Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving morning and we have the New York parade on the television, Susan is preparing a turkey and all the trimmings, and we are anticipating the arrival of Kelli and Katherine and their families. What could be normal than that, right? Well, in our house we are most grateful for the "normal" this year. This blog was never intended to be a series of medical bulletins but life has a way of throwing curves and change-ups even when one is accustomed to a fastball right down the middle.
The last surgery went well...the cancer is gone, the pathology report indicated a stage 1 tumor with no spread to lymph glands nor to surrounding tissue. There will be no need for either chemo or radiation although I will be following up with my doctor forever. Needless to say this news was cause for a huge sense of relief.
In all honesty I am still in recovery mode - three major surgeries in a six-week period is no small thing - but every day is a bit better than the day before and I continue to look forward to the day I can take the bike down from the hooks and venture out on the roads.
To any and all who made read this I hope your Thanksgiving is as meaningful as ours is this year. I am grateful to be alive firstly and thrilled that I can celebrate this day with children and grandkids. And to Susan - what can I say? She has been so strong throughout and I couldn't have made it without her: cheerleader, caretaker, first line of support.

Fall Colors...

In most years this photo would have been taken in the course of a bike ride through the beautiful (and frequently underrated) New Jersey countryside. This, however, is not a normal year. Susan and I went out for a "drive in the country" a few days ago and it was one of the few days I've even been out of the house in the last month or so. The lung surgery was a complete success but the recovery is longer than I expected and there are few alternatives to simple rest and recovery. Fortunately for me I can get a pretty good sampling of our fall colors by simply walking out the door. The photo to the left is actually the scene from our back deck, our back yard so to speak. And a short walk through the neighborhood leads to more of the same. So much as I would like to be out on the bike I don't feel too deprived of the seasonal beauty.
With the lung and leg just about healed it is time for step three in this medical process. Wednesday I will be at the hospital for some further tests and Thursday I check back in for the colon surgery scheduled for that afternoon. I'd be a liar if I said I was looking forward to it; on the other hand I am anxious to get it over with and be able to move on. The surgeon is very optimistic that once the surgery is done the cancer will be gone and the problem resolved. They do not anticipate radiation or chemo - the followup will be annual check ups. There is, of course, one more chapter to be written - the thyroid - but this week is major and I will be most gratefull to have it behind me.