It seems like I just said that back in April but this time my chances of success are higher in returning to Tanzania as planned. It should be a very interesting year since I’ll finally be visiting India, a long term goal that seems hard to believe may actually come to pass. It will be especially meaningful since I will not be visiting the typical tourist spots. I’ll be seeing two FCN mission sites, then the mother house of the Indian sisters that work in Tanzania, the Shantivanam catholic ashram established by Fr Bede Griffith and traveling the last 10 days with my friend Christel from Switzerland who has done mission work there before. Some of you may recall Christel was the engineer I first worked for in Tanzania. Like me she’s retired and works about 6 months each year in Tanzania. The two day trip by train from the East to West coast by myself should be especially interesting.
My biggest problem at this point is trying to decide what to pack. When I was initially heading straight back to Africa two bags was not a problem, but now the thought of toting two bags all around India, north and south, by train and plane does not sound so appealing. If I only had my clothes that would be one thing, but as usual I have things for friends that they would really enjoy and have been purchased for them long ago, like a camera, external hard-drives, books, clothes, gifts and 2 used laptops. I think I’ll have to cut back on my clothes. At first I thought about just shipping it but for $700 some things will just have to wait.
I was hoping to complete my income taxe calcs before I left but it does not look like that will happen due to a lack of 1099 and 1098 forms, so I just did a rough estimate. It will be my first year to pay state income tax except for a little last year since it was my first time in 5 years that I’ve lived in the country the entire year. It makes me appreciate those 38 yrs in Texas a little more; no state tax.
I got good news from my doctor and my niece this month so the year is starting out good. My heart surgeon said the recent echo shows no growth of the enlarged aorta, so I should be good for another 6 months before I have it checked again. It is staying at about 4.7 cm diameter and 5.1 is the point when they get concerned. My twin brother shocked me a few days ago when he reminded me that his first aneurysm grew from 3.0 to 5.0 cm in 6 months. The other good news from my niece Marisa was that she wants to live in my house while I’m gone and help pay the utilities. Wow. How nice is that. She’s lived here before and really likes the house and she won’t have to share it with anyone this time. She’s even agreed to continue feeding the fish so I won’t have to give them all away. I think her cat will like the company.
I had two wonderful driving trips last Fall to Houston and to Miami. I got to see Pam and Kyle and Charlene and a few friends in Texas at Thanksgiving. Then I drove to Miami (1600mi) to visit my three Maryknoll friends in early December. I stopped along the way to see old friends in Louisville KY, Asheville NC, Columbia SC, and Jacksonville FL. It was great fun and really broke up the travel time. Rose and Tara worked with me in Africa and are now living together in Miami and our friend Steve Pohl was returning home from Bolivia for his parent’s anniversary, so we gave his a nice surprise welcome. Tara just flew back from her first business trip to Africa and had lots of good stories. I got great tours and great food in all locations but it was best to just see everyone again and meet some of their friends.
If everything stays on schedule I depart Jan 24th and return to Baltimore Aug 2nd. I hope to see Claudia in Annapolis, Mary Orfao in Philly and Liz Mach in New York while I'm in that area, along with the grand-kids of course. I’ll be in touch by email, blogs and picasa web albums, so keep in touch please. I might even try Skype and Facebook once in a while, internet willing.
thomascott@gmail.com, scottintanzania.blogspot.com picasaweb.google.com\thomascott
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Thursday, October 21, 2010
MORE GOOD NEWS
Maybe you remember the good news in my last Blog Update (Sept 19) about the opinion from my new heart surgeon that I would not need surgery in the foreseeable future. Well, I just got the results of the PET Scan of my prostrate and was told that the chemo treatments have apparently eliminated all the malignant cells in my prostrate. Today my urologist did a fiberoptic exam and said everything also looks normal in the bladder and prostrate. It's been a blessed month.
I applied for a tourist visa for India last week and as soon as I receive that I will proceed with purchasing the tickets for the flights to India and Nairobi, Kenya (Jan 23rd). I received an email yesterday from my friend Sister Mary John in Nairobi. Her Mother House is in southern India (Kerala) and she said one of my favorite Kowak sisters (Sr Jincy) will be home in India at the time of my visit. Sr Jincy and I met at language school 5 years ago and learned that we would both be working at Kowak village. She is a lab tech at the hospital. I was hoping to add their Mother House to my travel agenda and it looks like that will work out. I plan to be in India 3 weeks before flying to Kenya and Tanzania for 6 months and am really looking forward to that.
My friend Rose from Miami made a surprise visit this month while she recovered from shoulder surgery. She lived and worked here in the early 80's after attending nursing school in Wichita. We met in 2005 in New York as we attended orientation for Maryknoll. She worked in Kenya as a nurse practitioner so we also attended language school together. Rose stayed at my house 10 days and introduced me to a lot of her friends here and in Emporia and Sedan (her home town). We even got to visit our friend Tara in Oklahoma who had worked with me in Tanzania for 3 years. She just arrived home from a year of graduate school in London.
Rose's visit was especially helpful for me by introducing me to Sr Barbara at the Keeler Women's Center and Fr Wempe now retired from operating the Catholic Worker House here. Sr Barbara is introducing me to a sister that has a meditation group here which I hope to start attending. Rose also introduced me to a Prayer House near Leavenworth called Shantivanam that looks real interesting and very unusual. I hope to spend a few days there in November at one of the 7 cabins in the woods.
I started exercising and golfing again this month thanks to the approval of my new heart surgeon. The exercising isn't much yet, just 10 minutes a day on the basement Air Dyne bicycle and a 30 minute walk in the neighborhood. The weather has been beautiful and the golf cheap due to the Sunday afternoon discounts to attract football fans. Maybe we'll get in a few more rounds before the weather turns bad. Lately I've been spending a lot of time watching baseball playoffs on TV and recording some games to take back to Africa for training purposes at the school.
Regarding family news, my sons Adam and Kyle are both doing well in Baltimore and Texas and are still employed, thank God. Adam's wife, Megan, has started home schooling Lauren, so I'm sure she has her hands full. They are anxious for the holidays to start so they can get a few days off work to spend with family in Kentucky. Grandma, Pam, is in Baltimore this week and will return there for Christmas. Kyle and Chrystal are getting involved with the catholic church now that she is attending RCIA classes weekly. I'm very pleased about that.
I have no plans yet for these holidays but will probably stay here and enjoy the cool weather and rake the leaves which are now changing colors beautifully. Brother Jim's daughter Bridgette and husband Ben are expecting their first child (a boy...Wyatt) in late November so that will be an exciting time for all the family. What better Christmas present. Sister Peggy's son, Braden, just got engaged this week so that is also exciting news. Sister Janice's step granddaughter, Tyler, has adjusted well in her sophomore year at the local catholic high school so we are all thankful for that. She just move here from North Carolina this summer.
I applied for a tourist visa for India last week and as soon as I receive that I will proceed with purchasing the tickets for the flights to India and Nairobi, Kenya (Jan 23rd). I received an email yesterday from my friend Sister Mary John in Nairobi. Her Mother House is in southern India (Kerala) and she said one of my favorite Kowak sisters (Sr Jincy) will be home in India at the time of my visit. Sr Jincy and I met at language school 5 years ago and learned that we would both be working at Kowak village. She is a lab tech at the hospital. I was hoping to add their Mother House to my travel agenda and it looks like that will work out. I plan to be in India 3 weeks before flying to Kenya and Tanzania for 6 months and am really looking forward to that.
My friend Rose from Miami made a surprise visit this month while she recovered from shoulder surgery. She lived and worked here in the early 80's after attending nursing school in Wichita. We met in 2005 in New York as we attended orientation for Maryknoll. She worked in Kenya as a nurse practitioner so we also attended language school together. Rose stayed at my house 10 days and introduced me to a lot of her friends here and in Emporia and Sedan (her home town). We even got to visit our friend Tara in Oklahoma who had worked with me in Tanzania for 3 years. She just arrived home from a year of graduate school in London.
Rose's visit was especially helpful for me by introducing me to Sr Barbara at the Keeler Women's Center and Fr Wempe now retired from operating the Catholic Worker House here. Sr Barbara is introducing me to a sister that has a meditation group here which I hope to start attending. Rose also introduced me to a Prayer House near Leavenworth called Shantivanam that looks real interesting and very unusual. I hope to spend a few days there in November at one of the 7 cabins in the woods.
I started exercising and golfing again this month thanks to the approval of my new heart surgeon. The exercising isn't much yet, just 10 minutes a day on the basement Air Dyne bicycle and a 30 minute walk in the neighborhood. The weather has been beautiful and the golf cheap due to the Sunday afternoon discounts to attract football fans. Maybe we'll get in a few more rounds before the weather turns bad. Lately I've been spending a lot of time watching baseball playoffs on TV and recording some games to take back to Africa for training purposes at the school.
Regarding family news, my sons Adam and Kyle are both doing well in Baltimore and Texas and are still employed, thank God. Adam's wife, Megan, has started home schooling Lauren, so I'm sure she has her hands full. They are anxious for the holidays to start so they can get a few days off work to spend with family in Kentucky. Grandma, Pam, is in Baltimore this week and will return there for Christmas. Kyle and Chrystal are getting involved with the catholic church now that she is attending RCIA classes weekly. I'm very pleased about that.
I have no plans yet for these holidays but will probably stay here and enjoy the cool weather and rake the leaves which are now changing colors beautifully. Brother Jim's daughter Bridgette and husband Ben are expecting their first child (a boy...Wyatt) in late November so that will be an exciting time for all the family. What better Christmas present. Sister Peggy's son, Braden, just got engaged this week so that is also exciting news. Sister Janice's step granddaughter, Tyler, has adjusted well in her sophomore year at the local catholic high school so we are all thankful for that. She just move here from North Carolina this summer.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Third Opinion---Wow!
Ya know, the more I deal with doctors the more I think they are like car mechanics. They are business men first and mechanics second. I think my new heart surgeon may be be more of a doctor first. He just informed me that, based on the latest testing my heart is in pretty good condition, I don't have a real aortic aneurysm, I only have mild regurgitation and I, therefore, do not need heart surgery. Praise the Lord. It makes me wonder what the first opinion would have been in England.
Most people would say I've had a “challenging “ year starting with daily blood pressure medication (which may be unnecessary), then two prostrate surgeries (which seem to be unnecessary now), six chemo treatments ( probably needed much fewer) and then the diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm. So it sure is nice to finally get some good news. And I have his approval to start exercising again. How sweet it is. Now I need to get this chemo out of my system and get the final checkup to confirm that the lymphoma is out of my prostrate. That CT scan occurs on Oct 6.
It's been about a month since my last Blog update and since then the other highlights would be my trip to New York and our mini-family re-union here next door. The trip came up rather suddenly when my friend Rose in Florida suggested I join her for the 35th anniversary of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners at the end of August. It was a very nice 4 day week-end and I got to see a lot of the lay missioners, and priests and sisters that I have met over the years in Africa and New York. Many did not recognize me at first with the lack of hair, eyebrows, beard, etc. The weather was fantastic and I got a lot of exercise in walking between the third headquarters of the lay, the priests and the sisters. What a beautiful location one hour north of NYC on the Hudson River.
It's been about a year since our last Kansas City mini-reunion so we scheduled one the week-end after Labor Day and it was the best one yet. We had 28 adults and 5 kids from the area with the highlight being the attendance of our 3 elderly aunts Mary, Louise and Francis. They are getting up in years (96, 94 and 88) but still staying healthy and very clear mentally, thank God. It was nice to get caught up on the activities of my cousins and their families over the last 12 months. The weather was beautiful and the food and drink was delicious and plentiful.
I finally decided to get a third opinion on my heart surgery because of the first two did not agree on the need to replace the “root” of the aorta. I selected St Luke's Cardiac Consultants and met first with a cardiologist who looked over my previous test results and thought the need for surgery was a little questionable, but probably necessary based on my lack on energy, increased pulse and desire to return to Africa next year. But I needed another series of tests (CTA and Echo) before I could see the best heart surgeon in town. Boy am I glad I got that third opinion.
Dr Borkon wants me to get the chemo out of my system and come back in 3 months for another Echo exam in mid December. He is thinking the increased pulse and lack of energy is related to the chemo and maybe the cancer or BP meds. Last December my pulse was 65 -75 and now it's 90-110 every morning. I started having blood pressure elevation 2 years ago in Africa, so it will be interesting to see if it stays low as I cut back on my medication.
You may recall we've been working hard on leveling the back yard (30 yards of sand and topsoil) to get it ready for croquet season next year. I decided to plant Bermuda seeds instead of the Zoysia sod due to cost and labor constraints and got seed in on Aug 21; a little late, perhaps, depending on how early we get the first freeze and how heavy that freeze is. After 10 days we got good germination and planted a second batch of seeds plus some fertilizer. Boy we got a good bloom of weeds to. We just pulled the weeds and mowed. The Bermuda is looking good. Wish us luck. The rain lately has been wonderful.
We shut the pool down for the winter last week-end. I installed a new timer on the pool pump a few weeks before that and it's working well. The pool chemistry has been staying real good since we converted to the salt water system (mid Aug) and the water is real clear. Now I can run the pool pump 11 hours a day instead of 24 and never add chemicals. I calculated that it is saving us over $100 a month in electricity and chemicals. Not a bad pay-out since we spent less than $200 on the conversion. Well, I guess it's time to start exercising.....
Most people would say I've had a “challenging “ year starting with daily blood pressure medication (which may be unnecessary), then two prostrate surgeries (which seem to be unnecessary now), six chemo treatments ( probably needed much fewer) and then the diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm. So it sure is nice to finally get some good news. And I have his approval to start exercising again. How sweet it is. Now I need to get this chemo out of my system and get the final checkup to confirm that the lymphoma is out of my prostrate. That CT scan occurs on Oct 6.
It's been about a month since my last Blog update and since then the other highlights would be my trip to New York and our mini-family re-union here next door. The trip came up rather suddenly when my friend Rose in Florida suggested I join her for the 35th anniversary of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners at the end of August. It was a very nice 4 day week-end and I got to see a lot of the lay missioners, and priests and sisters that I have met over the years in Africa and New York. Many did not recognize me at first with the lack of hair, eyebrows, beard, etc. The weather was fantastic and I got a lot of exercise in walking between the third headquarters of the lay, the priests and the sisters. What a beautiful location one hour north of NYC on the Hudson River.
It's been about a year since our last Kansas City mini-reunion so we scheduled one the week-end after Labor Day and it was the best one yet. We had 28 adults and 5 kids from the area with the highlight being the attendance of our 3 elderly aunts Mary, Louise and Francis. They are getting up in years (96, 94 and 88) but still staying healthy and very clear mentally, thank God. It was nice to get caught up on the activities of my cousins and their families over the last 12 months. The weather was beautiful and the food and drink was delicious and plentiful.
I finally decided to get a third opinion on my heart surgery because of the first two did not agree on the need to replace the “root” of the aorta. I selected St Luke's Cardiac Consultants and met first with a cardiologist who looked over my previous test results and thought the need for surgery was a little questionable, but probably necessary based on my lack on energy, increased pulse and desire to return to Africa next year. But I needed another series of tests (CTA and Echo) before I could see the best heart surgeon in town. Boy am I glad I got that third opinion.
Dr Borkon wants me to get the chemo out of my system and come back in 3 months for another Echo exam in mid December. He is thinking the increased pulse and lack of energy is related to the chemo and maybe the cancer or BP meds. Last December my pulse was 65 -75 and now it's 90-110 every morning. I started having blood pressure elevation 2 years ago in Africa, so it will be interesting to see if it stays low as I cut back on my medication.
You may recall we've been working hard on leveling the back yard (30 yards of sand and topsoil) to get it ready for croquet season next year. I decided to plant Bermuda seeds instead of the Zoysia sod due to cost and labor constraints and got seed in on Aug 21; a little late, perhaps, depending on how early we get the first freeze and how heavy that freeze is. After 10 days we got good germination and planted a second batch of seeds plus some fertilizer. Boy we got a good bloom of weeds to. We just pulled the weeds and mowed. The Bermuda is looking good. Wish us luck. The rain lately has been wonderful.
We shut the pool down for the winter last week-end. I installed a new timer on the pool pump a few weeks before that and it's working well. The pool chemistry has been staying real good since we converted to the salt water system (mid Aug) and the water is real clear. Now I can run the pool pump 11 hours a day instead of 24 and never add chemicals. I calculated that it is saving us over $100 a month in electricity and chemicals. Not a bad pay-out since we spent less than $200 on the conversion. Well, I guess it's time to start exercising.....
Thursday, August 19, 2010
August Activites
Hard to believe it's been a month since the last update. It's been a busy month and a lot of work; I wish I could say I did some of the work but most of it was my brother-in-laws Phillip and John who really worked their butts off in my back yard. We cleared off a 40x80 ft section with a sod cutter to level it for a croquet court and lawn bowling area. Then we hauled in 18 yards of sand and 12 yards of topsoil and leveled it all off. Before that could be done an 80ft long retaining wall was installed with bricks by Phillip. Due to my heart condition about all I could help with was the leveling with a small tractor. Phillip's friend Fast Eddie then came over and installed a sprinkler system to help keep the new grass from dying. And he donated all the pipe, labor and digital timer and valves. He used to be in the business so all I bought was the sprinkler heads (6) and PVC pipe and valve to enlarge the water supply in the basement. He also donated the use of his small tractor which worked great. Now we need to plant grass seeds (Burmuda) or buy sod (Zoyia) before Labor Day to get the roots started before an early freeze. I'm running the sprinkler 20 minutes every morning and the old timer is working well. My water bill will increase about $35 a month and mowing the area may increase to twice a week. Eddie is also donating his old reel-mower which is designed for short Burmuda. Looks like I'll have to build a compost bed next.
Phillip and Janice left for Calif last week and I drove to Louisville, KY (8 hr) to visit the grand-kids and Adam's in-laws, Charlotte and Bob. It was a very nice visit and I really felt at home. I last saw the kids in Nov so they have really grown. Audrey is 5 and Roman will be 3 next month (9/11). We mostly stayed at home and played in the back yard when we could tolerate the heat. They also enjoy watching cartoons, playing inside and staying up late. They will be with the grandparent 4 weeks while the parents are in Ukraine and Europe on mission work and vacation. The grandparents are real troopers. Not many would agree to that extended period I suspect. We got a call from Adam when they first arrived in Ukraine and all is well there. I also made to short visits to 2 monasteries in the areas just outside Louisville. One was the Gethsemani Monastery where Thomas Merton lived in the 40's and 50's. I've been wanting to visit it for a long time, so that was a treat. There's not a lot to see unless you are on retreat there, it seems. But there are a lot of walking paths outside the walled area that belongs to the Trappist monastery.
My brother Jim decided we needed to convert our above ground pool (24ft dia) to a salt water system instead of the traditional chlorine system. He found a great deal on a nice system at WalMart on-line ($140), so he bought it and we installed it about 2 weeks ago. It is real simple and really seems to work well. It's a lot less work than adding chemical daily and seems to be a lot cheaper. It generates chlorine from the sodium chloride we added to the pool and runs about 10 hrs a day. It also adds a little copper in the process of dissolving the electrodes and that is a great algeacide. It also allows me to run the pool pump less hours so that saves a lot on electricity ($35/mo). It looks like a real winner so far and the water does not taste very salty.
My three fish tanks are doing fine and my sister Peggy loves her's (guppys). She has had it since June and it is still clear as a bell without any cleaning. The only thing I can figure that's keeping it so clean are the many plants that we added and then put in in her living room window for lots of light. With all that light it would be growing algea like crazy except the other plants are controlling the algea amazingly. Now my brother Jim wants one for his gold fish to move them inside during the winter months. I found a nice cheap 55 gallon tank at a garage sale and we will install it this week-end. I guess we'll need to install plants in it and put it in the window.
The doctors say I should recover completely in 3 months from my heart surgery which I hope to have in late Oct. I learned that a group (FCN India)) where I sponsor a child in India is having a 2 week tour of mission sites in late January, so I decided to sign up for that and make it part of my return trip to Tanzania in early February. That sounds like a ball and I'm really looking forward to that. I finally shipped 27 used laptops to Tanzania via DHL Express. It was expensive (4 boxes) but they all arrived in good condition for the Kowak Secondary School.
You can check my Blog site anytime to read old newsletters like this and even subscribe to it and an automatic notice whenever I update it. Just click the FOLLOW tab at the top of the page. The site is scottintanzania.blogspot.com
Phillip and Janice left for Calif last week and I drove to Louisville, KY (8 hr) to visit the grand-kids and Adam's in-laws, Charlotte and Bob. It was a very nice visit and I really felt at home. I last saw the kids in Nov so they have really grown. Audrey is 5 and Roman will be 3 next month (9/11). We mostly stayed at home and played in the back yard when we could tolerate the heat. They also enjoy watching cartoons, playing inside and staying up late. They will be with the grandparent 4 weeks while the parents are in Ukraine and Europe on mission work and vacation. The grandparents are real troopers. Not many would agree to that extended period I suspect. We got a call from Adam when they first arrived in Ukraine and all is well there. I also made to short visits to 2 monasteries in the areas just outside Louisville. One was the Gethsemani Monastery where Thomas Merton lived in the 40's and 50's. I've been wanting to visit it for a long time, so that was a treat. There's not a lot to see unless you are on retreat there, it seems. But there are a lot of walking paths outside the walled area that belongs to the Trappist monastery.
My brother Jim decided we needed to convert our above ground pool (24ft dia) to a salt water system instead of the traditional chlorine system. He found a great deal on a nice system at WalMart on-line ($140), so he bought it and we installed it about 2 weeks ago. It is real simple and really seems to work well. It's a lot less work than adding chemical daily and seems to be a lot cheaper. It generates chlorine from the sodium chloride we added to the pool and runs about 10 hrs a day. It also adds a little copper in the process of dissolving the electrodes and that is a great algeacide. It also allows me to run the pool pump less hours so that saves a lot on electricity ($35/mo). It looks like a real winner so far and the water does not taste very salty.
My three fish tanks are doing fine and my sister Peggy loves her's (guppys). She has had it since June and it is still clear as a bell without any cleaning. The only thing I can figure that's keeping it so clean are the many plants that we added and then put in in her living room window for lots of light. With all that light it would be growing algea like crazy except the other plants are controlling the algea amazingly. Now my brother Jim wants one for his gold fish to move them inside during the winter months. I found a nice cheap 55 gallon tank at a garage sale and we will install it this week-end. I guess we'll need to install plants in it and put it in the window.
The doctors say I should recover completely in 3 months from my heart surgery which I hope to have in late Oct. I learned that a group (FCN India)) where I sponsor a child in India is having a 2 week tour of mission sites in late January, so I decided to sign up for that and make it part of my return trip to Tanzania in early February. That sounds like a ball and I'm really looking forward to that. I finally shipped 27 used laptops to Tanzania via DHL Express. It was expensive (4 boxes) but they all arrived in good condition for the Kowak Secondary School.
You can check my Blog site anytime to read old newsletters like this and even subscribe to it and an automatic notice whenever I update it. Just click the FOLLOW tab at the top of the page. The site is scottintanzania.blogspot.com
Monday, July 19, 2010
Summer is Flying By
Where has the time gone? We just had another wonderful week-end in my backyard with my local family plus two special guests...my sons Adam and Kyle from Baltimore and Texas. What a treat. And we had nice warm, clear weather. We even got some work done on Sunday in addition to all the swimming and games. The work was removing a large old bush that was pretty but took up way too much space for our "play ground". Bridgette's husband Ben brought over his chain saw and we had it cut up in minutes. Then it took hours to feed and burn the foliage which created more than a little smoke in the neighborhood. We called the fire Dept first to make sure we were legal.
The big show of the week-end was "Baby Sloan's first roll-over" from her back to her front. Maybe it was the other way. She's about 2 months old and got a big hand from everyone wanting her to "do it again". Son Kyle was happily beating most at the croquet competition and son Adam and his partner Greg were kick'n butt in horseshoes most of the week-end. The girls seemed happy playing washers but I did not see who was doing best. Tyler arrived with a cake she made on Saturday and a beautiful plate of scones on Sunday which was quickly devoured by everyone. They saved a few for me since I placed the order earlier in the week and bought the supplies.
This all started Friday evening and ended Sunday evening so I suspect most were as tired as I was. Adam didn't get home until 1 am Monday after a late connection thru Chicago. Kyle and Chrystal arrived home about 8 pm after a 1 hr stop-over in OK city for a short business call. He had borrowed a company truck to move his things out of my basement and back to Texas. We had a nice family breakfast and meeting Sunday morning as an update to my health and living will and it was a real fun week-end. Natalie took photo's of the Scott Clan and me with the boys for sister Peggy's 59th birthday which was last Thursday. I guess you could say things actually started Thursday evening with a nice family dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant.
I had a very pleasant surprise the previous week-end, when I got a visit from the executive director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners who I worked for in Tanzania. He stopped by the house Saturday morning on the way to a "church talk" in Emporia. Sam and I have the same birthday and he is a K-State grad from '75. I decided to drive over to hear his talk he next day and visit my elderly (94) aunt Louise who just moved back with her daughter in Emporia. I took her to mass and she enjoyed that, I believe.
Last week I met with a KU Cardiac doctor to get a second option on my heart surgery. It was very helpful but a little different opinion from my first doctor who thinks I definitely need the "root" of the aorta replaced, in addition to the valve and ascending aorta. That's about the only disagreement but it is a significantly more involved surgery to replace the root, so that needs to be resolved soon. I really like both doctors. Both have a lot of experience, especially Dr Daon at KU (400 surgeries per year for 10 yrs). The fact that he's cajun doesn't hurt. It looks like the surgery will be in mid October if the chemo ends as scheduled in early September.
I also got an encouraging email this last week from our Tanzanian school head master. The school has agreed to pay for shipping of the 30 used laptops via DHL Express instead of waiting for me to bring them later this year or early next year. That will be expensive (about $100 per PC) but sure save me a lot of hassles at the airports, etc. So that will be my project for this week; getting everything boxed and shipped. It would be cheaper by US Post but much greater chance of theft.
The big show of the week-end was "Baby Sloan's first roll-over" from her back to her front. Maybe it was the other way. She's about 2 months old and got a big hand from everyone wanting her to "do it again". Son Kyle was happily beating most at the croquet competition and son Adam and his partner Greg were kick'n butt in horseshoes most of the week-end. The girls seemed happy playing washers but I did not see who was doing best. Tyler arrived with a cake she made on Saturday and a beautiful plate of scones on Sunday which was quickly devoured by everyone. They saved a few for me since I placed the order earlier in the week and bought the supplies.
This all started Friday evening and ended Sunday evening so I suspect most were as tired as I was. Adam didn't get home until 1 am Monday after a late connection thru Chicago. Kyle and Chrystal arrived home about 8 pm after a 1 hr stop-over in OK city for a short business call. He had borrowed a company truck to move his things out of my basement and back to Texas. We had a nice family breakfast and meeting Sunday morning as an update to my health and living will and it was a real fun week-end. Natalie took photo's of the Scott Clan and me with the boys for sister Peggy's 59th birthday which was last Thursday. I guess you could say things actually started Thursday evening with a nice family dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant.
I had a very pleasant surprise the previous week-end, when I got a visit from the executive director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners who I worked for in Tanzania. He stopped by the house Saturday morning on the way to a "church talk" in Emporia. Sam and I have the same birthday and he is a K-State grad from '75. I decided to drive over to hear his talk he next day and visit my elderly (94) aunt Louise who just moved back with her daughter in Emporia. I took her to mass and she enjoyed that, I believe.
Last week I met with a KU Cardiac doctor to get a second option on my heart surgery. It was very helpful but a little different opinion from my first doctor who thinks I definitely need the "root" of the aorta replaced, in addition to the valve and ascending aorta. That's about the only disagreement but it is a significantly more involved surgery to replace the root, so that needs to be resolved soon. I really like both doctors. Both have a lot of experience, especially Dr Daon at KU (400 surgeries per year for 10 yrs). The fact that he's cajun doesn't hurt. It looks like the surgery will be in mid October if the chemo ends as scheduled in early September.
I also got an encouraging email this last week from our Tanzanian school head master. The school has agreed to pay for shipping of the 30 used laptops via DHL Express instead of waiting for me to bring them later this year or early next year. That will be expensive (about $100 per PC) but sure save me a lot of hassles at the airports, etc. So that will be my project for this week; getting everything boxed and shipped. It would be cheaper by US Post but much greater chance of theft.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Finally a Second Opinion and More
After many weeks of waiting I received a second medical opinion on how best to treat the cancer in my prostrate. This opinion from MD Anderson Cancer Center basically agrees with the opinion of my doctor here in Kansas, so I will now proceed with the chemotherapy that I started about 6 weeks ago.
My last Blog update was just after my first chemo treatment on May 6. I postponed my second treatment after I decided to get a second opinion regarding staying with chemo vs surgery to remove the prostrate. During that delay I learned that I have another issue which will require urgent attention according to my new heart doctor. A recent cat scan of my heart showed that I have an aneurysm in my ascending aorta also called “the arch”. This large blood vessel is now about 2” in diameter instead of 1”. This has caused a thinning of the artery wall and danger of a rupture, which would be deadly. You may recall my twin brother had 5 aneurysms.
The opinion of the doctor is that I need open heart surgery as soon as I finish my cancer treatment to replace the aortic valve, valve root and the artery connected to that valve. I suspect the earliest that this could occur would be in October. He thinks this enlargement has been growing for about 2 yrs and will continue due to having a bicuspid valve like my mother. Without the examinations required for my cancer it seems unlikely that this would have been detected before a major rupture occurred. So the cancer seems to be a blessing in this case.
The other major family news is the birth of my niece Natalie's first child 4 weeks ago. She was a little small at 4lbs 13 oz. but Sloan is now doing fine and is in normal size clothes. I've seen her regularly the last two week-ends when her parents come to visit and relax in my back yard. She's a doll. Natalie's sister is expecting her first child in December so it's very nice to be home for these big events.
My brother-in-law Phillip and I drove to Houston for my birthday (66th) on May 20th and spent the week with my son Kyle and his mother Pam. It was also his birthday (24th), so we had a very nice visit and got to see a few friends in the area. Phillip was kept very busy doing repair projects for Pam which had been delayed and he was very helpful for me in doing most of the driving (13 hrs one way). It was a wonderful week and we had some great food at home and in restaurants.
Just as we were departing Kansas my hair started departing my scalp. After we returned to Kansas I decided to cut it all off for my summer look. It's much cooler so I'm sure glad this was not something that occurred in the winter months. A week later my brother and other brother-in-law decided to get their summer haircuts so we all look pretty similar. Now I'm working on my summer tan, especially of the scalp.
Kyle's girlfriend Chrystal also arrived from Atlanta the same week Phillip and I came to Houston. She has decided to live in Houston. She was busy looking for a job as a hairdresser the whole time we were there. Kyle also decided to change from his part-time job doing sailboat repairs to full time for the father of his best friend. Last week they both started their new full time jobs and hope to be moving out of Pam's house in another 6 weeks. I think Kyle will be driving to Kansas City in a few weeks to get his furniture and belongings out of my basement. I'm hoping to fly his brother Adam from Baltimore (and his daughter Audrey) here the same week-end so we can spend some family time together.
I'll keep you all posted as things develop. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Tom 6-15-10
My last Blog update was just after my first chemo treatment on May 6. I postponed my second treatment after I decided to get a second opinion regarding staying with chemo vs surgery to remove the prostrate. During that delay I learned that I have another issue which will require urgent attention according to my new heart doctor. A recent cat scan of my heart showed that I have an aneurysm in my ascending aorta also called “the arch”. This large blood vessel is now about 2” in diameter instead of 1”. This has caused a thinning of the artery wall and danger of a rupture, which would be deadly. You may recall my twin brother had 5 aneurysms.
The opinion of the doctor is that I need open heart surgery as soon as I finish my cancer treatment to replace the aortic valve, valve root and the artery connected to that valve. I suspect the earliest that this could occur would be in October. He thinks this enlargement has been growing for about 2 yrs and will continue due to having a bicuspid valve like my mother. Without the examinations required for my cancer it seems unlikely that this would have been detected before a major rupture occurred. So the cancer seems to be a blessing in this case.
The other major family news is the birth of my niece Natalie's first child 4 weeks ago. She was a little small at 4lbs 13 oz. but Sloan is now doing fine and is in normal size clothes. I've seen her regularly the last two week-ends when her parents come to visit and relax in my back yard. She's a doll. Natalie's sister is expecting her first child in December so it's very nice to be home for these big events.
My brother-in-law Phillip and I drove to Houston for my birthday (66th) on May 20th and spent the week with my son Kyle and his mother Pam. It was also his birthday (24th), so we had a very nice visit and got to see a few friends in the area. Phillip was kept very busy doing repair projects for Pam which had been delayed and he was very helpful for me in doing most of the driving (13 hrs one way). It was a wonderful week and we had some great food at home and in restaurants.
Just as we were departing Kansas my hair started departing my scalp. After we returned to Kansas I decided to cut it all off for my summer look. It's much cooler so I'm sure glad this was not something that occurred in the winter months. A week later my brother and other brother-in-law decided to get their summer haircuts so we all look pretty similar. Now I'm working on my summer tan, especially of the scalp.
Kyle's girlfriend Chrystal also arrived from Atlanta the same week Phillip and I came to Houston. She has decided to live in Houston. She was busy looking for a job as a hairdresser the whole time we were there. Kyle also decided to change from his part-time job doing sailboat repairs to full time for the father of his best friend. Last week they both started their new full time jobs and hope to be moving out of Pam's house in another 6 weeks. I think Kyle will be driving to Kansas City in a few weeks to get his furniture and belongings out of my basement. I'm hoping to fly his brother Adam from Baltimore (and his daughter Audrey) here the same week-end so we can spend some family time together.
I'll keep you all posted as things develop. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Tom 6-15-10
Friday, May 7, 2010
Update After Ist Chemo Treatment
I guess most of you know about the lymphoma diagnosis in my prostrate. The latest tests showed no lymphoma in the bone marrow, which is a blessing. The bone biopsy results are the only results missing now. The chemo started yesterday (Thurs) and no pain or side effects during that, which is nice. They took it nice and slow so it took 8 hrs and 3 IV's. But I just napped and read so I was in no hurry. They will speed it up after they see my initial reactions. They say I might experience vomiting , headaches and hair loss in a few days. We shall see. I started steroid pills today and go in for another shot today call T30. That's about it until 3 weeks when my 2nd treatment starts.
I did have a nice side-affect which I was hoping for but not expecting so soon. I did not have any back ache last night which is the first time in 3 or 4 weeks. Even Tylenol PM did not help, so maybe the chemo has started doing some shrinking of the prostrate already, but that seems very optimist. At least I got a good nights sleep and the urge to urinate was much less. So far so good.
I hope to drive down to Houston on the 20th for my birthday and my son's and spend a few days visiting family and friends before the next treatment. I did get in a round of golf this week but it was pretty poor golf; still great weather and a nice course. Also won at croquet and horse shoes so can't complain. Now I need to get back to bowling with my brother and my daily walking and drinking more water and washing hands regularly like in Africa.
After 4 treatments (12 weeks) I'll have another cat scan to see if the chemo is doing anything. I still hope to return to Tanzania this year, but that will, of course, depend on my response to the treatments. Normally it requires 6 treatments.
I got 12 new large African Cichlids donated to my new 60 gal aquarium so I'm learning how to keep them happy. It really looks nice and the visitors seem to enjoy them, especially the grand-kids. I bought a new slide scanner this week and hope to start saving most of my old slides to digital form. That could take months. Also want to install a small aquarium for experimenting with growing plants under water. That is a little more challenging than fish, but should be fun or at least interesting.
I did have a nice side-affect which I was hoping for but not expecting so soon. I did not have any back ache last night which is the first time in 3 or 4 weeks. Even Tylenol PM did not help, so maybe the chemo has started doing some shrinking of the prostrate already, but that seems very optimist. At least I got a good nights sleep and the urge to urinate was much less. So far so good.
I hope to drive down to Houston on the 20th for my birthday and my son's and spend a few days visiting family and friends before the next treatment. I did get in a round of golf this week but it was pretty poor golf; still great weather and a nice course. Also won at croquet and horse shoes so can't complain. Now I need to get back to bowling with my brother and my daily walking and drinking more water and washing hands regularly like in Africa.
After 4 treatments (12 weeks) I'll have another cat scan to see if the chemo is doing anything. I still hope to return to Tanzania this year, but that will, of course, depend on my response to the treatments. Normally it requires 6 treatments.
I got 12 new large African Cichlids donated to my new 60 gal aquarium so I'm learning how to keep them happy. It really looks nice and the visitors seem to enjoy them, especially the grand-kids. I bought a new slide scanner this week and hope to start saving most of my old slides to digital form. That could take months. Also want to install a small aquarium for experimenting with growing plants under water. That is a little more challenging than fish, but should be fun or at least interesting.
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