Sometimes it seems that all that goes through my half-mind is radiation.  Did I say it, RADIATION……. the process is not something that a pain, because all I do is lay there for a bout 10 minutes, get zapped, and go home.  Everything starts to add up, though; leave an hour early, you never know how traffic will be.  UCLA is so darn great at what they do, in all areas, that they make the process seem so easy.  I say this because it will happen every once in a while, that an emergency will come and take precedence over my time for my treatment.  The technicians get so apologetic…

Who doesn’t want to take a nap, well, at least sometime?  I live for them, sometime only 20 -30 minutes.  Research tells us 15-20 minutes are the best, where we really don’t let ourselves drift into deep sleep, but that “down” time can sure bring us along in  a rested state. This is what I thought when I was told that I had to have radiation.  I was thinking NAP time!  Not so much.  Before you even start to come into your “nap room”, you have to have a mask made up for your face.  You come to the table, and lie down so that your head is in a…

Dogs are a man’s best friend.  How many times do we hear this, or say this?  Thousands of times, or ten times that for some people, people that I’ve known around here. I’ve had a dog for so long, that it wouldn’t be the same without one.  A lot of responsibility, but really, it’s doesn’t seem like it when you really dig them like they dig you.  They bring a lot of smiles, a LOT of laughter, and once in a while, a frown, (very few, though).  A lot of dog people, as we call each other, have one story after another, and sometimes can stand and speak about nothing but…

It’s pretty amazing when you’re really trying to focus on something being said, or a conversation, or something like that, and the next thing that you know,  is your mind is a million miles away.  How’d that happen?  I think it happens much more than we all think.  There was a conversation, or  something that just stuck in our minds, that means a whole lot to us, and we might not really understand why. The second day after my surgery, September 25, I had to go in for not one, but two MRI’s.  They were both different;  one might explain where the mind goes when it is supposed to be…

When was the last time that you, or a person in general, just went out for a walk. I suppose that “A Walk” can be defined by a lot of different interpretations, but really going out and ENJOYING the walk is powerful. To go out, listen to the birds, no matter how many there will be, throughout the walk, is very inspirational. Birds are talking! All day, throughout the day, they’re talking. So many times when you think that you’ve got it figured out, now you see several small birds, flying around hawks and nose diving on them. Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense at all, except that our reason…

Every day that you’re in the hospital, there’s always at least one question that is at the front of everyone minds.  Maybe more to some, but at least one, and to me, that just boiled down to how much can I walk today?  When that’s the question, somehow, you have to have an answer.  You make it work, “How many times do I walk around the floor?” or “How many times before I stop, and then I’ll keep going”.  Little things like that just keep you going.  It really is just a very little idea, but if that’s all that you can bring to the party, well, then it’s o.k. …