Status Quo

I had my monthly visit to my Pain Doctor last week and on this particular visit I was seeing his PA. She is a very nice lady and I was giving her an update on how I have been feeling over the last month along with how I was functioning in my daily routines (work,being the #1 Dad & Husband) with the medications I was on. I reminded her that I was going to be going to Shands in Gainesville on September 22 in order to see what the next steps could be in dealing with my internal abdomen/scar tissue issues. I told her that there are days I feel fine with the medication and levels that I take and then there are some days that just suck and it feels like someone is trying to shove a baseball through my mid section, but I need to keep focused because kids need to eat, infants rocked to sleep, and bills need to be paid. She said, "OK, our goal is to keep you 'status quo' until the end of September".  What does it say about your life when a key person whom you rely on's goal is to keep you "status quo"?

I didn't know what to make of that statement. Has all of the effort I have been putting in over the last few years in my goal to live a normal life gone for not?  Sometimes I feel that certain medical personnel just want to write you more prescriptions to keep you on a constant high and do not care about the emotional or physical consequences it has on their patients. Are they putting any effort into finding a solution to my issues or is it I will pretend to care for 5 minutes, write your scripts, send you on your way, and most important,bill your insurance company?

Sometimes I feel that I am all alone on an island when it comes to dealing with medical professionals. They don't get that I don't want to spend my life on disability and that I want to have a productive life. I want them to realize that it takes all of my effort to ignore the constant pain that I feel through out the upper half of my body and go forward in accomplishing my tasks for the day. If I am going to be successful in my "Battle to Be Normal" then I need my medical team to be on the same page as me and sorry "status quo" will not suffice!  I'm not going to "settle" and I will keep fighting!

It's Hard to Stay Positive..But It's A Must

I was "surfing" the web yesterday and I went to an old client's website in order to see what they were up to and how one of my former colleagues, Linda, was doing.  Linda is a very nice woman who was working as the lone Project Manager in the Company. She was always positive, friendly, and could handle a ton of work.  During the last couple of months of my engagement, Linda was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma of the face or Bone Cancer. I could see that she tried to put her emotions on the "back burner" while she was making arrangements to go see a specialist in South Florida.

Before Linda left for her leave, she asked me for advice on how to deal with all the aspects of having cancer. I remember telling her that it was okay to be angry, sad, and that it will get frustrating even when loved ones and friends are just trying to help. The most important thing and the hardest thing to do is to stay positive and to never give up (fighting). After my engagement at the client ended, I lost touch with how Linda was progressing. I checked in with a former colleague once or twice and always asked how Linda was feeling. That  is why I took it real hard yesterday when I saw the link on the client's website to Linda's "Go Fund Me" page and read about the struggles she has endured. I don't know if it was because I have been feeling like crap the past few days but just reading about all her facial surgeries and the post operative issues she has been having made me wonder why do nice and caring people like Linda have to go through this. I have my lovely and strong wife to help me in my fight but who is there for Linda and the others, without a strong spouse, struggling with the "aftermath" on a daily basis?

But then I re-read the updates and I realized Linda is not alone. She has a great support system of family and friends from her Church, who were nice enough to start her "Go Fund Me" site. Please keep Linda and all of the brave people young and old fighting their Cancer Battles on a daily basis in your prayers. If you would like to help Linda, please visit:http://www.gofundme.com/op5oa0.

For all those fighting, Stay Positive, It's a Must!!!!

Orlando Loves Scott

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Scott McKenzie. Scott was a long time morning radio host here in Orlando on the station that plays mainly music from the 80's and 90's. I personally didn't know Scott, never met him, but when I moved to Orlando in 2003, I enjoyed listening to him and his show most mornings. He wasn't one of those rude, obnoxious, over the top morning jocks that are just looking to get ratings. He was someone that made you feel like you you were having a nice fun conversation (with him) while you were driving to work and once the conversation was finished you walked away in a great mood.

I remember the first time I heard Scott mention that he had cancer on the radio a few years ago. He was out for a period of time receiving treatment and he had come back and was thanking his listeners for all of their love and support. He still had that friendly voice but underneath that tone you can tell he was a caring determined individual. Here was a middle aged man fighting his battle with cancer while I was involved with the "Battle After". It was inspiring how he pulled off this morning show every day and kept leaving his listeners "walking away" a great mood as they started their day.

I was working mainly from home up until a few weeks ago, so during my morning commute to my new place of employment, I would flip the radio between stations and when I was listening to Mix 105,1, I just thought Scott was on summer vacation. That's what made yesterday's news so shocking as I had no idea he was coming to the end of his fight. I listened to the beautiful tribute to Scott on my way to work this morning and I read his "Goodbye Post" from last Friday. It was moving, tearful, unselfish, and inspiring. I strongly recommend reading his post at http://mix1051.cbslocal.com/2015/08/07/scott-mckenzie-cancer-update-the-on-and-off-buttons/.

May you Rest In Peace Scott and you didn't loose your battle because you left your listeners "walking away forever"in a great mood. #OrlandoLovesScott

Enjoy the Good Days

We spend so much time feeling bad and battling day in and day out to function in life that every once in a while there is a period of time that you actually feel good for a change. It may be a day or two, or even a few weeks, but all of a sudden you feel normal, in fact you feel great! The pain is gone, the side effects from all the medication you are taking doesn't bother you and you are happy.  You are knocking out your tasks at work, doing activities with your children, being intimate with your wife and you forget there is or ever was an issue with your health.

Well my friends, enjoy it! Don't over analyze and waste precious time as to trying to figure out "why" you feel better physically and what caused you to feel better physically because unfortunately those days of continuously feeling physically better end. It's a roller coaster with good days and bad days so why torment ourselves with over analysis! Don't start playing doctor and screwing around with your medication and spending hours on the web searching for the meaning of this "Miracle".

The biggest asset we have in this battle is our brains; control over how we think and how we think can effect how we feel. So when the physically challenging days come rushing back, stay positive! Tell your children how much you love them and kiss your wife and tell her how beautiful she is because if you do those things every day, then every day is a Good Day!