Whew...

I haven't posted in a while. Still trying to get in the routine at work. I'm posting to document my most recent experience, as in, I'm still ailing...a bit.

This one rattles the bones folks...quite literally. I have no idea what manner of ailment this was, but all it came with was a fever. The hotline said come to the ER if it goes above 102, which it did not. It bumped right against it the first time I took it, but after flushing much water through my system, it started normalizing pretty fast. With the fever, though, came chills, sweats, and aches from every scar or pain I've ever had...especially the recent ones.

Whew...

But, it is apparently over, though I am still flushing my system with water. I'd been sleeping on the downstairs couch, and will probably sleep on the couch again...and a couple of those new scars are very very tender, but I'll save you the details.

I expect to be good as new; well, old, things are moving the way I want them to, and I do need to learn some patience...Wish me luck with that.

T + 60 days

I'm going to look at this as an anniversary.

It's definitely a change of phase, to use an engineering term. I've gone from having pain I'd never experienced before to, now, a simple feeling of fatigue, though a strong one.

I'll take it

I say that just to frame my thoughts, because 8 weeks from surgery, I am working out, have moe progress in some areas than expected, on target in the others, and still cooking like I mean it. I started going more organic, partially based on some of the foods my brother bought for me while he was here. I even thought briefly about raw foods. I just decided I would need more kitchen to get that serious. But I did think it...

I've been a little too fatigued to really make art, but I always seem to have projects; I suddenly realized it's time to build the outdoor studio, if I expect to use it this summer. So, at least I've got goals...

Right now it feels like I get about 8 great hours a day; as I said before; I think that's awesome. I have no idea where most people are at this phase, but I am aware that there is a lot of discussion about Cancer Related Fatigue...

Back to art. I have managed to get two sculptures to a pretty advanced state. I need to get one of them ready to go to the foundry (Soliloquy II), and another unfinished bizness type piece needs to have molds taken before I move to the next phase. For some reason, tired for me means I can't seem to drag my ass over to the camera to load the images, so I'll hitcha back...

I've also been working on a painting; got it to that '2 hours left' stage I feel I'm becoming famous for, in my own mind. I may have posted on it. It's in the Ohio State footballers series. Most of these only have tenuous names, and this belongs to that category. Right now, it's Tone.

Back to healing. In summary, healing seems like it takes your full attention sometimes. I've managed to pull that off, with the gracious assistance of The Many. So, I am grateful. We are grateful. And, it ain't even CLOSE to being over.

Motorcycle rider and me; progress...

Two updates in one, today only! For the price of one single update, you get...TWO!

As the days go on, I am feeling stronger and stronger. I posted about a week ago that I'd been walking about 1-1/2 miles a day. I missed Sunday, because I was just sore and aching, but started again Monday, and have done it every day this week. Yesterday, I added about 5 minutes of yoga. Not feeling sore today, so far...Still not much endurance, as I pooped out shortly after all that...rallied for a minute, and pooped out again...but, big things going on.

I've got the ballerina, Soliloquy II, in stasis for a minute, while I roughed out a do-over on a piece I started a few years ago. I've posted the motorcycle part of this piece many times, and it's been in a couple of art shows, but it's never been finished. There was a rider. I sculpted him, put him in a mold real quick, because I was scrambling to a deadline, and the mold got broken or lost on the floor of the foundry. File that under Murphy...as in Law. I should have done a production mold; something I'm trying to rectify real quick, before I get back the ballerina.

Check the vid.

Update...plus

Wow...

It's been over a week since my last post, I think...

As I've been feeling better, I get right back into twirling the plates...plus time out for naps, and other important functions (the details of which I've spared you so far, so I won't start sharing now...). Needless to say, my time is not efficiently utilized, but I'm doing STUFF...

More importantly, Pathology came back, and they found NO cancer in the lymph nodes. That's the good news. The 'other' news is that I also found out that the cancer in the prostate was a little worse than the biopsy results indicated, and had grown outside the capsule of the prostate. Dr. A said he got around it, and they got it out, 'barely'.

Hey, whatevs...I'll take it! Cancer FREE, y'all!

Been sculpting like a fool. I've actually got three sculptures in progress right now, and I've been taking production molds off the ballerina, Soliloquy II, before I get her ready to invest for the final bronze cast.

I've been talking to my art teacher, Ric Stewart, a lot. He's had a big year as an artist, and I'm really, really excited about what's happening in the Cbus bronze casting scene. Ric's Gods of Bronze WILL be heard. I hope to catch those coat tails...

Back to update. So, I've been walking, and being mindful. Resting, and being mindful. Playing games on Facebook, and being vegetative...sorry y'all that are my friends...Started in their rehabilitation programs; I'll also spare you THOSE details...I've been focusing on eating local, and fresh, and organic if possible. I'd been taking a probiotic since shortly after the operation, as well as drinking a ton of water, very little coffee, lots of fresh vegetables, lean chicken or fish, trying to work dairy, grains, beef, beans and stuff like that back in. Ive been eating 6-8 meals a day, small ones, because I don't really have much appetite.

Pain, achiness, and general ability to move around changed a LOT in the last week. Last Saturday, we tried to walk down to Marcella's, and I couldn't make it. That would have been just over 3/4 mile, I believe, to the spot. We walked to Nida's, about three blocks, and I couldn't tolerate sitting in a restaurant chair. Had a pronounced limp at that point, and if I didn't take my Tylenol every 6 hours, I'd have significant pain.

At of this post, I'm movign around without much of a limp. I've walked over 3/4 of a mile every day for the last 5 days, plus started stretching (very little bits), and working with a medicine ball (shout out to Wiggins Method!). I'm also not limping, unless I'm close to overdoing it. I'm definitely noticing there's a 'wall' there...but it's now a wall I've had some experience with, and the pains I feel are not those hard,alien, piercing pains, but muscle aches, fatigue, tiredness, and the achiness of junk still feeling trauma...this is more like what I felt when we played our arch rival in some team sport, and I 'left it all on the field...

Back soon

Peaks and valleys

Two to three days of napping, eating, and basic bodily functions I'd spare you...
I had several days where I was walking 3/4 miles - 1 1/2 miles, cleaning the house, planning stuff, and generally starting to feel like my typical AD self... Maybe that caught up to me, but I'm semi refreshed now, which is good, because it's time to get prescriptions filled, and do some walking through the grocery store. The first day I didn't walk was because of the snow and ice, I think it was Monday. I was pretty sore, and achiness has started. I'm going to take both as positive indications because, hey, I've still got muscle tissue... Seriously though, I believe this is just the next phase of healing and I'll be back in the gym before I know it. The Mantra... Plus, the big sack of fluid that used to be my stomach is starting to resemble my stomach again, though it looks like there's still a few cantaloupes to go...

Folks that haven't seen me in a while may be shocked, I haven't cut my hair since mid December...it's almost to my ears...

The muse is definitely still talking to me; that's a great sign. She's usually not this patient...so, expect more posts of artwork in progress in the very near future.

New Year's 2011

As I start 2011, it is with Hope, and at least some level of the confidence I've always had. Confidence that this fight with Cancer is over and done...
It's with determination, that this experience will inform the plans I've been making going forward, as a person, as an engineer, and as an artist. I've kept my art on the back burner while I've tried to make my way in this world...Time for change has come. I feel, more strongly than ever, that now is the time to see if my gifts as an artist relate to people enough for them to keep me in the manner I've become accustomed to...Time to be an Artist.

I'm feeling better every day. As far as I'm concerned, I AM cancer free (the appointment where they tell me those results is in mid January). I have been walking. I have been eating lean protein (though, not often enough I've been counseled, so I'm kicking that up to six meals a day). I have been mindful. I have been breathing...oh hell yeah I've been breathing...

I've been making art. I've been making ART! I had a sculpture stolen from a local venue, the Bar of Modern Art. These folks have chosen to be non responsive to my attempts to get them to make it right. I'm going to make it right. I'm going to remake that sculpture. Hopefully, whoever stole it did so because they loved it the way I did. If that's the case, I hope I make it so they cannot show it in their own home, because it's everywhere else...I am everywhere else, showing another, similar enough to be a twin, and telling my story...I hope to raise my profile high enough that this sculpture, and my story, is all over the news. Living well, y'all...

2011, the Year of the Artist, and I don't mean Prince...

T+9 days

Wow...what a wild ride. I am now sitting here with the tube out, able to start eating dairy, mobile, semi-active, and walking for exercise. When they took the tube out, the discussed some pretty distressing side effects of the surgery, again. My experience to date has been significantly different, thankfully (I'll spare you the details, you can look 'em up).

I'm told they are slicing, dicing, and analyzing my now spare parts in the lab, and that high level imaging, like electron microscopes are used to see if there is any cancer outside the prostate. I'll have those results on January 19, 2011, so y'all will need to be patient...*Joke*.

I'm still not together enough to sleep through the night routinely for various reasons; when the catheter was in, it was just uncomfortable enough to keep that from happening. The first night it was out, Monday, I slept like a log for almost 9 hours, with one interruption. I still napped for quite a while Tuesday; so, less than 7 hours last night. It's all good, though, because I hear the boss doesn't mind if I nap whenever I feel like it...

Gonna get my walk on, before the weather turns...this IS Ohio.

T+2 days

Better every minute...I might even try a video post today.

Solid food is still a bit of a challenge. They may have been too optimistic in the hospital, where they served me peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, crackers, and jello after surgery, then eggs, cereal, and pineapple for breakfast; My brother, PG, and Helen, my goddess, fixed me eggplant, hummous, roasted vegetables, and smoked turkey when I got home. I haven't been able to eat since. I am just too gassy and uncomfortable. Not pain, really, just uncomfortable.

I've also been having issues with the catheter...word to the wise, though; the catheter always wins.

on the flip side, I have been sleeping like a rock, and Cong the Wonderdog has been on guard. My peeps have been coming through regularly, but not in any way waking me up or whatever, and I'm just glad to get that milestone behind me...no pun intended.

Peace

T-47 hours

Sllllllllooooowwww start to this day...seems everyone in mi casa is moving a little slow today. Beautiful day outside, but I'm testing this liquid diet a little bit before I start pushing cars out of snow drifts...

No video yet today, but there's still some daylight left y'all, so don't fret, Cong may reappear. In some moments, I am wondering why I'm not scared, or whatever, but I guess, as I've said before, I'm just focused on the next step...focus...there's a word I don't usually associate with myself that much. Oh, don't misunderstand, I have excellent focus; for entire seconds at a time...

This may be an evolution here, y'all...hope you're watching close...LOL.

Till the next