An update for them as concerned.

Jim Warman · December 26, 2013

Hair is growing back.... way too slow for my liking. I still get woozy or short of breath the very odd time but I'm a lot better than I have been. I'm on holiday from chemo - this is good. It was two weeks of chemo and one week of trying to recuperate from chemo up until now.

My appetite is back - breakfast is between 4 and 5 AM (did I mention sleep cycles are totally pooched?) and breakfast number two is about 8 or 9 AM followed by lunch one and two.......... Sadly, I never got the chance to enjoy some of the herb......

I went to the SL Ford staff Xmas party - turkey, dressing, salads, deserts and a big tray of holubchi. They made a speech for this old fart that brought tears to his eyes and made a presentation - a framed photo of the SL shop staff.

They used a kit to clean up the headlight pods on my truck, cleaned my truck in and out (more than once), forgave me two oil changes, stabilizer end links and an idler arm. They put new running boards on my truck and gave me the Xmas bonus I would have received if I was still a full time employee ( a $500 gift card to a local grocers, for those that "need to know" ).

The doctors are slowly learning not to use words like "terminal" in my presence. That's up to me and the FSM. I am going to expire "one of these days". This was evident over 60 years ago. Today it is more evident - not because of my current condition - but simply because I'm old enough to just "come my lump".

What have I learned? Today could be the last day of my existence. I could be caught in the crossfire of a robbery gone bad, an anhydrous ammonia rail car incident or even just step off the curb at the wrong time. Life is what you make of it. "Do or do not - there is no "try""

Aaron · December 27, 2013

Well, stay the fuck away from trains, look both ways, and don't go into the shady end of town there in Slave Lake

Glad you're doin better. Tried to call today but my shitbox phone wasn't co operating.

Jeff Clyde · December 27, 2013

Great to hear Jim !!

Keith Browning · December 27, 2013

Yes and it is nice to hear from you!

lmorris · December 27, 2013

Good to hear. Who knows, maybe you will be able to get back on the scooter this spring!

YukonTyler · December 31, 2013

It's excellent reading your update, Jim. I'm glad to hear that some of the 'little' things like actually wanting to eat are coming back, and it sounds like you had yourself a mighty fine Christmas.

Jim Warman · March 14, 2014

An update.... also known as cluster-phuques this way come.

So, the crap in my head is behaving nicely but the crap in my lungs - not so much. Depending on what is in my lungs, I might qualify for human trials (I guess in my case semi-human trials) on a new miracle drug that Astra Zenica is working on. But - they needed to take a fresh biopsy by doing a bronchoscopy. Last Tuesday was to be a consult in Edmonton and Wednesday was to be a bronchoscopy.

Tuesday I was told that I wasn't going to have that until next week. But the doc said she thought my legs looked "bad" - I agreed and told her that is why I never wear shorts..... "Not like that", she said and told me I needed an ultrasound. "Go home?" sez I. Yep, the reply.

So, I go to where I'm staying and retrieve my stuff, travel to St. Alberta and load a Costco cart to the gunnels with stuff. Whence my phone rings - "you have an ultrasound tomorrow". I abandon my shopping cart in the store (no sense in risking the probable freeze) and return my belongings to our friends house.

The ultrasound isn't until next afternoon. So I hit Costco the morning of the ultrasound to save time, park in a parkade and go for the ultrasound.

Wouldn't you know it - I have a blood clot in one leg. Ultrasound doc tells me to walk over to my docs office - a little over a block - and he'd call her. I get there - no doctor - but her nurse slams my ass in a wheelchair and carts me down to emergency..... and promptly abandons me. With the triage nurse repeating "I have no idea why you are here". They admit me to hospital with me repeating my explanation of the truck laden with groceries, how I'm not well prepared for admission to hospital, etc., etc.

Finally, several hours later, my doc shows up in emergency. I can go home but here's a prescription - I have to give myself two needles a day.

After all that - I have to go back next week for the bronchoscopy. At least I'm still on the sunny side of the dirt and I celebrated year one since my diag. Thank Yaweh or whoever for universal health care.

And how was your day?

Before I forget - parking at every hospital I've gone this past year has been $2/ half hour.

Brad Clayton · March 14, 2014

That's a great sense of humor and you cant go wrong with that eh? The needles work great for the clot. My wife developed a blood clot in her leg after a rough knee surgery. I had to give her shots in her stomach for the duration and she was good to go.

My day was great, thank you for asking.

Our local hospital validates parking tickets. :haha2:

Seriously, we wish you well and yes, I give Yaweh all the credit!!!!!

YukonTyler · March 14, 2014

Your trials sound a lot like one of those trucks that everybody gets once in a while - fix one problem only to find another. The good thing is that with the trucks it seems like you usually win in the end. I expect the same in this set of circumstances ; )

Obviously everything is touch and go, but I'm heading down to Calgary for the Ford brakes course on the 3rd and 4th, and then on my way home I'm hitting Edmonton for climate control from the 8th to the 10th. Maybe on my way back to Peace River after Edmonton we can have a quick rendezvous.

Keep well eh

DieselD · March 14, 2014

Good for you remaining positive Jim, Most people in your situation get a real bad attitude real quick....

Is your wonderful universal health care something we get to look forward here in the states? We seem to be working our way into that mess a little bit each year

Keith Browning · March 14, 2014

I don't think you can compare what is going on here with the ehalthcare system in Canada as in the U.S. its not about healthcare at all. But this is about Jim... not that mess. Nice to hear updates Jim! Hope you are not feeling too poorly.

Jim Warman · March 14, 2014

Tyler - who will be your instructor? Tuesday, I got up early to go all the way across the city to visit Darryl. Turns out he was instructing in Calgary - but I did get to meet Geoff (who thought I was there for the basic electrical course).

In spite of everything, I'm feeling great - being on the sunny side of the dirt can make you realize that any day you get out of bed is a good day :rockon:

FWIW, there are a whole whack of pretty nurses (doctors, too) that you get as eye candy. My cell phone contacts is starting to look more like the medical association index :grin: . Hopefully, next week will be a little less frustrating.

YukonTyler · March 14, 2014

I'm not sure who is teaching. I assume Darryl in Edmonton and Geoff in Calgary.

Somehow I've had Geoff teach every Ford classroom course I've ever done. When I've gone to Edmonton instead of Calgary he happened to be there, too, using the extra room while Darryl was in the main room.

I'm actually a bit excited for that first course. I know it doesn't count for a ton, but with that one in the bag it'll be four and I'll have my Senior designation.

Jim I'll drop you a line when I'm in Calgary at the start of April and we'll see if we can't sort something out. Slave is right en route back from Edmonton. Usually I take 43 but I don't see why I couldn't make a run up 2 to Peace River instead.

Jim Warman · March 17, 2014

For universal health care, I'm unsure if it (our flavour, at least) is well understood south of the 49th. Even with universal health care, you are still smart to carry private health insurance for stuff universal care doesn't cover. If you suddenly need a hospital, you can get care without having them check your credit rating and bank balance first.

When I was sent from Slave Lake to Edmonton by ambulance, they admitted me to the Slave Lake hospital first. Everything they did to and for me was covered by AHC (Alberta Health Care). The ambulance ride was covered as well as the time I spent in Royal Alex hospital. All the drugs and treatments I had in the hospital were covered.

Out of the hospital, my prescription drugs are covered by my private health carrier (some wind up being co-pay but our portion is barely pocket change).

Last week, for example. I drove to Edmonton - I pay this but it is tax deductible. The doctor visit was paid by AHC - this is what pays for everyone. She scheduled me for an ultrasound - amazingly, it happened the very next day. I have a blood clot and the doc prescribed a blood thinner. My private carrier picked up the tab for that (60 syringes of Lovenox - no idea what they cost and I'll probably never know).

Bottom line - I get to worry about me rather than how I'm going to pay for all of this. FWIW, AHC is paid for through our income taxes and my private health insurance was about $250 a month until I got sick. I had my choice of private carriers but settled on the group coverage offered through work. I really don't understand the problem - reach over, turn off Fox News and relax. :partay:

Fredsvt · March 17, 2014

When you put our healthcare here in the US under the IRS and HHS, one crooked as a bent stick and the other is neither about health or services, you end up with a mess of huge proportions. Taxes upon taxes, fees, and more government intrusion into something they have no business in.

There was nothing wrong with it the way it was.

Those that could afford healthcare, either through their employer, individually, or elsewhere had it. Those that couldn't afford healthcare, for the very poor got Medicaid. The seniors have Medicare and the plans that cover what Medicare doesn't. Even if you couldn't get Medicaid, if you walked into a hospital and needed something, it was called Charity Care. My next door neighbor had nearly 1 million in Charity Care done by a hospital not far from us. She will never need to pay that back.

What we've gotten is a 3 trillion dollar program, that can never work, the numbers will never add up, there are more uninsured now than there were pre Osamacare, and in 10 years there's STILL going to be 30 million without care. If the young kids don't sign up to pay for older or sicker people, it is going to collapse under it's own bloated, beaurocratic weight.

My own experience was getting a new plan (same insurer, partially paid by work) that has stuff I don't need, but I lose quite a bit in drug coverage. We CAN'T get more insurance to make that up, as each insurer will say you have "other insurance" and won't cover anything.

Oh, and btw, Fox news is the ONLY news in this country. Those of us that really care have to watch Fox, go to BBC, Euronews, Canada, and elsewhere to really find out what's going on. The networks are nothing more than our shithead excuse for a president's bully pulpit.