The slow, steady recovery is in motion.  This is nice, but I am getting a little impatient.

Over the past two weeks I have reached out to students and am glad to say most of them are returning for drum…

Maintaining weight, proper hydration, and medicine intake through the feeding tube is a recurring event each day.  I take up my rightful spot at the feeding station and go through the same routine each time. There is not a lot…

Yesterday was the day to ring the bell three times to proclaim to all at the Radiation Station that my 37 days of radiation treatment were DONE!!!  I was a reluctant participant throughout it all. I did not want to…

I remember hearing a lot about the Salivary Glands: the upper ones in the cheeks should not be affected by radiation… but the lower ones will suffer from the micro atomic blasts.  The pros said saliva would get thick and…

Radiation treatment crushed this Reluctant Participant in the cancer space.  Virtually all my issues, trials, and tribulations stemmed from the daily microblast of the neck and throat area.  Chemotherapy did not seem to be an issue beyond the first week……

Quick Update First:

Last night at the hospital was a lot of fun.  The night shift crew had a great time searching for the right pair of socks.  The message to them was… HUGE respect and appreciation to all those…

You ever work the night shifts, also known as swing shift and grave on the flight line?  It is the best time to work in a 24 hour operation. All the parents are gone, there are one or two supervisor…

We reluctant participants talk while sitting around during chemotherapy, waiting in lobbies, or cuing up to have blood drawn.  We feel like rats in the same sinking ship, and talking is the one way we unite to survive. We compare…

I can eat and drink the old school way!!!

I ate some oatmeal yesterday and the day before... from a bowl... ... WITH A SPOON!  I had Bean with Bacon soup and juice earlier this morning. My goal is to…

July 15, 2019 was the first day of radiation treatment.

July 16, 2019 was the birth of the Sock Swag Project though we did not realize what was happening at the time.  My Wendy and I knew we were going…

There are five days of treatment left: five more microblasts and one last round of chemotherapy.  I do not think things will get much worse from this point forward, and believe me, things got pretty bad along the way.

Suck…

“Human.”  Okay, I know that word. 

“Papilloma.”  I know a little more than I did on June 4, 2019. 

“Virus.” I am good with that word too. 

Put them all together and you get this virus that may or may…

These are a couple of local new releases about the day's events.

The Sock Guy Delivers

Valley Cancer Patient...

My Wendy and I had a great day in the World of Sock Swag; a day that was about three weeks…

WARNING: this one is flightline style 

It is time to share this cancer patient’s perspective on the “battle with cancer” thingy.

I am not “a fighter,” “a warrior,” or any other noun, adjective, or verb that paints a picture of…

Sock Swag going strong on the oncology floor at Kaweah Delta this Friday!!!

The hospital’s marketing department is working on a media day and inviting local news outlets to join us and capture the story.  The media stuff is greatly…

Let us put the drugs in perspective here.  There are three categories I see as the end user of these drugs:  

1. Drugs to treat the cancer.   

2. Drugs to counter the side effects every day.   

3. Drugs to counter…

Ordinary… typical… usual… normal… average! 

Rare it is for people to ask for such day.  Then cancer comes along, disrupts yours and your family’s lives, and redefines such words.  You reach a point during treatment when you miss them ordinary…

Life with the Notorious P E G is different.  Really though… it boils down to a list of the pros and cons you live with.  It is all relative to what you prefer. Gordon Ramsey would hate life if all…

My Wendy and I have worked with Rotary’s Youth Exchange program for a couple of years now.  The US students that travel to distant lands repeatedly hear the same thing from the committee members:

ADAPT!!!

ONE WORD says everything you…

My health was down enough Tuesday that it prompted Dr. Bryson to suspend chemotherapy for one week.  He scheduled us for an assessment yesterday to check my weight and hydration levels.  My weight continues to steadily climb, and hydration was…

My Wendy and I are feeling optimistic about finishing this cancer treatment off without so much discomfort and anymore delays.  We understand it can all change without our permission. We know we’ve even more deliberate in our attempts to manage…

The turn of events over the last 7 days forced Sock Swag into the background lately.  It is still going along for sure.

Monday was a great day to load up new patients with some Swag.  They were new to…

Yesterday was “Doctor Day.”  We met with both doctors (at different times) to discuss the status of treatment.  Dr. Bryson’s efforts to crack the gag-reflex code was enough to convince me to resume radiation treatment too.  Dr. Bryson also chose…

I love MMA matches.  They are exciting to watch: two well trained athletes who are willing to get in the octagon and go three to five rounds until the fight goes the distance, one fighter taps out, or one fighter…

Another bad weekend is now behind us.  In its wake are eight pounds that did not think they needed to stick around any longer.  I reckon I was on the binge and purge diet… heavy on the purge side that…