"Personal battles are won

in the heart of the person"

 Latest News for the Month of

Happy New Year

     Wow, 2005 is over with and a New Year begins. I am starting my New Year at Casa Grande, Arizona at a gorgeous RV resort. The weather is fabulous everyday,   sunny and in the 70's, and the nights are cool making it  excellent sleeping weather.

It seems that each New Year starts another round of Chemo and this January wont be any different. I plan on starting my Chemo ( Interferon ) regimen on New Years day. I am sure there are a few of you wondering why I pick this day each year to begin chemo treatments, but there is a significance behind this date. It's the day my little brother Billy was shot and killed. His passing on this day I feel should be marked with new life and each chemo regiment I undertake seems to breathe new life into me. I guess its a way for me to add a positive reflection to the loss of his life. Otherwise, each New Years day takes on nothing more then a sad and depressing moment in time for me. I guess its my way of honoring him as I know his wishes would be for me to inject the nasty drug to stay alive and to keep living life.

The Arizona desert seems to be good for me as I have had many more good days then bad. Sure, I have had days where I have felt rotten but I can contribute those to the long traveling days we had going across the USA. As for the scenery ! Lets say it's different here. There is less green landscape ( grass, trees, etc. ) and the atmosphere is dry, as expected in a desert. It has seemed to help Ingrid's sinuses and I too have noticed a difference in the sinus department. :)

I am having allot of fun and the resort we are staying at is rated as one of the top 5 in the country. There are obviously a few millionaires here as some very high dollar coaches are parked throughout the resort. They make my coach look like a cheap travel trailer. The resort is huge with over 1,500 lots but the people are friendly and I have enjoyed meeting new people. It seems like a mini city here at times as it has everything you would want except a Wal Mart. :) Our direct neighbors are very nice and I have enjoyed shooting the breeze with them. I do feel a bit out of place as this is an over 55 yr old resort. Actually, the majority of people here are much older then that but, as my father taught me, talk, listen and learn because these old people can teach you allot about life. And that they do as their stories of yesteryear are sometimes amazing. They have one of the best equipped resorts and have every kind of class you can think of from stain glass to pottery to sewing to silversmithing and woodcarving. Their woodshop is one of the  best in the country and I plan on heading there whenever I feel good enough. I am hoping to hook up with an older craftsman who can teach me the art of furniture and cabinet making. There is so much I can learn from some of these older guys who have been doing woodworking for years and some are true artists.

On the medical front, I have my days I am sore, weak at times, fatigued but overall I am not going to complain. I actually feel pretty good most days. I plan on having a round of blood tests done this week at the local hospital and will report back on how those came out.

Anyways folks, I just wanted to jump online to wish all of you a great new year. I truly hope its filled with happiness, good health and fortune for you and your families. As always, I will write more but until then, remember "everything in moderation". Smile, be happy and be glad your alive and able to enjoy life ( there are so many who have lost their battles and are no longer with us ). I know I thank God at every turn because I am still here enjoying life and harassing mankind :).

The first round of chemo started and it kicked my butt big time. I felt so sorry for Ingrid who had to sit up for hours watching over me. For some reason or another the fevers were much worse this time around and the fever spiked causing small seizures and convulsions. I simply fdidnt know who the hell I was or where I was at. It's a bit hard to explain how that feels but it truly alters your state of mind. Your emotions crash big time, you go from tears to fears to moments of bitterness all the while trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Ingrid did her best holding me together and watching over me while I convulsed from the temperature spikes. I could tell she was hiding her emotions so she could appear strong and in control so I wouldn't freak out but I could hear her cry at times as she watched me body go through the initial shock from the interferon. The second day was much better and while I was sick from the drug, I didn't have the out of control fevers that produced seizures. She set the alarm clock and woke up every three hours to feed me more Tylenol. This regimen of Heavy tylenol use is a must and it has to be given " before " the fevers rage out of control. Its extremely hard to control the initial fevers that take place right after the injection with Tylenol or anything else. I finally opted for some heavy duty pain killers called Oxycodone. That was a life saver as it made the rest of the night a bit more comfortable. What is hilarious about all of this is that hidden in the fine print of the literature that comes with the Inteferon is a disclaimer that says " this drug should be administered for the first time in a hospital setting as an inpatient ". Yeah right. Try finding an insurance company that will pay for that. :) I have yet to hear of an Interferon patient who was admitted to a hospital so they could be closely monitored for the first day or two and their insurance company picked up the tab for it. What's even more funny is that when my Interferon is shipped to me it comes in a bag with a big warning label that says :" Caution - This drug is a bio hazard. Handle with care ". Good God and I inject this stuff in me ?...:)

Either way I am not going to bitch or complain. Heck I am lucky to still be here harassing the masses anyways. :) I am currently at 5 mu daily and will be bumping that to my therapeutic level of 8 mu in a couple weeks. ( oh boy, I cant wait for that dose....NOT ). At 8 MU it doesn't matter what you do, it simply makes you sick as a dog for several months.

On the personal life front, I attended a pottery class the other day and what a laugh that was. There I sat in a classroom filled with old women. As luck would have it I didn't get a 30 year old drop dead gorgeous Latino lady to teach me. Nope, instead it was taught by a woman in her 70's.  Actually I enjoyed myself and did learn a little about pottery and of course, being true to my fathers own personality I made sure everyone else enjoyed it as well. My daughter in law Kim is becoming a very good potterer ( is that a word ? ) and I can see why she enjoys her classes. I will keep you posted and submit a picture of one of my creations once I finish it. I still don't think she will be dragging her Father in Law to one of her pottery classes though. :) Maybe its the fear of shear embarrassment that prevents her from doing so.

Everyday I try and do something. Even if its mundane or simple to do. I have many moments I simply don't feel well enough to do anything, but push myself a little to accomplish some little thing. I have a growing list of things I need to accomplish with the coach ( little projects ) but am not pushing myself to much to finish them all in a hurry. That's the beauty of being retired, you do not have any schedule to keep. Though my projects are small and simple, it's great for the spirit and also keeps my joints and muscles active. Some of my buddies would probably laugh if they seen it has taken a week to polish the chrome wheels on the coach. I go out on some mornings, sit on a stool and polish them one wheel at a time and one day at a time. I had one day I felt pretty darn good so I climbed onto the roof and polished the big chrome air horns on the coach. It seems silly, but it keeps me active and also keeps me close to home where I wont get in trouble by harassing the local senior citizens.

I will try and write more next week and give you the low down on what the latest is here. Until then, keep smiling, stay happy and healthy and harass one of your family members today. Laughter is great medicine for everyone.

Just a quick note to let you know I added a few new pictures that I know none of you have seen before. We just got our film developed from last year and I posted a few for ya'll. (Click here to view them)

We are still in Casa Grande, AZ and both of us have been busy. Ally has been busy sewing and taking classes ( silversmithing, sewing, etc. ). I finished my pottery class and am waiting for my first pottery project to get fired in the kiln. I will have to post a picture of the completed project when its done. Don't hold your breath on a masterpiece as it isn't much to look at. :)

On the big news front, Ally's Mum is flying over from Australia and we are picking her up in Las Vegas in March so she can travel back across the States with us in the coach. We are then flying to Europe together at the end of April to see Ally's family in the Netherlands. I know Ally is really looking forward to this trip as she hasn't seen her cousin's since 1984. I myself am looking forward to the trip as well as I have never been to Holland and her family there is a great group of people. We are planning a couple side trips to other countries while we are there. In keeping with my tradition of being a non compliant patient, I haven't discussed these plans with Dr. Brockmyre, but I am sure he will give his approval in his normal fashion which is to simply shake his head in disbelief at me. I am sure I amaze him at just how far I love to push the envelope and do things I probably shouldn't be doing. But he also understands we all have only one life to live so we need to live it to its fullest. :)

On the health front, I am still nuking my body with the chemo drug Interferon. While I am not glowing in the dark yet, the nasty crap is really a handful to take. My evenings are normally spent dealing with deep bone marrow pain that is extremely hard to take. But I wake up each day glad I am still around to harass all of you and consider the rest of the battles all a downhill course in life. It takes a great deal of mental control to work through the Up's and Downs everyday, but once you master that mind control, you can live a much happier life.

I will be back on here in a week or so to give you another update. Until then, be happy and keep finding ways to enjoy life.

My very best to each and everyone of you

Chris

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