Sunday, March 10, 2013

Making Post-Treatment Strides...

Thanks to the folks that shared their feelings and suggestions over the past week. I was unsure about where to go with this blog these days, as I have really begun to feel better and better every day.

The most poignant comment confirmed that information about my post-treatment experiences is still important to some, even though I do not seem to be experiencing any significantly negative effects. So, from week to week, I'll continue to pass on a few tidbits of information.

Who Is In The Know...
As I find myself motivated to get out a little more frequently, whether it's to a hockey game or just wandering around the shopping mall, I continue to bump into people I haven't seen for some time. I had pretty much disappeared between the beginning of October and the end of January.

There are those folks I have seen of late who ask where I've been, which is a simple question to answer. I haven't really been anywhere! But, I guess I have spent quite a bit of time on the "D/L", other wise known in the world of sports as the "disabled list".

I get different reactions to this, some who simply let it go and others who don't know what the term means. For the folks who look at me and say something like, "what do you mean", I simply tell them I spent most of the winter in treatment for a cancer. It seems like that is not really the answer these folks are expecting.

I'll also sum it all up with my standard line; "I'm still standin'".

The New Logo...
I had a magnet made  a few weeks ago, it was inexpensive, but the company buggered it up. I used it in a post on this blog a couple of weeks ago.

The idea was to create a ribbon, incorporating the colors associated with oral cancers (red or burgundy and white), along with the words Still Standin'. Of course, the company that produced the magnet seemed to "know better" how to spell, and produced the piece with the words "Still Standing".

Sure, it's a minor difference, but if you really listen to how most people tend to speak, they do not frequently pronounce every single letter or syllable. When folks ask how I'm doing, in light of all this cancer treatment, I can assure you all that I do not pronounce the "g" in "Standing".

Sure, it's not a big deal...a hill to die on, my wife will say, but I did ask Ashley if she could monkey around with a few things in her spare time. She came up with the following design:


I'm happy with it. It's simple...clean. I sure appreciate her time and efforts.

I'm not sure what I will do with this, but it's already a screen saver on my computer at work. I'll also be keeping an eye open for a couple of shirts, styles that I like where this logo can be embroidered. We'll have to be careful though, as any embroidered logo with lots of letters cannot always be reproduced very cleanly. I'll probably have the logo placed on the back of the shirts, just below the collar. But really, that's just a detail. We can go left breast or on one of the sleeves. We'll see.

The Health Side...
I've said before that I feel like I have the energy and the strength that I need, relative to the things that I am doing. I have begun to test my limits a bit, particularly where playing golf is concerned.

I played at Kelowna Springs yesterday on a gorgeous Okanagan Saturday. Clear blue skies and temperatures that hit about 12 degrees. And no wind! It was perfect! I walked the golf course, which is quite flat, and I carried my golf bag. It was absolutely an experiment on two counts.

Firstly, how would my body respond? Well, so far so good! Some cramping in my legs and hips afterward, and I felt a little tired during the last hour of our game. My lower body is weaker than it was a year ago, which causes me some grief when making golf swings, but that's all technical BS that I am confident I'll work out.

Secondly, walking around, huffing and puffing and talking with the boys...that is a challenge because my mouth gets so dry. I figured out yesterday that I could make it work at minimum with one bottle of water and two pieces of gum. (I should have drank more water, but I didn't prepare well enough. This probably explains some of the cramps.) I chew half a stick of gum at a time and it keeps my mouth from getting too dry. I chowed down a banana and a couple of granola bars.


Unlike many modern day golfers, my round of golf was NOT INCOMPLETE due to the absence of a beverage cart. I guess I surprised myself by actually possessing the ability to survive an entire round of golf without craving a beer! Boy...the things people complain about at golf courses! Or, maybe making it all happen without pounding a few beers really just makes me the moron? (However, I absolutely enjoyed a bottle of Pil' afterward...to celebrate being able to find the clubface all day!)

All in all, it worked out very well, although I am a little stiff this morning. Obviously I am not going out of my way to exert too much needless energy, but geez...I have to live!

Thanks to Al Merrick and his pals from Shadow Ridge for including me in their groups yesterday!

And, as always, thanks to Ian Robertson and his crew at Kelowna Springs for their hospitality!

Gone, But Not Forgotten...
Some very sad news this past week as Harv Silvester passed away down in Yuma, Arizona.

Harv was a shareholder at the Shannon Lake Golf Club and was quite involved for many years prior to my arrival at the facility in 2007. He and his wife Ruth have been helpful in recent years around Shannon Lake, specifically with scorekeeping during our annual Club Championship weekend.

I enjoyed Harv and Ruth...just terrific people who have always treated me very well. I'll miss Harv, because I liked hearing his take on the history at the Club. I hope that everyone at Shannon Lake will remember him fondly, and continue to welcome Ruth when she comes by to check in on all of us.

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