July 30, 2007: First Follow-up

Well, we have been off-line for sometime now. We have been busy with the things of summer, family, vacation and of course friends.

Friends in need are friends in deed. Some have been having more than their share of problems, but we pray they see that they are healing and getting better everyday.

I took a trip for two weeks with my wife. We went 3,000 miles without a problem. The seed was a 50th Anniversary party for her uncle and aunt in South Carolina. The trip was planned for a week to get there and a week to come home. It had a few days of long drives and some sights we wanted to see along the trail.

We started with a long drive to southwest Missouri to see my sister and brother-in-law. It was just an over-night visit after a LONG drive. Next we went to Little Rock, Arkansas to see the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. The building looks much better in life than I saw in the news. It has an amazing amount of information and is very well done.

We stayed the night and drove to Atlanta the next day. We toured the James Earl Carter, Jr. Center and Library. It covers his term and the center is dedicated to alleviating suffering, illness and oppression around the world after his presidency. He has done a lot of good works around the world. We also saw a lot of Atlanta. It is quite a metropolis in the south. Gray Line has a good tour option. We both can see the sights without traffic worries.

On to Savannah. We were told in Atlanta, "In Savannah, everything they talk about is the 'oldest' or the 'first'." They hit the nail on the head there. The citizens of Savannah are VERY proud of their city. Maybe more than they should be. I expected to see an OLD city of the south, one spared by Sherman, truly antebellum. It couldn't live up to the hype. It reminded me very much of Springfield, Illinois. Not in good repair and getting around was not easy. And it was 101 F but felt like 108F. Another Gray Line tour, in an open trolley, and on to Walterboro.

It too was a small southern town with most of the really nice places out of town in newer developments. The South Carolina Artisan and Craft Center is located in Walterboro. We just looked. There were some pieces I liked; but, I would have needed to buy the room, cases and surrounding works because they looked 'right in the context of the display'. They would not look right in my house. The party was very nice and it was fun to watch the folks interact.

Next stop Charleston or "Chalstun" as they say. Our tour guide was very entertaining. Will was a native who had left and been a bit of a way faring man before returning to settle in Charleston. We toured the city and out to Magnolia Plantation and Drayton Hall. This was not an antebellum plantation. It was destroyed , rebuilt , burned, rebuilt then expanded. The gardens were not as I expected but it was interesting to see the slave quarters the home and get a sense of the way of life there.

Next to Asheville, North Carolina to tour the Biltmore Estate. The sin of wealth! 125,000 acres! Forty some bedrooms! Thirty some bathrooms! Thirty staff when the Vanderbilts were NOT there. All built at the end of the 1800's. And still family owned! Not given or sold to the state. Just one of their homes. They had "The Breakers" in Connecticut and a "Cottage" on the Hudson. It took all day to tour and we only saw 60 rooms.

How much Tennessee looks like home after being in the Deep South. Just passing through to Kentucky. We were staying at Mammoth Cave lodge and had to drive from the Biltmore. The lodge is like stepping back in time to the sixties. The room had a real key with the green plastic fob with the room number stamped on it. The walls were paneled, there were swag lamps with painted glass cylinders for shades. The place was immaculate! It was a wonderful place to stay. The restaurant was in the same building and a short walk from the park's visitor center. We sat on our patio and watched the bats at sunset. The next morning we took a "old man" tour of the cavern. Not too many stairs and no narrow passages. It was hot and humid when we came out of the 54 degree cave.

Then a long day's drive home. The number of trucks on the highway is incredible! The economy must be flourishing. There is too much commerce for it not to be thriving. We went 3,000 miles with out an accident! Vehicular or biological. We saw a lot of rest areas across the country. Fortunately there was no Minnesota on this trip; every state had all the rest areas open.

When we arrived home I had an appointment to get blood work done for my first follow-up visit with my oncologist. As usual, it took two people and three needles and four sticks to get three little vials of blood. It's not easy, even for the pros, to draw blood from me. I was finally holding the vial on the end of the butterfly-needle while he used both hands to steady the needle and the vein. When he got a flush of blood I'd push the vial onto the outlet and watch it slowly fill. When it would stop he would have to pump the needle in and out to find the vein again. He apologized for blowing the vein but we got it. Now I wait until Wednesday to go get the results. I am hoping (and pretty confident) for a near zero PSA. That will be an 'all clear' for the first 90 days. Four years and nine months to go to a 'declaration' of cured.

I've had some pains. Occasional abdominal wall searing pains. And if I can't get to the toilet in time it gets real painful. I think I am sooo good at controlling the flow that the muscles start to spasm. When I do get to the bathroom I can barely get the flow going. Then I have to relax a few minutes and go again. It really is no big deal when one compares it to having cancer. I would bet if anyone who has cancer that is terminal were given the choice, they would take this in trade.

Well, I will be back with an update on the results soon.