Get Out There & Make 2008 Great !!!
Wow, what a whirlwind tour we had over the Holiday season. My Mom flew in from Michigan and got to spend a few days in the sun and warm climates before we left for the North. The three of us left out of Florida on Friday the 21st and headed towards Lynchburg, VA to meet up with Natalia and Matt. The trip was pretty uneventful with no problems along the way. We did hit rain and fog while climbing the mountain at Fancy Gap, but got over the mountain and the fog lifted because of the higher elevations. It was so great being back in the mountains that the fog never bothered me. I was just happy to be out of Florida, land of the obnoxious and rude NYC folk. :)
We had a great Christmas but missed Lindy, Kim and Ella. It was so much fun to spend time with Natalia and Matt and what made things even better is that Lindy and Kim left us the keys to the house so we had Christmas inside their home. ( The coach would have made for some tight quarters for 5 adults ). Lindy just had an RV parking spot built at his home for his BUS and that made things really great for us. We had 50 amp electric service, water and sewer right there on his RV site.
After Christmas we headed down to Bristol to check on the house as well as to see Dr. Brockmyre and my girlfriends at the office. It was awesome to see everyone there, Dr. Brockmyre, Jana, Jennifer and Sarah. I picked right up where I left off the last time I seen them all - harassing them to no end. My lab results were yucky, high platelets and red cells but my clotting factor looked good. Overall I am feeling good but am worn out from the trip and having company here. I worked pretty hard at getting a routine down but that kinda got blown away with my Mom being here. It's no biggie as I will fall back into the groove when she is gone, but it does cause me to walk around wondering what the hell I should do next. It seems the more my brain deteriorates, the more I depend on my routines to keep me on track with things. We did talk with Andy ( Dr. Brockmyre ) about how I deteriorated this year. I guess it can be attributed to the strokes I have had this year.
While in Bristol we of course visited with our friends. We had dinner with Kim and Dave and it was great to see them. The next day Ally got to spend time with them again and their new baby Ellie. Needless to say Ally really enjoyed that new baby and spending time with Kim. We also met up with Vicky & Debbie, two other friends of ours. We had a great time laughing, joking and catching up with each other. Sadly we also met with Rose, Paul's ( Goose ) recent widow. It was a very sad part of our trip but one we had to do. I spent two days going through Goose's paperwork getting everything organized for Rose. Ally also took Rose grocery shopping and to the bank to open a new checking account. I was upset the whole time thinking that I wont see him again. It was just a strange feeling to be in Bristol and knowing he wasn't coming around to see us. It was extra hard seeing all of his Maine Corp memorabilia as well as his pictures. Just a very sad time for me. He was a close and awesome friend. Godspeed Goose.
But overall, we were really happy to have completed the trip with no major problems. The highlight of our travels was spending time with Natalia and Matt. I missed my son but surely understood their need to be in Michigan this season. It is my understanding that Lindy, Kim and Ella are going to be making it down here in April for my 50th Birthday. We are going to have a family Bus convention at that time. :)
I have uploaded pictures from our trip. You can view them by ( clicking here ).
I hope your entire holiday season was filled with joy, good health and fun times. I wish all of you the very best for 2008.
Geeezzzz. This seems to be one tough winter for viral bugs. Everyone we run into seems to have had some kind of flu or cold bug. Ally and I have passed our share of the germs she picks up at school back and forth lately and neither of us seem to be able to kick the bug completely. She has had a rough time of it battling it and rids herself of the germ, only to get it right back a day later. This virus that's going around sure is a nasty one as it hangs on for a long time.
I had another round of blood tests and it clearly shows I have left remission and went back to being an over producer of all my blood cell lines. I wasn't a happy camper as I was so dedicated to the chemo regimen the last time and expected a 6 - 8 month remission. Oh well, I will tend to this issue with more chemo in March. Till then, screw it, I plan on raising cane and having fun. :)
This has been an extremely busy year already. With my Mom being here, our travel up North for the holidays and the recent visit by Ally's older brother Con and his wife Debbie, its been a whirlwind. But I wouldn't change a minute of it as its been great to see them all. We both have felt horrible over not being able to do much with Con & Debbie. We both have been so sick that we have had little energy or felt like doing anything but sleep. It was horrible timing for us to get this bug when they arrived. It sure screwed up our plans. Still its been good to see them and spend time with them. They themselves I think are a bit tired as their round the world tour has been a long and exhausting one. They left sometime in December and have been all over the world from Asia to Europe to the USA and now back to Australia. That's been a lot of miles traveled with many stop offs in between for sight seeing.
Our weather has been chilly. A few nights have been downright cold ( down near freezing ) which is never fun in Florida. But it pales in comparison to the cold wave that has hit the North. I am sure that right about now our Northern family and friends have had enough of winter and are looking forward to spring. I can still remember my winter days in Michigan and I hated the majority of those cold days. :)
Things here are still the same. Just a bit colder and a bit busier. I wanted to be sure to throw this update up here. Also I wanted to share with all of you an award that has been given out for the last few years by a Michigan based Racing Group. It is given to a different individual every year and is called the " Chris Throgmartin - Spirit Award ". I was sent a picture of the award and thought I would post it here. Words cannot explain just how honored I feel to have this award given to a person every year that signifies spirit and commitment to the sport of auto racing. They also give out another award called the " Chris Throgmartin - Never Give Up Award". This is awarded to an individual who never quits and keeps going forward while trying to overcome the odds of a problem someone has in life. Both fill my heart with pride and I remain grateful for this sport not forgetting me. Here is a link to the photo of this award. ( click here )
I will write more later. Till then, be safe, be healthy and be sure to enjoy everyday you have above ground. Despite all the problems we have, life is worth living.
Chris
Keep up to date on the latest photos ( by clicking here )