Paul's Heart

Life As A Dad, And A Survivor

Archive for the category “Education”

25 Mar 2014

Tween Time


Happy Birthday to my oldest daughter today. She is very proud to announce to me that she is just two years away from being a teenager. The funny thing is, she says it without knowing why. So Madison is now heading into the second half of her childhood now, or as it is called, being a “tweenager.” This is the period of time that a lot of changes have already taken place in her life, but more importantly, she is becoming more aware of her surroundings, and the things that are out in the world for her to experience.

It is easy to remember what birthdays I looked forward to. Turning sixteen was a major one for most all of us because it was the gateway to adulthood and independence, getting a driver’s license. I have put the kibosh on that theory with Madison, because when we discussed when she would be able to drive, I negotiated a sweet deal, as close to never as I could get, thirty eight years of age.

Another milestone was turning twenty one. While the responsible goal was to have turned the age to be able to make your opinion count by voting, many of us saw twenty one as an opportunity to experience why all the other adults we watched were always so happy, consuming alcohol. Well, I know Madison has not expressed her interest in politics just yet. And I know that Madison does not really understand the concept of drinking alcohol, as she never really witnessed either of her parents drink other than the occasional glass with a meal.

Hmmmm… so what could Madison be all excited about being two years away from being a teenager? I tried to remember what it was like for me and the things that I did back then. The bad thing for Madison is that I am going to remember from the male perspective. I played a lot of baseball and football, rode my bike, did my homework, hey… wait a minute. At around that age, I was crossing the vortex that allowed me to recognize that girls were a good thing.

Television had shows that displayed boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, and that it was cool to have an interest in someone. Hey… you do not think… wait a minute… she is not… could… no. She cannot be excited about turning eleven because of…?

Yes, the reality of fatherhood and a little girl who is excited about a particular birthday. For many years, she has playfully talked about her “boy friends”. One in particular she has laid claim to as her husband for the last six years or so. She is noticing boys. But fortunately one thing in my favor is that Madison has a little sister who is willing to blow the whistle on any ill-fated attempts to disrespect my daughter.

In all seriousness, this is a difficult year for Madison and I. As it is another special day that we are doing differently, because of the pending divorce. One new tradition that I have started with her, and will do the same with my younger daughter, is picking a birthday meal. In the past, because extended family were invited, Madison never got to choose her birthday dinner. And ultimately, it is her birthday. Not everyone was crazy about tuna noodle casserole when I was a kid, but it was my birthday, and my dinner. And so, for our new birthday tradition, Madison chose Taco Bell.

It does not take a lot to make Madison happy as her father. She wants attention. She wants to do the things that she wants to do. I could not be more proud of her (I am equally proud of both of my daughters). Happy Birthday my “Ting Ting”. Don’t rush the teenage years on me.

Posted in Adoption, Education, Family and Friends, Inspired By..., Recreation | Leave a comment
12 Mar 2014

Cross This Off My List


Part 1 – National Colon/Rectal Cancer Month

This month is the annual push for colonoscopies to hopefully prevent a cancer that can be prevented. Not only be prevented, but treatable when caught early enough. Yet so many will ignore this life saving recommendation. For the second year in a row (it was only supposed to be once – but my body did not cooperate with the “clean out” so it had to be repeated), I underwent a colonoscopy today. I also underwent an endoscopy at the same time. More on that later.

My prep was a little more involved this year because of issues I had last year, but for the average person, it is usually just a heavy dose of a laxative the night before the scoping. Depending on the method, yes, there is a large quantity to drink, but it is doable, and many times, you can drink any fluid to mix with the drug. Overnight, you sleep it off. Then you go for the procedure. Most people will be put into twilight anesthesia, meaning you will not remember anything other than the time on the clock on the wall. Again, because I have complicated cancer-related issues, I cannot do twilight, so I am out cold. I have no idea what has been done, but for those who are afraid of this simple test, here is what I felt like afterwards… nothing. I did not walk funny. Nothing leaked out of my butt (sorry for the graphic, but trying to prove a point for the fearsome). Except for a little groggy, I was good to go home in fifteen minutes. I have no recollection of this afternoon. But here is what I will find out and know.

I will find out if polyps had been removed. If they were, they will be tested. If cancerous, that is one road to cross, and hopefully caught early. If not cancerous, the polyp was prevented from becoming cancer. See the urgency of this test? Yet many of you will still blow this recommendation by your doctor for literally no acceptable reason. If your doctor recommends it, you are a fool not to do it.

My situation is a little more complicated because I have other underlying issues. But then again, just like the average person going through a colonoscopy, prevention and screening for my long term cancer survivor issues is the reason I went through my “pig on the spit” day. I mentioned to my doctor before I went out, all asked was to make sure that my breath did not smell like shit when I woke up. Today, just like last year, I went through two procedures at the same time, a colonoscopy and endoscopy. And as my “pig on the spit” comment implies, cameras went through both ends.

The purpose was two-fold. One, to make sure there is no secondary cancer to my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Two, to deal with situations that can actually lead up to the development of secondary cancers for me. The extreme treatments I went through more than 25 years ago have left certain areas of my body at risk for some nasty issues. But the great thing is, I am under constant surveillance to prevent, or catch if necessary, things before they get bad, unlike what happened with my heart nearly six years ago.

Radiation reeked havoc on my esophagus. After several years, I have developed some slight swallowing issues, as well as some reflux problems. Long story short, the old esophagus does not work as well as it should. I have two things called Esophogitis Esophanil which I do not fully understand, and honestly neither do the doctors, and something called Barrett’s Esophagus. This is the one factor being watched because it can lead to cancer of the esophagus. Usually biopsies are taken, and occasionally other tests are done just to make sure. So far, neither issue has advanced dramatically. So I do not expect the news to change much if at all when I hear.

The colonoscopy is done because of the increased risk of colon cancer for me from going through the strong types of treatments. I do know polyps were removed last year, and I expect that some have been removed this time. The thing I am grateful for was that the polyps last year did not have the chance to turn cancerous. Hopefully the same result occurs this year.

Do you get my drift? If you can prevent cancer, why not do it? And this is one that can be prevented or if necessary treated if caught early enough.

Posted in Cancer, Education, Family and Friends, Inspired By..., Side Effects, The Heart | Leave a comment
09 Mar 2014

How Far We Have Come


An odd thing occurred to me today while visiting with my father in the hospital. I was nearly run over by a robot. Okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic. There was no chance of me being run over by the robot, or even blasted with its powerful lasers.

Okay. I was raised with Twiki from Buck Rogers and of course R2D2 from Star Wars. It should come as no surprise that after Star Trek foretold of flip cell phones with their “communicators”, that with Twiki and R2D2 we would have robots doing human tasks.

The concept does not always work. I have seen my employer throw away millions of dollars trying to replace the hard work that humans do in an effort to be efficient and replace human workers. But how about when the robots actually work. I saw the medical “R2D2” this evening on my way back from the restroom. There had been some nurse work going on in my father’s room, so I stopped outside of his doorway to wait for everyone to leave. And there it was.

Creeping behind me ever so quietly was this box on wheels, but no one had been pushing it. It rolled by itself. There was no tracking on the floor for it to follow. It stopped about a foot and a half away from me. I was not sure if I should move out of its way as if playing some sort of game of robotic chicken. But the delay from my thought displayed something amazing. Its rollers on the bottom of the cart had turned approximately forty five degrees and then the unit rolled two feet. The rollers then turned forty five degrees to the left and the unit rolled, stopped and straightened and continued on its way another four feet until it had arrived at the nurse’s station. As it stopped, it announce, “your delivery has arrived.”

The robotic cart had been delivering medical supplies or prescriptions for the patients on the floor. The nurse put her combination into the lock and the unit opened. The nurse took her delivery, closed the box back up, and the unit continued on its way. It was amazing to watch. I had to wave my hand by a sensor on the wall to open the door to the patient room corridor. The doors just opened for the robot. I had to push buttons to call the elevator. The robot called the elevator directly.

I have seen plenty of television shows and movies and looking back, it is amazing the things we saw in science fiction that have come true today. It no longer seems far fetched to watch a movie and wonder how long before we see cars that fly and other inventions. Of course I would rather see a movie that discovers a cure for all cancers, and then hope scientists and inventors come up with the same idea in the near future.

Posted in Cancer, Education, Inspired By..., Recreation | Leave a comment

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