Ellis Health Update - 170929

At the time of the doctor's visit on 12 September I was very weak, prone to collapse whenever I tried to stand. In fact I had to resort to a wheelchair for the trip from the hotel van to the doctor's office. We at first thought that my weakness was caused by the increased pain medication and reduced it accordingly, alternating between Tramadol and Tylenol on a three-to five-hour frequency. That did not significantly affect my pain level which, by the way was now quite tolerable. However, further investigation indicated that the weakness was caused by a drop in blood pressure when I stood and I was given a new prescription for my low blood pressure.

I returned for another doctor visit today (14 September) and found that things seemed to be working well. I had a new chest x-ray, a blood test and walking test (apparently standard tests for doctor visits at Baylor Clinic) The doctor made a few further adjustments to my medication, mainly stopping one of my blood pressure medications (Amlodipine) and scheduled me for a return visit on 19 September. I was also told that I may be allowed to return home to Arizona late next week. However, I will need to fly back to Houston after about a month for further testing.

After today's visit to the clinic, I slept deeply for almost two hours and then went to the Olive Garden for an “eat one, take one home” special. We now have several days worth of food tucked away in the refrigerator.

On 19 September, Doctor Sugarbaker was detained out of town with a family emergency and I saw his PA. She found things to be looking good but asked that I return on 21 September to meet with Dr Sugarbaker before being released.

The 21 September doctor visit was scheduled for late in the morning and we would need to take the 1000 shuttle to the Clinic. We informed the motel that we would need to stay another day or two. Rosemary had informed them earlier that we might need to extend our stay. However, despite verbal assurances that an extension would not be a problem, we now found that they had already booked our room and were full up; so we were required to move to another motel. We thus had to pack all of our gear and place it in a locker before catching the shuttle. We barely made it. I was given the tentative OK to travel back home; however I was referred to a cardiac specialist to make sure my weakness was not related to a heart problem and the release was contingent on his findings. After an EKG and an examination, the doctor declared my heart to be “absolutely normal.” He did suggest that I wear support hose, especially during the flight back to Phoenix, to alleviate the sudden changes in blood pressure I have experienced when standing up. Luckily, they were able to schedule for later that same day. The down side of this is that we were on the go from early in the morning until about 1700.

We spent the night at the Holiday Inn and caught the airport shuttle, took a morning flight to Phoenix on Southwest and then the Ace Express to Cottonwood. The flight to Phoenix followed by a 2.5-hour shuttle trip to Cottonwood was exhausting and left me feeling very lethargic for the next couple of days. However, I am now steadily improving: My appetite is better (meals are no longer just a duty to be performed), I walked about 0.4 miles along neighborhood streets yesterday (I used the walker on the street but have managed to do without its assistance within the house)and I have no significant pain so long as I hold to my pain medication regimen (0200: 1 Tylenol, 0800: 1 Tylenol, 1400: 1 Tylenol, 2000: 1 Tramadol).

Day before yesterday, I did feel some nerve pain and resumed taking Gabapentin (presently taking one a day which seems to work well). Although essentially pain free with the medication I am taking, I am still very weak and need a lot of rest. I usually go to bed about 2100 and sleep for around 10 hours, interrupted by a few bathroom breaks. After breakfast, I normally do a little clerical work, catching up on the six-week stack that piled up while we were in Houston. If I still have enough energy after that, I add a few words to this document. Otherwise I take a 1.5- to 2-hour nap, eat lunch and do my daily walk around the neighborhood. Yesterday (27 September) I stretched the walk a bit to make it an even half-mile. Today I saw Doctor Howland, my primary care physician, in the morning and reviewed the medications I am taking.

Keeping up with medications has become quite a chore while being treated by Doctor Sugarbaker at the Baylor Clinic, Doctor Howland at Northern Arizona Healthcare and Doctor Lindquist at Arizona Oncology. Daughter Diana got me organized initially with a spreadsheet before she left Houston. Even with that it was taxing my abilities to make sure I took everything I was supposed to and at the proper time. Just when it all started to make sense, I would be overtaken by fatigue and have to stop for a nap. Luckily Rosemary was there with her orderly mind. She took Diana's spreadsheet and all of my pill bottles and soon had everything organized. I do keep track of my pain medications; otherwise, I just take he pills placed in front of me.

Ellis Health Update - 170909

My operation was performed on 21 August 2017. When I awakened after the operation, the doctor informed me that he was able to remove “all of the cancer visible to the naked eye without removing the lung.” The actual surgery was followed by a heated chemotherapy treatment. When I first became aware enough of my surroundings to remember anything, a nurse was explaining that the breathing tube in my throat would likely be removed the next day. The tube of course made talking impossible. But then I don't remember having anything to say. Likewise, it was not possible to swallow anything; however, I was being fed intravenously so didn't need to swallow.

The nurses and doctors in the Intensive Care Unit were without exception terrific in their attention to patient welfare. Considering that Hurricane Harvey chose my period of residency in ICU to wreak its wrath on Houston and that the staff that could even get to the hospital were working on a near around-the-clock basis with only infrequent sleep breaks, I was amazed at the never-failing friendly, courteous care they provided. For instance, I noted that my night nurse often used a flashlight at night when she needed to check a machine. She thus avoided turning on those blinding overhead lights seeming designed to wake the dead.

My night-shift nurse in ICU for all but one night of my stay was a friendly, efficient bundle of energy named Rina. She came on shift one night with the breezy announcement that we were taking a trip through time and space for tests the doctor had ordered. She then, in a reverse Cinderella's coach move, declared my hospital bed to be a spaceship, appointed herself Captain, recruited two additional staff members (I think they were called called Oz and Laughing Man) as crew, hung all of the assorted machines and devices I was hooked up to on an instrument tree and and/or my bed itself and guided us out of the room and into the passageway. There she entered zoom mode (spaceship lingo for warp speed I assume) by uttering the command “Enter Zoom.” The ships computer then acknowledged her command by saying “Entering Zoom Mode” and we were off down the passageway to the elevators. (Note. I was never sure whether the spaceship's tinny sounding command response was coming from a speaker or a crewmember.)

Traveling at warp speed, we arrived at the elevators in short order, shifted out of zoom mode for the elevator ride and then back into zoom for another short trip to the back entrance to the Emergency Room where a technician was waiting to perform a PET scan. Somehow the crew managed to transfer me along with all of my attached tubing and sensors to the movable bed of the PET machine. After the scan was completed, I was moved, along with all of my attached paraphernalia, was moved back to the “spaceship” and we returned to the ICU Unit.

I really do not remember for sure just when I was moved from the Intensive Care Unit. By then Julia had returned home to resume her duties as a teacher at Diamond High School in Diamond, MO. Diana had managed to take a few more days off work in order to stay with her mother until I was out of the hospital. Julia and husband Rick Allison who had driven from their home in Joplin, MO managed to get back home before the hurricane struck. Diana and Rosemary hunkered down at the hotel to wait Hurricane Harvey out. I was safely ensconced at the hospital and they were snug enough at the Staybridge Hotel. Although hospital visitation was impossible we could console ourselves with the knowledge that we were all safe and comfortable in our isolated domiciles.

I spent a very short time in the Intermediate Care Unit before having the last of my four chest drain tubes removed and being cleared for release on 30 August. The photograph shown here (right), although it may look like the first awakening of Frankenstein's Monster, actually shows me on the day I left the hospital.

However, I had steadfastly answered the social worker's questions as to what equipment we had at home based on what was located at our home in Cottonwood, never considering the fact that I would need to remain in Houston for an extended time for post surgical care. As a result, procuring a walker, something absolutely essential before being released from the hospital, turned out to be a mad scramble. With the help of the social worker we finally located one with a seat in case I suddenly needed to sit down and easily-applied brakes to hold the unit in place while I did so.

The supplier would deliver the walker that day but could not provide a specific delivery time. We finally decided to change the delivery location from the hospital to our hotel, take a hospital wheelchair to the shuttle van and use a hotel wheelchair from the van to our room. As luck would have it we met the walker delivery man just as I was wheeled out of my room, so we took delivery and Rosemary rolled the walker along with us.

I had a lot of pain and trouble sleeping for a few days after leaving thr hospital. We returned on Tuesday, 5 September for a follow-up office visit and a couple of tests. The doctor adjusted my medications, doubling my bedtime dosage of tramadol (two pills instead of one), doubled the amount of Tylenol I was taking, added Advil and adjusted my schedule to make sure I was taking something for pain once every three hours. Hr also had us buy a pain patch to apply to my back. Rosemary then took charge of all my medications, a chore that had proved too much for me. The next few days went much better: the change in medications took care of the pain and I slept much better, getting my normal nine hours on 7 September.

Other than having frequent fainting spells (thank goodness for the seat in my walker), I was normal but feeble by 7 September and we went to the Olive Garden for dinner.

My next followup visit is scheduled for 12 September and I hope to get a better feel for when we can leave Houston then.

The Neighborhood Walk – Update 170810

While awaiting my return to Houston for the surgery which is intended to “remove all visible cancer from my lungs.” the doctor prescribed a brisk daily walk. The walk was to be “10 minutes out and 10 minutes back.” After a bit of experimentation, I fell into an every-other-day routine using the 2.5 mile Neighborhood Walk previously described in a 14 June posting on my blog:

https://ellisfprice.blogspot.com/search?q=neighborhood+walk

Having already described this walk in some detail in the aforementioned posting, I will only note the changes, mostly seasonal, that I have noted in recent walks.

The wildlife still includes a plethora of young rabbits, perhaps indicating a diminished coyote population. On the other hand, a few days ago I encountered a herd (is three a herd?) of javalenas crossing Acoma Drive. They looked especially fit and healthy, sporting what appeared to be new winter coats. It would seem to be a bit early for that, so perhaps the shiny new growth was due to the abundant vegetation caused by the relatively heavy monsoon rains we have received.

The century plant located on Brook Hollow Drive has now shed all of its gorgeous yellow flowers; however, the nearby Mexican bird of paradise shrubs are still in bloom, although not as profusely as before.

Angel, the owner of the house with all the old farm implements located along Christina Draw Wash, has been working diligently to keep the water from undermining the bank at his house.

The prickly poppies I saw earlier along the wash, and occasionally along the roadways, are all past the blooming stage now. Without their large white blossoms they are just another nondescript desert plant. The poppies have largely been replaced by silver leaf nightshade.

The short trail I built at the start of the monsoon season to ease the descent into Christina Draw Wash has held up well, requiring no repairs to date. I also took my clippers along with me on one walk down the wash and clipped a few branches that were overhanging the path. The walk down the wash from the end of Meadowlark Drive to at Brook Hollow Drive, always easy, now doesn't even require bending to avoid the occasional overhanging branch.

The large sunflowers that grew at the end of Acoma Circle are now past the blooming stage; however, another patch of smaller sunflowers are still in bloom in a yard along Brook Hollow Drive, between Elk Circle and Arrowhead Lane.

The most pleasing change during this time has been the removal of the old sedan that was slowly deteriorating alongside the street on Elk Circle. Thankfully, someone chose a tow truck instead of cinder blocks.

Back at our house the Texas sage is sometimes in bloom and sometimes not. The bushes are quite attractive when in full bloom, appearing as solid light purple masses. Unfortunately, they bloom only sporadically during the season and the blooms are very fragile, never lasting long. On the other hand, our two beds of lantana, one yellow and one red (or orange-red) bloom continuously from spring to late fall. The lantana is planted in beds with irises and starts blooming about the time the irises finish, soon taking over the entire beds and providing color all summer. We just cut the irises back in the spring and then cut the lantana down after it dies in the fall. It all comes back again the next year.

Ellis Health Update - 170728

On 20 July, I visited Doctor Brenda Howland, my primary physician, as recommended by Baylor clinic for a followup to the “staging” surgery performed there on 10 July. This was because of the bleeding caused by insertion of a urinary catheter during the surgery. Meanwhile the bleeding has long since stopped and I am feeling no ill effects from the catheterization. She suggested that I remind them of the problem when I return for the next round of surgery so that they can perhaps use a smaller tube.

The next day, Friday, 21 July 2017, I saw Doctor Lindquist at the Arizona Oncology Center in Sedona. She had a fresh blood test drawn and, after checking the results, called for another B12 shot and a Zoledronic acid Q28D infusion (a bone strengthener or, as one doctor termed it, “bone cement”). Immediately on returning home, I went online and attached the blood test results along with the report of the shot and infusion to my file at the Baylor Clinic. They responded shortly saying that Doctor Sugarbaker had reviewed my biopsy results (from the 10 July procedures) and that he “recommends to proceed with scheduling the bigger surgery - pleurectomy and possible extrapleural pneumonectomy.”

Basically, as I understand the terms, that means they will first try to address the problem by removing the diseased lining of my lung along with any other tumors in my chest. This is called a pleurectomy.

If it turns out that a pleurectomy will not adequately address the issue, they will then proceed to remove my diseased lung, part of my pericardium, (membrane covering the heart), part of my diaphragm (muscle between the lungs and the abdomen), and part of my parietal pleura (membrane lining the chest). This is called an extrapleural pneumonectomy. Diana sent me a narrated step-by-step video demonstration of this procedure. Watch it if you have the guts:

http://www.annalscts.com/article/view/1067/1595.

Doctor Sugarbaker said that, based on what he had seen so far, he thought he would be able to avoid removing the lung.

On 24 July I received a date for the “bigger” surgery. I am to be in Houston three days before the date of the surgery for a Nuclear Lung Scan, an Ultrasound of my lower extremities and an office visit with Doctor Sugarbaker. I don't know how long I will be in hospital following the surgery, but I am told that I can expect to spend about a week in ICU. We are tentatively planning to be in Houston for a full 30 days.

Part of the prescribed pre-surgery regimen is a 20 minute walk,”preferably outdoors, each day. I am satisfying this requirement with a short daily walk around the neighborhood; yesterday I did one mile, today, 24 July, I walked about 1.4 miles. By August 26 I was up to 2.5 miles. I had walked 2.5 miles at the recreation center a few days ago, but that was in an air-conditioned space. Outdoor walks are much more difficult in this hot, muggy (for Arizona at least) weather.

Rosemary snapped a photograph of me (right) all decked out for my daily walk. Note the GPS (in case I decide to deviate from my normal route) in my pocket and the dog whistle (for retaliation against the occasional dog who insists on raising the alarm while I am walking past of the street) strung around my neck. Most of the dogs on my normal walk have long since learned about the whistle and now let me pass in peace.

This will likely be my last health update posting until I am sufficiently recovered from surgery to care about such things: expect to hear from me again from the other side of the surgical gulf sometime in late August.

TREKABOUT WALKS - August 2017

Walks are graded on a 1-4 scale (with 4 being the most difficult)

Meet Every Tuesday - hikes starting at 7:00AM (subject to change)

HIKING SHOES RECOMMENDED/CARRY WATER/DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH

To join TrekAbout Walking Club, please email at jen.mabery@yavapai.us

Or call: 928-634-6877.

Get up and get moving! And it’s free 

Tuesday, August 1st

“Airport Mesa Loop Trail” – What a beautiful 3.5 mile loop trail! There are views all the way around the loop. There is a short slick rock ledge at the start of the trail. NOTE: Red Rock Pass

Level 2.5-3

Directions: From Cottonwood, Enter Sedona and turn right when get to Airport Rd Traffic light. About half way up road (.2 tenths of a mile) pull out parking on the left.

Tuesday, August 8th

“Mingus Mountain” (Don’t know the real name) – I would say about 3-4 miles out and back. Go through some pines along the way to a very nice outlook view. Nothing too strenuous.

Level 2.5

Directions: From Cottonwood, Head up to Jerome, continue 4.2 miles beyond Jerome. You will then see a large pull out on the right that also has a big brown Prescott National Forest sign.

Tuesday, August 15th

“Baldwin Trail” –

Another great loop hike about 3 miles long, this hike provides wonderful views of Cathedral Rock. It will take us down towards red rock crossing to enjoy some sounds of the creek.

Level 2.5

Directions: From Cottonwood: Go through Cornville to beaver head flat road to village of Oak creek. Then turn left at the Verde Valley School Rd round about. Follow all the way out till road turns to dirt, then about a mile in look for trail head lot on the left.

Tuesday, August 22

“Wilson Canyon Trail” -The going is very easy and there'is quite a bit of shade. This route goes into a box canyon alongside a wooded stream, then, if you choose, a scramble up to a big viewpoint. P.S. we can also combine a nice water feature after this main hike that goes underneath the bridge! Splash around a bit.

Level 2.0-2.5

Directions: From Cottonwood: Drive to Sedona, stay on 89A like you are going up Oak Creek Canyon. Park in the Midgely Bridge Parking Area.

Tuesday, August 29^th

“Arizona Cypress” – 3.0 mile loop trail. I admit, I haven’t done this one yet but it looks great on the map. Intersects with Girdner, snake, and anaconda trails.

I’ll call it a level 3 because I’m not sure (Adventure Time!)

Directions: From Cottonwood: Head to Sedona via 89A, Turn left on Dry Creek Road. Just before the first “T” there is a left hand dirt road turn (right before the little bridge) left. Follow to trail head.

Remember: Choose the best hike for you! (Call 928-301-6143 or email: jen.mabery@yavapai.us with any questions), Carry plenty of water, Bring a snack, use sun protection, consider walking stick(s), leave what you find, and most importantly...HAVE A GOOD TIME!

Hike to the B-24 Crash Site on Humphreys

It was 28 September 2013, fall had arrived, and we were beginning to feel a distinct morning chill in the Verde Valley. A visit to the B-24 crash site on the western slope of Mount Humphreys was on our to-do list and now, while the weather was still moderate in the high country, was the time for it. None of us wanted to hike in snow or be exposed to the coming winter winds that could be expected on the relatively bare slope of Mount Humphreys at the tree line.

Seven of us left from Cottonwood at 0700, picked up two additional hikers from Sedona at the Hwy 179/I-17 interchange and drove directly to Snowbowl, where we parked in the lower lot. Humphreys Trail begins there and we would follow it for 2.9 miles (my GPS) before turning off to follow one of many very indistinct trails for another half-mile across the rock fields to the crash site. The following photograph was taken from the trailhead.

Left to right: Jerry Helfrich, Lila Wright, the author, Frank Lombardo, George 

Everman, Bill Woolard, Kwi Johnson and Connie Woolard 

– photograph by Name Withheld

The trail runs across an open meadow for a little over a quarter of a mile, passing under the Snowbowl ski lift (photograph below) to enter an aspen forest.

The start of Humphreys Trail, looking from the trailhead to the aspen forest

After entering the forest, the trail soon starts to ascend, at first rather gently, but then becoming steeper and rockier. About a mile from the trailhead, at a sharp turn to the left it enters the Kachina wilderness Area. This is the second of seven switchbacks encountered on the Humphreys Trail between the trailhead and the turnoff to the crash site. The turnoff is actually located exactly at the seventh of these. But that was still 1.9 miles away.

By the time we entered the Kachina wilderness, the aspens had largely given way to conifers, which predominated for the remainder of the hike. Previously we had found a wide variety of mushrooms along this trail; none were visible now. Flowers were also sparse, with only a single scraggly example (right) along the trail.

We had been moderately concerned about ice and snow and we did find some shaded stretches of trail where footing was pretty precarious. But we managed to avoid any major falls and eventually found ourselves approaching the turnoff to the crash site. It turned out to be relatively easy to spot, located precisely at a sharp bend to the right. One just steps across the log located to the left of the trail onto a much fainter trail, starting between two close set trees, leading north along the mountain slope. Note the arrow pointing out the trail in the below photograph.

Turnoff to the B-24 Crash Site marked by an arrow

This relatively short trail (I should say trails because there are a variety of them all leading to the same site) is rough in places, leading through short stretches of wooded area, interspersed by rough climbs over rock fields. We had turned off Humphreys Trail at an elevation of 11,041 feet according to my GPS and climbed about another 250 feet to the crash site itself. Almost all of the climbing seemed to be as we crossed the rock fields. We stopped for lunch just after turning off the trail. In the upper right quadrant of the below photograph, a lone hiker can be seen walking on Humphreys Trail. The bright red object seen bottom right is a hikers backpack.

Skyliner hikers eating lunch (bottom) and lone hiker walking on Humphreys 

Trail (upper right quadrant)

It took us some time to make our way over the rock fields, as we traveled slowly and carefully; we also stopped frequently to rest. As a matter of fact, we probably spent more time eating lunch, resting and just admiring the unobstructed views from high on the slope of Mount Humpreys during the short trip from Humphreys Trail to the crash site than we did hiking and climbing.

After a final sharp climb over the rocky slope we came to the edge of the crash debris field. The first major bit of wreckage we saw was a bucket seat we think was designed to protect a machine gunner from bullets and shrapnel. Lila and Kwi are shown below posing in the seat.

Lila in machine gunner's seat

Kwi in machine gunner's seat

The plane that crashed here at 0330 on 15 September 1944 was a B-24J Liberator. It was flying on a training mission from Bakersfield, CA to Albuquerque, NM with a crew of eight. The plane's specifications and serial number are listed below:

Designation: B-24J

Serial Number: 50890

Wingspan: 110 feet

Height: 18 feet

Length: 67 feet, 7 5/8 inches

Weight (empty): 36,500 lbs

Weight (fully loaded): 65,000 lbs

Engines: Four, 1200 hp, Pratt and Whitney, R-1830-65

Performance: Max Speed: 290 mph, Service Ceiling: 28,000 feet, Range: 3,000 miles

Armament: Ten 50 caliber machine guns

Crew: 10.

Debris from the crash is scattered over an area of several acres, some in wooded areas and some on the rock field. As a result any waypoint for the crash site is somewhat arbitrary. I used one from a previous visitor to the site and one found on Google Earth. Either of the two would have taken me to the crash site, just different spots in the debris field.

Continuing across the rock field from where we found the machine gunner's seat, we came upon widely-scattered bits of the plane, still lying where they were flung by the impact.

Aileron or piece of a wing flap

Large section of a wing

Widely scattered wreckage – showing only a small section of the debris field

Standing upright like an ever-alert sentinel, was a part of the landing gear (left).

We gathered back at the spot we had first entered the debris field and paused for a moment of silence in honor of our eight fallen comrades who gave their lives at this spot in defense of our country. They included a pilot instructor along with four student pilots, two engineers and a radioman Their names were Warren Crowther, Ray Shipley, Clyce McClevey, Charles McDonald, Patrick Pertuset, James Hartzog, John Franke and Hugh Brown.¹

After a last look across the crash site we headed back down the trail.

A final look across the crash site before heading back

When we reached Humphreys Trail we were relieved to see that most of the ice we had encountered on the way up had now melted. The worst patches were now either completely melted away or had at least been reduced to a soft slush (right).

When we reached the tree line at the edge of the aspen forest, just a short distance from the end of our hike, we encountered a group of young men from Scottsdale, AZ who were returning from a trip to Humphreys Peak. I walked ahead with one of the group as we crossed the meadow to the trailhead and we discussed their trip to the peak. He told me that at one point in the hike they thought one of their group wouldn't be able to complete the hike on his own, so they stopped to discuss their options. How would they transport him back? They finally decided that they would cut a sturdy pole and tie him to it, hand and foot, like a bagged deer. The rest of the group would then take turns on the ends of the pole to carry him out. Fortunately, by the time they had perfected their plan, he was found to have made a miraculous recovery and managed to complete the hike on his own. They would never know for sure whether his rapid recovery was due to the thought of being carted out like a bagged deer. Of course, considering that the elevation difference between Scottsdale and Humphreys Peak is over 10,000 feet, he probably just had a touch of altitude sickness and needed a few minutes to recover.

My GPS track shows that we hiked for 4 hours and 14 minutes and stopped along the way for 3 hours and 37 minutes, for a total time of 7 hours and 51 minutes. The total round trip hike distance was recorded as 6.9 miles with an elevation gain of 2012 feet and a highest elevation of 11,299 feet. Our GPS track is shown on the included map (below).

1Arizona Daily Sun, 4 September 2004

Ellis Health Update - 170719

On 3 July I Walked 2.5 miles at the recreation center and did 5 minutes at level 7 on a stationary bike. I then rescheduled Arizona Oncology appointments, canceling a scheduled chemotherapy treatment (now superseded by treatment at the Mesothelioma Treatment Center at Baylor).

The remainder of that day was spent on the telephone with the VA. I have submitted a claim with the VA and they wanted me to make an appointment to see a doctor at the VA Hospital in Prescott, AZ. The claim had been referred to Prescott from the Phoenix VA Hospital. Prescott wanted me to see their doctor on 8 August, a time when I will most likely still be in the hospital at Baylor recovering from surgery. I asked for an alternate date but was told that they were already booked up until 8 August and could not schedule more than 30 days in advance. I thought that was rather odd, as 8 August was already more than 30 days from the current date. I told them that was a catch 22 and asked them to send my record back to Phoenix. I then talked to a representative at Phoenix who agreed to put my file on hold until my current round of surgery is resolved.

As an aside, the way it was explained to me, the only reason I need to see a doctor at the VA is to do a breathing test, a test already performed during my present course of treatment. No wonder the VA is so far behind.

On the 4^th, I again visited the recreation center where I walked 2.5 miles and did 10 minutes at level 7 on a stationary bike.

I met with our attorney on the 5^th and then spent the next two days giving a legal deposition. That was the third and fourth day of a 4-day deposition.

On Saturday, 8 July, we traveled to Phoenix and then continued on to Houston on Sunday for surgery scheduled for the next day.

On Monday, 10 July, I underwent what is called Surgical Staging (surgical examination of the lymph nodes and intestinal area to determine whether the cancer has spread to those areas). After the operation, I was informed that there were no visible signs that the cancer had spread to these areas. This will be confirmed by biopsies taken during the procedure, results of which will be available next Monday or Tuesday. However, I was anesthetized for the procedure and a catheter was installed. The installation was very difficult due to an enlarged prostate and I am told it took three tries to insert it properly. This resulted in some damage that caused leaking (bleeding) around the catheter. As a result I was held for two days in the hospital before it was decided to remove the catheter and send me back home with a referral to my local doctor for followup.

We did make our already-scheduled flight back to Phoenix on Thursday, 13 July, but I was traveling in a wheelchair and not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds, actually I think they might have specified no more than 2 pounds for the first couple of days. Rosemary pushed me but I could tell that it was quite difficult by the way she grunted. If we return from the next surgery under the same conditions, I will insist that she wait for an attendant to push the wheelchair. In addition to being prohibited from lifting more than 10 pounds, I am currently unable to drive because of the medications I am taking.

I felt pretty drab for the next few days but finally managed a short walk in the neighborhood accompanied by Rosemary on the 17^th and a one-mile walk by myself the next day.

Today, Wednesday, 19 July, I was notified that the “cervical mediastinoscopy and lymph node biopsies”, from the 10 July surgery were negative. Dr Sugarbaker still has to review my file and set a date for the major surgery, described as surgery to remove all cancerous cells that are visible to the naked eye. I am told that I will hear from the doctor no later than next Monday.

I celebrated the negative biopsy news by walking 2.7 miles at the recreation center. They have a short track; it takes 19 laps to do one mile, but you've gotta love the air-conditioning on these 100+ degree days.