Good news all the way around!!

Yesterday was the first follow-up visit to the plastic surgeon.  The mummywrap came off and a new look (at least to Mrs.-Me) emerged.  She had never seen me with facial hair (or any other hair above the neck, for that matter).  Ten days of growth, I have to admit, didn't look half-bad on me.  Last time I tried was at the tender age of 30 and almost a third of it came in gray.  Wasn't ready then, but now ???

Anyway, the doctor removed the sutures and it's still a little raw, as was to be expected.  A smaller bandage is in place and will be until it heals, of course. 

The best of the news of the day was that the pathology report came back negative -- THEY GOT IT ALL!!  Early detection is a wonderful thing.  A decent night's sleep for the first time in over a week is even moreso.  I'm still having to sleep in the easy chair (head elevated), but I can live with it for another week if need be.

I know there were a lot of prayers and happy thoughts coming my way from all this and all I can say is "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  And yes, Cheryl, you were responsible for that reaction.  (Inside joke, an almost 40 years old inside joke.)

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- God is clearly not finished with me yet.  Stay tuned ...

Mummification, Day 9: Get Me Outta This Thing!!

It is now Saturday evening, 9 days removed from the big cover-up. 

One thing I've mentioned recently is that the sudden emergence of hair that hasn't been there in a good long time (10 years in the case of my head, 25+ years in the case of my face) is driving me absolutely NUTS.  Sneezes still hurt somewhat (my guess is that it's pulling on sutures).  I find myself using TWO hands to combat such sneezes -- one to cover my nose and mouth and one to keep my head intact. 

On Monday morning, I will be seeing my plastic surgeon (the dermatology surgeon is on vacation for the next two weeks) to hopefully discover that those sutures that are self-dissolving have already done so and that those that are not self-dissolving can be easily removed.  This visit will also provide the pathology report from the surgical procedure, which hopefully reveals that they "got it all". 

In a lighter vein, my recent appearance has been likened to everything from a DC (or any major metropolis) cab driver (except maybe for Ben Bailey -- no cash here, folks) to Humpty Dumpty from the new Puss N Boots movie.  It's times like this when it pays to have a sense of humor. 

There's been a lot of encouragement from a lot of different people, including a group of about 300 who don't even know me.  I also received a prayer quilt from Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, courtesy of an old high school classmate.  This was the cause of some interesting conversation when it arrived at my home:  Mrs.-Me inquired as to who a "Dorothy F." was from Las Vegas.  I, of course, was without a clue until we opened the package and discovered it was from my old friend "via" this Dorothy F.  Apparently, Dorothy had sent it directly from the church.  Thanks, Connie. 

You can tell it's Saturday night -- I'm rambling.  To repeat myself, if you're reading about me in this condition for the first time, I apologize and for those that have been keeping up by checking this out, thank you. 

God is not finished with me yet ... stay tuned. 

Just over 48 hours removed ...

And all appears to be well.  The procedure went well and on time.  I'm still a little tender, which I suppose is to be expected.  They removed the melanoma, taking a 2cm circumference around it, then taking a graft from behind my right ear to fill in the void.  The nuclear discovery prior to the actual surgery indicated that the sentinel lymph node was near my left ear.  While they had me under a "controlled anesthesia", the doctor indicated that I'd be "awake" but I "wouldn't care", I cared every time I gained any degree of consciousness because of the tube that was in my left nostril.  Every time I came close to being "awake", that tube reminded me that I'd just as soon be out. 

I was one blessed man, not only during the surgery, but after.  About 15 minutes before I was scheduled to go into the OR, they were just bringing my wife back when a nurse appeared.  I thought she was going to tell me Angie got lost or something, but then she said, "Your pastor is here."  A pleasant surprise indeed.  I said "by all means, send her in."  They walked in within a few seconds of each other and Leslianne stayed with Angie while I was in surgery.  Talk about an angel on the shoulder of another angel.  I was more worried about my wife than I was about myself going into this thing.  She's been through so much in that past year, a lot of it admittedly having to do with my health (or lack thereof) in the past 13 months, but the vast majority of it having to do with her son's death in January.  She's been steadier than anyone should have to be during this time.  Anyone that's ever questioned her strength just doesn't know her. 

Anyway, the procedure took just over two hours, since I returned to recovery at just before Noon and was released at about 1:00.  Needless to say, Percocet has been my friend for past couple of days, and I am going to attempt to sleep without it tonight.  How successful I am will determine whether or not I make it into work tomorrow, but my expectations are high.  My office has a pretty strong dress code, however, and I may be in jeopardy of breaking it, since I am wrapped up pretty much like a mummy from the neck up.  This may preclude my ability to wear a tie, or to even fit my dress shirts on.  I guess I'll know more in the morning. 

Those of you who know me on Facebook, I've posted a picture of my most recent headshot. 

If you've read this far, thank you for all the support.  I'll continue to update this blog as necessary. 

Final Preparations for Friday's Procedure

It's Tuesday night and the nerves are starting to kick in just a smidge. 

Two calls came in today.  One was from the hospital, wanting to "pre-register" me.  The other was from my GP, saying "please call us BEFORE you pre-register."  Since both offices were closed by the time I got home, I don't know what in the world they want.  What price popularity!!

As a follow-up to last Friday's Round 2 episode, I was told I could have the EKG re-done "first thing" Friday morning, so I showed up just before 8:00 a.m., the time the office USUALLY opens.  Come to find out they don't open until 8:30 on Fridays.  On top of that, the doctor who requested the repeat EKG doesn't start seeing patients until 9:30!!  So much for "first thing in the morning."  A little communication would have been nice -- that's two hours I'm not going to get back. 

Once I finally arrived at work (just after 11:00), I'm already an hour behind, but thank goodness for helpful co-workers (that's you, Melanie).  An hour later, as I'm sitting down to lunch, another call from the GP, indicating that the hospital sent them the wrong lab results.  Instead of sending the labs I had done last week, they sent the results from June, when I had my appendectomy.  This required a call to the hospital to get them to send the right results. 

As I've said before, the one good thing about surgery this Friday is that my office is closed, so I don't lose any more time.  However, I'm taking Thursday afternoon off to deal with getting my license renewed at the DMV.  It expires at the end of the month and if I'm still bandaged, they may not want to take my picture.  Why anyone wants to take my picture in the first place, I don't know, but i digress.....

Actually, I must share this as well ... a deacon at my church offered to stand in for the DMV picture, but warned me that I'd end up on every watch list imaginable (he's of Persian descent and very good-humored).  I've learned a lot from that man over the past few years. 

For those still following along, thank you.  For those seeing this for the first time, again I apologize, but you don't realize how many friends you have until something like this happens and you run the risk of not telling someone you should have probably told in a little more personal fashion. 

EKG -- Round 2

My technological savvy is developing since this is my first blog originating from my iPhone.

I got a phone call from my doctor's office (my GP) indicating that there was a glitch in the EKG taken at the hospital last week. I am now waiting for the doors to open at the office to have it re-done here. The speculation is that the hospital misplaced one of the leads, so I guess we'll see.

Besides, when I had my appendix out in June, I was told my EKG was "perfect". Can I really have gone to heck in a handcart in just 5 months?

No worries -- the hospital tech was a trainee, so a mistake is possible. My doctors are all over this, so I remain confident.

God is clearly not finished with me yet. Stay tuned.

11-11-11 -- Let the Cutting Begin

Yesterday was spent getting my bloodwork and EKG in order, as well as a visit to my GP to ensure I could "take" the upcoming surgical procedure.  It has been scheduled for November 11, which is fortunate in that I don't have to worry about taking time off from work, since we're closed on Veterans' Day.  In addition, this falls on Friday, which gives me the weekend to recover. 

I have one more doctor's visit, to the plastic surgeon on Tuesday morning, then the stage will be set for the following Friday.  The procedure is set for 9:00 a.m., which means I'll need to be there at zero-dark-hundred in the morning (5:00 a.m.). 

That's the story I'm sticking to ... for now.  Stay tuned ....

UPDATE: Doctors Optimistic and So am I

On Wednesday, I had my first visit to Washington Hospital Center to clarify what needs to be done and where I stand up to this point. I remembered almost immediately why I dislike afternoon appointments. It seems like the later in the day you have a medical appointment of any kind, the less your chance of being seen in a timely manner tend to go down exponentially.

My appointment was at 3:00 and getting there early helped a little bit. I must say up front that WHC is not an easy place to get to, which makes it fortunate that my procedure will be out-patient.

By the time the visit ended, I met two of the doctors (plus an intern) who will be teaming up on me, one an oncologist and one a surgeon. There will also be a plastic surgeon involved, but he got "called away" at the last minute. The word I received is that we're dealing with a phase II-A or II-B melanoma, which indicates that the wound is very treatable, most likely with a single visit. The procedure is called a sentinel lymph node biopsy, which means I will have a dye injected into the site of the melanoma to determine whether it has spread and if so, how far. We're looking at a four-inch area that will be trimmed away, which I assume is where the plastic surgeon comes in. A visual and by-touch exam by all three physicians I saw seem to suggest that my lymph nodes are in decent shape, hence our shared optimism that the melanoma has not spread.

I should get a phone call this week to schedule the surgery. Once I have a date, I then need to take a physical exam with my GP to "make sure I can tolerate" such a procedure. Naturally, I don't anticipate an issue there.

I will update here as I learn more. In the meantime, I appreciate all the prayers and happy thoughts I am receiving. Again, if you're reading this rather than hearing from me, I apologize, but this is an easy way of communicating without spending all day on the telephone.

Did I bump my head? Well, not exactly ...

For those of you who are hearing about this for the first time, I apologize in advance. It was impossible to pass "the word" first-hand without sounding like I was honking my own horn, especially since what you may read here is really nothing to honk one's horn about.

I will be sharing a little history, but the bottom line is after you read this, you'll know what I know up to this point.

About six months ago, I developed what I thought was a simple blemish on my forehead above my left eye. Since, as a diabetic, I'm slow to heal anyway, I didn't think that much about it, but when it became apparent that this was more than a simple pimple (especially at my age), I finally discussed it with my doctor last month. He referred me to a dermatologist, who removed the "lesion" (as my primary doc put it) and sent it for a biopsy, with the belief that we were dealing with what he coined a "basal carcinoma".

On Thursday, the dermatologist (how can I not trust a man named Smith, not to mention the fact that he's been practicing for 30 years?) called me at work to inform me that the lab results came back and said I have a melanoma, which is much more than we anticipated. On Friday, we were thinking "OK, one more visit to remove the rest of it and I walk away with a scar at worst." Now, we're dealing with a different situation. My father and my sister have dealt with skin cancer in recent years, and now the oldest sibling gets his "turn".

I will be paying a visit to a specialist and a surgeon this Wednesday to discuss the possible treatment options. One of these options (and the most likely) is a sentinel lymph node biopsy, which means they inject a dye into what is left of the wound and see if the melanoma has spread and, if so, to where. This week is just a consultation. While we're waiting for this consultation, they will be sending the biopsy for a second opinion. Best case scenario: It hasn't spread and it's an easy removal and I'm known as "scarface" for the duration. We won't think of the other scenario just yet.

I can get a little long-winded, as most of you know, but now you know what I know. I'll keep you posted here and I'll post on facebook when I've updated this status.

If you've read this far, thank you. If you're a person of faith, your prayers will be appreciated.

Goodnight, Irene -- Worship Service Unaffected by Loss of Power

As most of you know, Hurricane Irene has made its way through North Carolina and Virginia and is still wreaking havoc up the coast of New England. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who continue to endure this storm.

For most of us here in Northern Virginia, it was nothing more than a tropical storm, but I don't use the term "nothing more" lightly. Winds in my neck of the woods probably did not exceed 50 miles per hour, considering by the time Irene's eye went by us, the maximum winds were barely 90 mph. It was not so much the intense center of this hurricane, but the fact that it spread out so wide that presented the potential for harmful conditions.

While we did not lose power here, several areas did and some are still without power. The Fairlington area was in the dark, particularly in the area of our church, Fairlington Presbyterian. It did not go unnoticed that our Methodist brethren across the street apparently cancelled their services in an abundance of caution. We had a grand total of 22 (by my unofficial count) who braved what was left of the weather to come to a building that was without power, which turned our organist into a pianist for the day. He did not (and never does) disappoint. The music ministry of our church is small, but mighty indeed.

While I am thankful that we were able to have a service even with a loss of power (which was restored about midway through), my thoughts and prayers continue to be for those who have already endured the effects of Irene, and for those who have yet to stand in its path. May her impact on you be minimal.

A West Coast Perspective on an East Coast Surprise

And I thought leaving California would get me out of the "earthquake zone". Clearly, no one is exempt.

Folks asked me when I moved the first time back in 1999 why would I do this? Why would I subject myself to snowstorms, blizzards, etc. throughout the winter months? My short answer back then: (A) I was in love (and still am) and (B) snowstorms, unlike earthquakes, can at least be predicted.

So imagine my shock when at about 1:50 p.m. this afternoon when the area around my desk began doing a subtle roll. I thought I was sharing Mrs.-Me's unfortunate occasional vertigo until I looked at my co-worker, who was thinking the same thing I was -- Are we having an earthquake?

Now keep in mind my California experience (about 18 years in total), especially with my first such event, the Whittier Narrows quake that knocked me out of bed from a sound sleep in October of 1987. I learned at that point that my co-worker had lived several years in Japan. We know all too well what has happened there in recent months. At any rate, we had our bearings shot for a short few minutes (including the approximately 45 seconds that rolling continued), then almost laughed about it. We were both thinking we could have stayed in our previous locales and taken THIS abuse.

Several of our co-workers were not so enamored by the situation. One was in tears, not because of the shaking so much, but because despite her best efforts, she was not able to reach family members because phone lines were jammed. After we were evacuated for a short time, an Executive Committee member came out and told us we could re-enter and allowed those who were too uncomfortable going back in to adjourn for the day. Having been through enough of these, I went back inside. There was no structural damage, and all seemed to be OK. A few went home, but the landscape definitely changed for the rest of the day.

To those family members who read this, we are fine and nothing and no one got hurt.

We remain,

All shook up in Alexandria.