No big deal: Tuesday, a doctor found two small skin cancers (one on top of my head that was biopsied, one on my neck which was removed -- everyone had thought that one was some kind of very painful pimple or boil). The doctor expects that these are the low-end skin cancers and would be #7 and #8 in my campaign against Cancer. There may have to be some extra surgery to be sure they got all of it but these are very small and purely a nuisance. I got lucky again.

I am not asking for sympathy or get-well cards, I just didn't want to keep secrets from you guys & gals, whom I consider my friends.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, June 28, 2018 - 10:17 pm: Edit

There are a lot of different kinds of skin cancer. I have been very lucky to only get the least dangerous kind. But by all means don't stop worrying until a doctor tells you that the one you have is the nuisance variety.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 01, 2018 - 06:41 am: Edit

Weight loss surgery is expected in September, hopefully the first half. The expectations are to lose 100 pounds in six months and the fifty more over another year. One night in hospital, one week at home, two weeks of liquid diet, 30 days of no caffeine, a lifetime of little caffeine and one glass of carbonated soda per week with BBQ. My primary doctor will do blood tests every 30 days to wean me off of diabetes and blood pressure drugs. The surgery will outright cure those.

I jumped two more hoops this week. Tuesday the heart doctor signed off, saying my heart is perfect. Monday was the sleep doctor who says I have to do the overnight test to clear the hoop but am extremely unlikely to end up with a cpap machine, and if so for only 90 days.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 01, 2018 - 06:14 pm: Edit

I have total confidence in the surgeon. He has done this operation over 1000 times. Nobody died, two (total) required a second surgery to fix a leak. The national average would be 10-20 needed a second surgery to fix something.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 - 07:35 am: Edit

Yesterday I jumped through the last two hoops on the path to my weight loss surgery. Today a nurse practitioner will go down the checklist and sign off that I did everything. I was told these hoops would take four months but I did it in seven weeks. Once she signs off I get a final meeting with the surgeon (in a week or two?) and THEN will I get a surgical date at least two weeks further out.

There was a class yesterday I had to take for two hours on medications and post surgery diets. It will take ten weeks get things healed and get me back to the ability to eat normal food (not much of it and that mostly meat and vegetables) and I will have to take a regimen of vitamin pills the rest of my life. Also almost no carbonated drinks and far less caffeine than I have drunk for fifty years.

And I passed my psych evaluation to see if I had the right attitude about the whole thing.

Last week the slid a camera up my nose, down my throat, and into my stomach.

And I had a dozen other tests and evaluations.

So assuming a surgery date around 20 September (just a guess) I should be down to 300 pounds by Christmas and 250 by next summer and 225 by Christmas 2019. Hey, everyone needs a theory.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, August 23, 2018 - 05:52 pm: Edit

Surgery is schedule for 15 October. Not as soon as I wanted but as soon as it can be.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 04:07 pm: Edit

I am posting this to explain my lack of progress, not to ask for Get Well Cards.

Tuesday I went to one of my doctors (I seem to have about eight) to remove a routine tiny bit of skin cancer from my scalp. No big deal, easy to do, no real danger, etc. Turns out the thing was much bigger than expected (like 35mm instead of 3mm) and removing it meant cutting a chunk of hide from my chest to patch the hole in my scalp. My head HURTS very bad (sort of like someone put the point of a nail on top of my head then pressed down with all his weight, 24 hours a day) and the scar in my chest hurts when I turn my head (e.g., while driving). Both hurt when I cough or sneeze. I should know in a week if the skin graft worked, if not they have to do it over again. If it did, the pain should stop within a week or two.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 05, 2018 - 09:58 am: Edit

Had a great mini-vacation but it's time to go home.

Sitting here in Wolf Den Lodge at 8am, we plan to load up, say some goodbyes, and hit the road by 9am. Drive is 6.5 hours, plus a time zone, lunch, and a couple of fuel stops, so call it 8.5 hours, or 5:30 to get in my recliner. Unless we stop to see a museum or two. Anyway, sleep in tomorrow and get to the office by noon. Fix the Orion dw by 1pm.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 08, 2018 - 06:55 pm: Edit

The doctor said "Some skin grafts turn black. It will heal in time. I don't need to do it over. Good luck with stomach surgery!"

So I'll probably be here at least some each day all week.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, October 11, 2018 - 06:20 pm: Edit

Leanna fell today and has an extremely painful hairline crack in her pelvis. She may be out of the office for a week or a month. We will know more tomorrow and more next week. She might need surgery, or not. This may or may not delay my surgery. If it does, that delay may be 7 to 14 weeks. More when I know it. She is pretty doped up right now.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 12, 2018 - 12:29 pm: Edit

Leanna is in a lot of pain. Home health care said Leanna is more than they can deal with. Plan now is to put her into a physical rehab place.

My surgery has been delayed.

More news when I have it.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 12, 2018 - 06:04 pm: Edit

Leanna is being taken 125 miles to Lubbock for special emergency surgery. The injury got worse last night and this morning and now must be repaired rather than just allowed to heal. I will depart for Lubbock momentarily and will be unavailable by email for a week maybe two.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, October 13, 2018 - 02:10 am: Edit

Got all the way down here and the hospital here that said "she MUST have surgery and we are the closest ones who can do it" now says "nah, she doesn't need surgery, just the same treatment the docs in Amarillo were already doing."

So why did she suffer pain on a two hour ride? Why did I have to drive two hours through a thunderstorm? Why did I have a $300 hotel bill?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, October 14, 2018 - 03:39 pm: Edit

The story of Leanna keeps changing. Yesterday they said no surgery, today they say the big doctor will decide Monday morning if there will be surgery or not. He will make that decision based on scans that were on his desk at 1pm Friday, but apparently he was too busy to look then.

If no surgery she will go to rehab in Amarillo Monday afternoon or maybe Tuesday. If there is surgery then she may go home any time from Tuesday to Monday eight days from now.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 15, 2018 - 07:04 pm: Edit

Waited all day for surgery scheduled for 12:30 never happened. Now scheduled for Tuesday 10am, subject to bumping if helps arrive with trauma. Very frustrating.

I remain sick enough to be home in bed. Food won't stay down or up either. Everything I eat either blows or goes.

My surgery thought to now be February.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - 12:34 am: Edit

Latest news from surgeon is that he is busy tomorrow so probably Wednesday for surgery.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 16, 2018 - 06:55 pm: Edit

Long day at hospital. Told last night she was first in line for surgery this morning. Got there early and was told surgery at5:30pm. Then at 2:00 told she was one of four cases for tomorrow. I have shirts left only for Wednesday and Thursday.

Doctor just now told her he will try really hard to get to her tomorrow. They have refused to accept further patients with her injuries due to overbooking.

She may have a crack or bruise in her lower right leg.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 08:45 pm: Edit

Leanna had surgery today. Stainless steel plates and screws were added to the broken bones. Every thing went well.

Currently expecting her to be released sometime between Friday afternoon and Monday. She will need a week or more of rehab before going to the house or office.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 19, 2018 - 08:29 pm: Edit

We have been told that Leanna is released as of tomorrow 11am. They will load her in my car and I will drive her to a rehab place in Amarillo.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, October 21, 2018 - 12:49 am: Edit

They finally released Leanna at 1:45 and she reached the rehab facility at 4pm. She loves the room and facilitates.

Leanna can sit up and read, but cannot get into or out of bed without help, usually two people.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, October 22, 2018 - 03:41 pm: Edit

Leanna is in great spirits at Arbors, and was able to get out of bed and into a wheel chair on her own power for the first time earlier today.

I took Jean with me to Walmart (call her a "native guide") and got Leanna everything she wanted to make her "apartment" complete. She has comfortable clothes to exercise and doesn't have to wear pajamas all day. The food is great (in a high school cafeteria sort of way) and the people are nice. I put a big bucket of chocolate candy in her room and told the nurses it was for them (but that they had to go to her room to get a candy bar, they could not take the bucket to the nurses' desk).

We're designing a plan to keep home and business running without her for the next 27 days, but hope she can come home before that. She says "hi" to you all.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 - 11:50 pm: Edit

Leanna is in good spirits. She is stronger every day. She can drive her wheelchair like a champ. The walker is still difficult. The physical therapy and occupational therapy people work with her several times every day. More than they have to, probably more than they are paid to do, but she is the youngest and strongest patient so she gets all their extra time. They had her balancing on her good leg while sorting two decks of cards into suits.

The release conditions are for her to go fifty feet by wheel chair, then stand up, then grab a walker and in a confined space, turn 180 degrees, and sit down, then reverse the entire process. She is not there, yet, but could get there in a week, or two at worst.

Today I got there at 4 and paid $5 to have dinner with her in her room. It was very nice to "go out to dinner" and just chat for two hours. We are trying to make this a positive experience and to learn how to do each other's jobs. Spooky to say but there are going to be some really bad days in our final years and we have to get ready for them.

All of you need to sit down with your spouse and a notebook. Both need to write down everything they do on the first page and then each item gets its own page with instructions how to do it. Account numbers, passwords, instructions, clues, hints, etc. I spent all day running down bills Leanna pays to confirm that all are current. One wasn't, and I paid it.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, November 08, 2018 - 02:25 am: Edit

Leanna got home about eleven hours ago. I have been busy getting her settled and it just now occurred to me to post something.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, November 09, 2018 - 05:54 pm: Edit

Leanna is in the office today, just for a couple of hours to handle the highest priority issues.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - 12:53 am: Edit

My surgery is now scheduled for 28 January 2019.

Leanna gets released and declared able to walk and drive on the 8th. I have to start a two week special diet AFTER she is released, which would push surgery to the 22nd, but they only do my kind of surgery in the hospital that Medicare insists they use on Monday so it slides to the 28th.

I might have finagled my way into the 21st but that day is a holiday so no surgery then.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, December 23, 2018 - 12:36 am: Edit

First day of Fitbit, At 11:34 pm I reached the very low daily goal I set of 3000 steps.

Funny that I would look at the little symbol on the dial and feel compelled to walk to the far end of the building and back.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, December 23, 2018 - 10:45 am: Edit

I feel strangely compelled to walk, to get the little lights and icons to switch on the dashboard. I figured out I can do 150 steps just walking methodically around the house, making it a point to reach and look out of every window.

The sleep analysis is really fascinating.

The thing just beeped and said I have ten minutes to finish the 250 steps for 9-10 so off I go.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, December 23, 2018 - 01:03 pm: Edit

Three hours in a row I met the 250 step goal. More walking than I have done since origins long ago.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, December 23, 2018 - 11:09 pm: Edit

Fitbit hit 3000 at 10:02, and hour and a half earlier than yesterday. I walked six laps around the inside of the house touching every window, 160 steps per lap, all in one shot, no stopping or resting. It even gave me credit for exercising for the first time. I guess a thousand steps in one shot will do that. Leanna said she could tell that in just two days of Fitbit I was walking faster and stronger than all year, and was not even out of breath.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, December 24, 2018 - 08:01 pm: Edit

I hit 3000 at 6:49 today.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, December 25, 2018 - 10:38 pm: Edit

3000 + steps at 9:37

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, December 27, 2018 - 09:21 pm: Edit

Turtle was right, but I now know why so many people are complaining on line about it not being there.

From the main clock screen you can scroll down to a series eleven half-screens each with a bit of information. The second one is the quota screen. If you have met 250 for the hour you are in, it doesn't say "200 of 250" it says "8 of 12" or however many hours you met your quota. Without reading the fine print in the manual you do not know what this means. If you are outside of the primary alive period (which you set for 8 to 14 hours) then it says "8 of 12" again. If you are in a planned to be active hour and have NOT met your quota then it tells you something like "199 of 250" but I am not entirely sure if 199 is what you did or lack (pretty sure it is what you did.) if you are outside of the primary active zone it just tells you how many hours in the previous active zone met your quota. So at 10:52pm it does tell you how many steps you need that hours.

However, it has one more trick to confuse you. When you first scroll up you only see the top row of pixels from the "199 of 250" caption, so you think it is a stupid useless black screen and swipe up to something else and nine screens later become convincing that there is no quota screen.

Anyway...

Reached 3000 at 2:45 today. Lots of energy, better sleep, better attitude. Everyone around me has remarked that I am a very different person than the last six months.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, December 29, 2018 - 01:52 pm: Edit

One annoying thing about FitBit: an email every day wanting me to buy something else from them.