Welcome the the rest of your life

One thing that was said to me in my youth, I don't remember by who, but kinda stuck was "Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life." 
At the time I thought well that was dumb.  Of course its the first day of the rest of my life, just like yesterday was the same thing and tomorrow will be the same thing too.

What I didn't realize is that knowing this and understanding what it meant was empowering.  Every day you wake up and get going, is another day you have to make a difference, change your destiny, or just lay back in bed and do nothing.  By the way all of which are acceptable depending on the day and the reasons for doing each.

Today feels like one of those days.  The last week has been extra stressful coming up to the scans.  So far I have been able to dodge the cancer bullet, for having treatment.  Getting our news today was both concerning and refreshing. 

************* No new tumors and minimal growth in the active tumor I have!**************

So there is the news.  If that is what you wanted to know, you may quit reading now.  If you want the rest of the story, by all means, carry on. :)

The cancer has increased in size a little over the last four months.  It is now 9mmX8mm.  Not quite 1cm, that is the magic number where we start looking at treatments.  So another four months of no treatments.  WOO HOO!!!!!!!

There are some concerns about my thyroid which has given me problems in the past, but nothing a little hormone therapy wont help.  So more tests and wait to hear on that.

Obviously you can guess the refreshing part was little growth and no new tumors. 
The concerning part has to do with my heart.

I met with my cardiologist today as well.

My numbers didn't look as good as he wants, but due to my recent surgeries he will let it slide with a slight reprimand.  There are some concerns with my weight, which is over, and my numbers which are high.  So I need to make some changes and work harder at getting less plump.  (I know skinny will never be a word that describes me.)

So good news on the cancer front, and nothing bad, just concerning on the heart front.

Happy July!!!!!

Ok, I realize my posts are becoming less and less frequent.  But this is a good thing right?  We had a stellar, non-police involved Fourth of July celebration.  I love fireworks.  Funny story this year.  As some of you may know, Utah has legalized class C fireworks, like aerials.  Ok exactly aerials.  I love them!!!  Here is the funny story I mentioned.  I go and buy fireworks.  Not a whole lot but enough to have fun.  I lit them in the field behind my house that was recently watered.  Sending showers of freedom and independence into the air.  My family and friends on the other side of the hedge, squealing with delight (or so I thought).  What was really happening was they were screaming because the cardboard shrapnel from the awesome fireworks was raining down on them.  So I logically assumed that they were having the same amount of enjoyment as myself.  Therefore I kept on lighting the fireworks.  With each exploding aerial display, a holler of glee was coming from the backyard.  After the grand finally I glimpsed to the back yard and nary a soul was in it.  They had all retreated to the front yard for safety and good viewing purposes.  No one was injured or hurt and fun was had by all.  Next year will be bigger and badder, and farther from the house.

Ok, I had scans the other day and I realized something... I do have a reaction to the MRI contrast.  It makes me really tired.  Laying on the scan table for a few hours makes my hip not work properly too.  Hopefully there will be good news on Tuesday after I meet with my doctor. 

So until Tuesday, I bid you adieu and Merry Christmas and have a lovely day.
Andy

June, what a month its turning out to be.

June, the month named after the Roman/Greek God Juno/Hera.  It is also the month I married my beautiful wife Peggy.  (for those of you keeping track,  it is also the month after melanoma awareness month.  He he he.)

We have been married for 19 years.  Time flies when you are having fun.   In the nineteen years we have been married, we have managed to work at ensuring our posterity in trifecta.  With any luck they can find a way to avoid the ailments that have become the bane of my existence. 

I don't have an update for my cancer this month, but my shoulder is doing really well.  I have been told it will take a year to get my bicep attachment as strong as it will ever be, six months to get to 80%.  A lot of it depends on how I do my therapy. 

I have been doing my therapy everyday, and started walking.  Peggy is training to run a marathon, whether it happens, that's up to her, but she has been running every night for the past week.  I started walking with her, only slower and not as far.  She starts out with me until I get tired and have to slow my pace, then zooms off like a shot and when she turns around so do I, when she catches back up I walk faster for a little while then we cool down together.  So far its working well.  I haven't keeled over yet.

My scans will be around mid July.  My results will be a few days after on the 16th.  So for a cancer update, check back on the 16th of July.

May your June be filled with fun in the sun, with sunscreen of course and summer activities.

Merry Christmas and have a lovely day.
Andy

Happy belated melanoma awaremess month

As you all know, May is melanoma awareness month.  It is the beginning of spring/summer type activities.  I have been wearing my stupid looking cowboy hat out when working in the yard, yes I said working in the yard.  Now keep in mind that my version of working in the yard is mainly yelling at the kids to do something while Peggy gets all the work done and the kids and I just cause each other grief. 

But my shoulder is healing.  Slowly but surely.  I am up to 5 ish pounds I can do curls with.  If I am a good boy, I should be released around mid September.  Every once in a while I do forget and do something silly like reach for a closing door, or punch Caity in the arm.  Bad news for me on both of those. 

We are taking it easy on the cancer front, the out of sight, out of mind, attitude.  My next scans are in July.  So until then we just don't worry about it and keep planning for our future. 

It rained here today, as it has for the past few days, what a welcomed event!  The back field is sprouting forth some alfalfa.  The girls just cant wait to haul hay again.  Too bad for me I will likely be in shape to haul it next year. 

I am also doing a weight loss blog, not for the faint of heart, or weak of stomach, there are pictures of a really fat guy shirtless on that blog.  http://taleoftheshrinkingman.blogspot.com/ 

If anyone has a set of dumbbells they would like to loan me for a while (someone close)  I would appreciate it.  They need to start at 10 lbs and go up in 5 lbs or less increments.

Anyway, life is good, we are blessed, and sorry for the long spaces between posts, but that's a good thing right?

Have a Merry Christmas and a lovely day,
Andy.

Name that bird

So today, Sunday, we were sitting around minding our own business and whoosh, a flutter of grey and a flash of tail feathers and a bird is lodged in our back fence.  Upon first glance, I thought it an Eurasian collard dove.  A shoot on site kinda bird, and tasty too.  But like all good hunters do, I double checked because I wanted to be 100% of my quarry.  The first thing I noticed, looking through optics, was a curved beak, and big eyes, not very dove like.  So we watched and waited, oh and put up the gun.(no dove on the menu tonight.) Peggy broke out the camera and shot some film of the cute little bugger.  It was eating something it had caught, which we later found out was a small bird.  We tried to get a closer shot, but in the process of walking around (Peggy claims) my jogging pants made a swoosh swoosh noise that startled the bird away.  We think it was a sharp-shinned hawk, but let us know what you think. 

Bird Video

 

If you can't tell, it is Andy who is addressing you this day.  I am doing better, the pain comes and goes based on how much I do during the day.  Who would have thought that walking can make your shoulder hurt?.  I've been told I can start walking, so guess who is going walking more (Peggy is making me)?  Yep, it's me.  I don't really know what else to tell you.  I will let Peggy know I uploaded the video and hopefully someone out there can tell us what kind of bird it is.

Have a Merry Christmas and a lovely day.
Andy.

WOW what a month!

So here we are in March and boy does it march in and out quickly. There have been so many things that have happened, let's play catch up.
It's Birthday time for the Layne family. We have 3 nieces and 3nephews birthday's, Andy's father's, 2 friends, and oh yeah our beautiful daughters. That's a lot of birthday cake!
Shaeli and Caity both have turned another year older and I just can't understand how it is possible that I can have a 17 and 15 year old. I mean I'm like...what...twenty something?
Oh, wait. I'm like almost fff...never mind. The point is our baby girls are closer to being an adult than a kindergartner. I seriously could cry. The song from fiddler on the roof comes to mind, and it goes something like...
(hem, hem, clearing the throat)
"Where is the little girl I carried? Where is the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older, when did they?"
(sigh)
Oh well life continues. So anywho, they chose different things for their birthday cake. Caity wanted ice cream cake. Something Andy doesn't like and love to loudly complain about. Shaeli chose cheesecake. So, we made the cheesecake and bought the ice cream cake. They were DELICIOUS! Oh my heck I think I gained like 10 pounds over 2 days.

It was also junior prom!
 Shaeli looked gorgeous. She wore a sparkly silver and black dress. She even let me put makeup on her. I shouldn't have done it, she looks too pretty and grown up with it on. I will have Andy put pics up later. I don't know how and I don't have the time for visuals.

Speaking of time. Andy is healing well from surgery. He still is a pain in the bottom, but he is doing well. He told me the other day that he is feeling more optimistic and hopeful for the future.This is huge. Andy has battled a lot of pain in the last couple of years and we really have not been given a great timeline to live on, so when Andy is this hopeful we are all more optimistic and happy.

I know I am forgetting to tell you something I just can't remember right now.  Some people call it a senior moment, I call it too much going on in life to stop and remember it. So, I hope that all is well with you, and our prayers are for you always.

tired is my middle name

Well looking back at the last few weeks made me feel, well exhausted. I truly feel that my name should be tired. I know, I know everyone is busy and tired. It doesn't help that we had daylight savings time. I love having sunlight at 7 o'clock at night, but the change kicked my butt. Oh, sorry and pardon my french. I should say kicked my backside.

Today Andy had his surgery. Hurray!!! We were there at 12:45 for pre-op and around 1:45 he went into surgery. He did really well. It only took 3 hours for surgery and another 3 hours in recovery. That went better than we all (doctors included) thought it would. He had no complications. What a good baby.
I have to share a little insight that came to me today while in the waiting room. This lovely lady asked me if the doctors told me a time to expect the surgery to take. I said,  "yeah around 3 hours." She said that I looked a little too comfy sitting in the chair and asked if I had waited for my husband before with something like this. I said not only have I waited for my husband through other surgery's, I have gotten to where I rate the hospitals on their waiting rooms. It goes a little like this:

 rated on a scale of 1-5    5 being- best           1 being- needed to be shut down

Huntsman Cancer & Research        4 star
LDS Hospital (old)                          1 star
LDS Hospital (new)                         3 star
McKay Dee Hospital                       3 star
Nevada Cancer Institute                   2 star
Logan Regional                               3 star
Tremonton Hospital                         3 star
Primary Children's Hospital              4 star
University of Utah Hospital             2.5 to 3 star (depending on which area)
Brigham City Hospital                     2.5 star

Okay. I see a problem don't you and this is where the insight came into play.

I really have been in way TOO many hospital waiting/ recovery/overnight/ Dr. office  rooms. I am hoping that after this Andy is able to get into a healthy physical shape and it helps to ward off illness and continued hospital/ specialist visits.
Oh, by the way. Andy did his three month scans at UofU and met with our favorite specialist, Dr. Grossman. The update goes as this:
The tumor in the lower lobe in the right lung has not changed since the last scans in December. Although the SUV levels are increased it does not show a dramatic change. That means that Andy has no new tumors and the one itsy one has not changed enough to alarm the docs. So, he doesn't have scans for FOUR months. That is one month longer than normal. That is a good thing. It all comes down to Andy's cancer is fairly stable and the doctors are happy with that and so are we.