Rev. Deadeye

Another story to tell, this is a true story that I wanted to share in case I start signing off as " Rev. Deadeye "

Years ago I would take a week's vacation with 3 buddies and play golf in Myrtle Beach, SC during the last week in January.  It was enjoyable, we would play like 27 to 36 holes per day, and come back with a tan and have fun.  Well, one year as we drove to the golf course we saw the name of a local band on the marque sign out front of a bar/restaurant.  The name of the band appearing was  " Hootie and the Blowfish" , we had such a laugh at what a stupid name that was, and even took a picture of the sign.  One of my buds and I would continue calling each other "Hootie" for a number of years.  Like, "Nice shot, Hootie" ,  " Hey Hootie, want to play this Saturday? "  Things like that.

Obviously, if we had known the future we would have run into that bar and offered $$$$ money to help sponser " Hootie and the Blowfish" as they became big stars.

Well, on the Fishing trip to Florida I picked up one of those local free newspapers and happened to catch the local entertainment page and was reading the names of the bands performing at local venues.  One band name was  Laurie and " Rocketman the Pirate"  another was "  Molly Jean and Rev. Deadeye ".  It just hit me as funny, unusual, goofy and weird.   Just like me, so I announced to my fishing buddies that I wanted to change my code name to "  Rev. Deadeye " for the rest of the trip.

My nephew must have lost his hearing ( and at such a young age )  he kept calling me Rev. Browneye.  Don't know why and I kept correcting him, Rev. Deadeye.  I feel bad for him, such a long life ahead, and having trouble with his hearing.

Well, 24 hours from now, I may be in recovery.  Thanks for your emails, phone calls, texts, I feel your presence today and tomorrow in my life, and I know God will be there with me.  See you later.

God Bless you all, luv, Rev. Deadeye

Less than 48 hours

This is me now, getting ready for surgery

Taking a shower and getting cleaned up before heading for the Hospital on Thursday morning.

This will be me as they take me down the hall for surgery...lol









Just kidding, trying to turn it over to God and forget about it, Take one day at a time.

Love to all, God Bless, Captain

The Time is Here

About 72 hours til surgery and then recovery begins.  Thursday at 7:30 is the operation and yes it's in my mind about every minute.  Trying to just get by and let it arrive.  This is the best chance for a total healing that man can give me.  But I know God is still there holding my hand on this journey.

I was thinking the other day, for all you doubters, I think a lot.  In 2 weeks I will be 65 and have been healthy my whole life.  God created my body and in the last year man has been tinkering with it.  I have to believe that God gave them the knowledge and the ability to perform some maintenance procedures and improve it for the next 60 years.  My goal is 110, that's what I told my family Doctor in 2009.

So let's take out the bad parts, and adjust the air pressure so I'm not howling and whining all the time. 

I know that's probably a bad analogy but it's the best I can come up.  Just so you know, I will go from surgery to the recovery room and then to ICU for up to 24 hours.  The move to ICU is not predictive of any problems from the surgery, but a precautionary step.  Sometimes the liver continues to bleed after surgery and they want to watch it and me closely for any problems so's to be right on top of them.

My wife and or daughter will be updating the blog on a somewhat continuous basis on Thursday and Friday, until I can focus and be back with you.

I sincerely thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts through out the last year, and thank you for future prayers for the surgery and recovery.

God Bless you all, Captain

Get ready for the Pics

 Sunrise, leaving the harbor on day 1

 Yellow Snapper, must be over 12" to keep, good eating fish.  The hat protected me from sunburn. Yes a long sleeve shirt, same reason.  Get over it...............











 Brother's son Jason with a Cow Fish, threw it back.

 My brother caught the big one, can't remember the name.

 Sea Turtle came to visit the boat stern, or maybe it was the Florida Fish & game in disguise....lol

 Jason caught a Nassau grouper, fairly unusual, out of season but good eating.

 My son caught a Remora, a parasite fish that lives on and around sharks.  Thrown back in the water.

 2 Bonito's caught by Jason and my brother at the same time.  Thrown back in the water

Jason holding ( we think ) a Ballyhoo or a family member.  Thrown back in the water

Parrot fish video









I must send a bigger than big Thank You to Jason and Mike our Fishing guides and planners of this trip.  They arranged the boat, the fishing gear, the bait, the gas for the boat, the motel rooms.  They thought of taking care of the old men as guests not workers.  It was a great week end to relax and make memories.  Already thinking of a return trip in May of 2013, fishing for Dolphin ( not Flipper, back off with the backlash of comments )   THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Thanks to all my friends for prayers, God Bless you all, Captain

More Fishing Details

I can't believe I got no emails or phone calls or comments on the boat wreck and my blog of yesterday.  Either you all know me, or you didn't care, or you were in too much shock to do anything.

Most of yesterday's blog I made up just to toy with you.  My brother and I were walking around the crushed boat early in the am b4 we went out fishing, and while our fishing someone mentioned we should get together on shore for a photo.  I said " How about in front of the wrecked boat to keep you all on edge. "  And not one of you readers said anything, you're no fun.  The only thing accurate in yesterday's blog, was that the radio really did not work.

So now you have to view all my fishy pictures and I'm going to try to post a video or two.  Remember when you went to someone's house and they pulled out their Vacation  pictures from Europe so you could see each one, well get ready.

Here is the last joke picture, these are my trophy fishes caught on a bamboo pole with just a line and a earthworm on the hook, caught from the marina dock.

This next picture is of the actual boat we fished from, and it was taken in the dark at about 6:30 am, cause we had to get out in the water and claim our spot.  This was Sat. morning after landing in Ft. Myers @ 8 pm, then driving to the motel and arriving at 12:30 am, so not lot's of sleep

This is the sunrise and the boat ride out to the fishing area and gives you an idea of the bouncing we had to absorb to fish, and this was a really calm day. It should be a video, last a little over 2 minutes.

OK that's enough for today. got a week to annoy you leading up to March 1st.

Thanks for your prayers and positive thoughts,  God Bless, Captain

Home Again, Home Again

It is so nice to have a real keyboard to type on, now I can tell some real stories.  I will get to the fish, but first I blogged about our boat situation so I wanted to tell that story.

We finished the second day of fishing and were coming into the Marina, passing under a bridge when a Tsunami like wave hit us unexpectedly.  The radio in our boat didn't work so we were not prepared and obviously received no warnings.  As we went under the bridge that carried Route 1 traffic to and from the Keys.  This gigantic wave hit the boat from the side and turned us over, on our side.

It smashed the top of the boat into the bridge support, pushed the side into the same supports and smashed the 1 engine.  This is our Captain of the boat, not me, talking to his insurance agent.

After that we could only rent the following boat for the rest of our Fish Attack.

Now none of us were injured or hurt in anyway.  So don't even worry about us.  We tried not to let it dampen our spirits.  But it was a little nerve wracking.

Tomorrow I will start posting some fish pictures.  In a nutshell we caught quite a few fish, some yellow snappers were too small to keep ( had to be over 12 inches long ),  other fish were just not good eating fish, also groupers were out of season.    Wait till you see my Trophy fish, I thought I would never get them in the boat.

God Bless all you who have prayed for me, cause you now know I need it. 

Captain

Finished another day

No sunburn very light pink on my wrist next to my watchband, but feeling ffffiiiiinnnnneeee. All of us came thru the boat situation in fine shape. Too long a story for this hunt and peck typing on a tablet, pictures on Tuesday.

Went out about 9 am, returned around 3 pm. Only 1 keeper fish. My son caught a relative to the shark family, about 30 inches long, it put up a good fight. My brother and his son each caught the same type of fish within a minute of each other. The fishes really fought hard, I have it on a 3 minute video to b posted after I return home on Tuesday. None of these fish were good eating so they were tossed back in the ocean. And so the day went, all fish were either not eatable or out of season.

Having a great time, sunny both days, around 82 degrees.

Thanks for all your prayers, God Bless, Captain

Fishing in Florida

Was a late night after we finally got to the Fishing Suite at the motel. Was in the boat at 6:30 am and leaving the dock. Ocean was really calm and quickly caught 2 tuna then nothing for 1 1/2 hours. Then 2 more tuna and a yellow snapper. We will be eating these fish and steak and baked potatoes on the grill later tonight.

We are now resting, eating a burger and will return to the ocean for the evening fishing hours.

Having a great time. God bless,Captain

Some Fish Pictures

Thought I would post a couple of old pics from past Florida outings that I was not on.  I borrowed these from my nephews Facebook page so you can see why we are a little excited for out trip, about 24 hours from now.

 This is " Sidewinder " showing off some fish, maybe a red grouper.

"Sidewinder is on the right, with his buddies all showing off their catch.  Don't know about the teenie weenie fish the middle guy is holding.  Maybe that is the bait they were using....lol.













Hopefully we will catch these by the dozen and maybe luck into a Marlin or Nurse shark or even a Sailfish, who know when you go fishing.

I will try to post something during the trip, but the pics will have to wait till after I get back.

Luv to you all, Please remember my friend and even your own friends and neighbors that are needing prayers.  God Bless, Captain

Just over 48 hours

Til my son and I are getting on a plane to Florida.  It's finally here, now to get a little sun, enjoy family, and maybe even catch a big fish.  I'm taking a digital camera, and a pocket video camera for the memories, so next week we will see some pics here.

Don't know how long it will take to get thru airport security?  Have to get thru with a cell phone, camera, video camera, a tablet and all the charging cords.  Sheesh, what happened to the good old days.

Only one thing, please remember my friend at UPS, her sister Deb saw my Oncologist at IU yesterday ( who she loved ).  But her cancer is spread thruout her body, colon, liver, lungs and maybe even the bones.  She has another appt. on Friday, they really need to feel God in their life and a way to get thru this sickness.  It sounds very bad, but God is still alive in their lives to provide comfort and love.

Thanks for helping me, and my friend, God Bless, Captain

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

"To all the Girls I've Known before"  lol.........did you think I was going to say something else?  Thanks for being in my life and keeping me on the straight and narrow.   I can't buy you all flowers or candy but know you're all in my thoughts and prayers.  Yes, my little brain is getting crowded with all those thoughts.

I'm doing fine, just wishing the surgery was here and I could get on with life and the recovery.  My BIG fishing trip is this Friday so that will be a great week end to take make me forget the future just over 2 weeks away.

I don't mean to talk of cancer all the time.  Yes, I have cancer, but I would like to not think that cancer has taken over my life.  But because of the surgery, it is right at the forefront of my thinking.

For sure soon I won't be dwelling on it so much.  I have a life and need to get back to it.

Thanks for your prayers and positive thoughts, God Bless, Captain

Friend needs prayers

A friend of mine at UPS had been off a couple of days with family problems.  Last night she was back and told me her sister has cancer.  She was shocked, dismayed and in general lost with her and the family's emotions.  Don't know a lot of the details but the cancer is in the colon and some spots on the liver.  Found because of a CT scan, don't know why they had a scan.

At this point all I could do was recommend my Oncologist and the IU Cancer center because of my great care during my journey.  This AM I sent her the contact information to give her some help if they didn't already know who to call.  Her sister's name is Deb if you would include her in your prayers.

I told her this was perhaps the worst time, because you have the diagnosis of cancer, but you are left in total darkness on what to do, which way to turn.  After you meet with the Oncologist at least he can start giving you a plan; meaning, chemo, radiation, surgery whatever but now you have something to grab on to and start the battle.

Thanks again for supporting me thru this journey ( which is not over yet ) now we can help Deb and her family come to grips with her situation.  Also remember others in your family, or friendships that also need prayers, there is more trouble in life besides just cancer.

God Bless, Captain

Here Fishy..... Here Fishy............

7 Days and a few hours, my son and I will be on a plane to Florida.  We will then be driving to Key West to fish our hearts out for 2 days.  Can't wait.  I know I've mentioned it a few times, but now I'm trying to concentrate on that trip and not all the other stuff.

I feeling fine, no chemo since Jan. 20th, getting some of myself back to normal.  I mean I was always here, could still laugh and find humor.  But I feel like there was a part of me that was reserved.  Just going thru life, like in a slower mode.  Don't know if it was the chemo or mental thoughts trying to move forward, but not wanting to go too fast.

Anyways, I'm great, going fishing to catch the big one.  Don't know if this trip is a repeat of Gilligan's Island, or the movie Jaws.  I will try to blog a couple of times during the trip, but the pictures will have to wait till I get back to download them.

Love to all, thanks for the prayers that has gotten me this far.  God, Bless, Captain

All is Fine

Back to normal, whatever normal is anymore.  Monday I actually walked a mile. Today there is a dusting of snow on the ground.  I'm feeling fine as we try to be normal leading up to surgery.  No matter how you look on the outside, your mind is constantly drawn back to the cloud of the situation ( the cancer, the surgery and the recovery) .  You have to put the situation in God's hand and let him take care of it.  To follow the path with him leading.

Trying to get paperwork done, bills set up to pay on time, maybe even the taxes figured. 

For those of you out of towners, I'm planning of doing some kind of blog on March 2, and will be giving updates daily to let you know what's up.

Just thinking ahead here, so we're all on the same page.  Any suggestions, send me an email, or let me know. 

Thanks for all you do for me and others,  God Bless, Captain

Monday After the Super Bowl

I think I mentioned that we walked down to view some of the set up around the Super Bowl.  I wanted to post this picture to prove it.

You'll notice the prayer pants are on as I just came from meeting with the Oncologist.  ( remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it )  I wish I had been thinking faster and tried to pose as if we were holding the trophy.  Obviously this was a large banner that was placed for a photo opportunity.  Oh well, I think the Super Bowl will be back here in my lifetime.

Ok, just waiting for the "Operation Fish Attack" in less then 2 weeks, just a week from Friday.  Can't wait.  Starting to get out the backpacks and carry on luggage.  Thinking of what I want to take, and how to organize it for the security checkpoint.  Soon we will have to carry passports to travel from 1 state to another.  Thanks government for wanting to look over our shoulders and into our lives.

Please sit down, I have actually taken a few walks, I'm thinking of a short jog today.  I will never be able to run the Mini in early May.  But I'm thinking that I will be forcing myself to take walks as part of my recovery.  I am not going to become a vegetable and bed ridden, well mb for a week or two.  The Mini also includes a 5 K walk/run, and I'm thinking since I spent $ 55 to run, I may try and eek out enough energy to walk the 3 miles on May the 5th. If anyone wants to walk with me, I would luv it, it would also motivate me even more.  We'll see.  All in it's own time.

Luv you all, God Bless, Captain

It's Sunday, the Sun is Out

We're still walking on air trying to keep up with the great news.  Or, should I say Super Bowl News.  We feel like we won the game and are holding the trophy.

After the news, we joined are daughter and her husband and walked around the Indy Celebration in conjunction with the Super Bowl.  After having spent years in the Event business, it looks like we really put together a Great Party environment for the big game later today.  My son rode the Zip line on Friday, he squealed like the pig doing the zip line on that TV commercial, for the life of me I can't think of what product was advertised.  He was in line at 5:48am and rode the zip line about 12:30, he said it was organized and they told you when you might get to take the ride. 

I'm feeling fine, and looking forward to the Great Fishing Attack less than 2 weeks away in Key West, FL.  Get the boat ready we're packing now.  I'm taking lots of sun screen and clothes that will cover most of my skin, because of the lingering effects of chemo I must still be careful of sunburn.  I'm taking a camera and a video camera, so there will be pictures posted here.  It will be a great time.

Enjoy the Super Game and Go Giants, we want a Manning to win in our Stadium.

Thank you all my Prayer Buddies for your support and positive thoughts.  God Bless, Captain

Your Prayers Did It...........

Thanks to each one of you, I, we, got the best news possible today.  I just learned today that this tumor was the size of a small cantaloupe last July.  It is now the size of a baseball, not softball, but baseball.  No cancer appears in the right lobe.

They have all the confidence that because of the shrinkage, the way my body has handled the chemo, my overall health, that they can perform surgery and remove the cancer.  The surgery is scheduled for March the 1st.  I will be off of chemo during the month of  Feb. to allow my body to recover it's immunity and prepare itself for a major shock.  Of course everything is subject to change once they open you up and really see what's in there, but I don't think God has taken me this far to drop me on the operating table.

They will be removing 3/4 of the liver to get it all.  At this point because of the tumor the left lobe of liver has been killed off and shriveled up. So that is gone ( 1/2 a liver ).  At the beginning 3 small spots of cancer showed up on the PET scan in the right lobe closest to the left lobe and they are going to remove that section also to try and protect against it reoccurring.

See  Liver anatomy  link the bottom picture shows you the sections of the liver.  They are taking out everything but sections 6 and 7.  They will also remove the Gall Bladder, the Lymph nodes around the liver, check the abdominal wall for other problems while they are in there.  They will send the tumor to pathology to be checked.  Then based on all that, will determine the post-op care; if chemo is required or whatever afterwards.

So if any of you wonder if God is still active in the world, you and we all know that he is. I am certainly no saint, I'm a sinner just like all of us, but God is there for us. With prayer and faith and a true belief all things all truly possible.

"IMPOSSIBLE is not a fact, it's an opinion"

Thanks to all of you and your prayers, God did it thru me.  God Bless, Captain

Have to tell a story

Yesterday at the CT scan, this happened.  If you've had a CT scan you know what I'm talking about, if not I will describe it to you.

The patient ( me ) lies down on a bed like thing that is about 2 foot wide.  This bed then slides forward and back, also can be raised up and down to please the tech person operating it.  The bed slides into a large circle like machine that then does a circular scan over the area to be looked at in detail.  The circle is about 4 and 1/2 foot wide and 2 and 1/2 feet wide or thick.  So it is this machine is not really a tunnel, or too  claustrophobic.

So, you can't have anything in your pockets to interfere with the image produced, and every time I have had one, they place a blanket over you from the abdomen down, and ask you to slide your pants down so that the belt bucket, buttons, etc. does not interfere with the image. 

Well, yesterday, I have a nice looking tech, probably around 30 years old, 120 pounds, you know what I mean.  I'm under that blanket, pants are lowered, hands are under my head, again so watches, etc. don't interfere, the bed is raised so that I'm close to the top of the machine and there is not a lot of room between me and the bottom of the opening.  The machine tells me to take a deep breath and hold it while we do a practice scan to make sure all is set correctly.

She comes back in the room and tells me that I need to slide the pants down a little further.  Now, remember that I'm raised up and there's not a lot of room between me and the machine to reach thru and slide my pants, but I make the move.  And then she says,  "  I can help you, if you can't "    Holy mackerel, what went thru my head at that moment.  This 30 year old has offered to help lower my pants, What do I say, What do I say????????

But being the good person I am, I said, " I think I can get it "  and I did.  Just the situation was so weird and funny at the same time.  So many things I thought of, but I was a good patient.

Just had to share that, and thought you all would also enjoy it with me.  still lol......

Anyways, just waiting for the results, less than 24 hours.

Thanks again for your prayers, God Bless you all, Captain

Returned from scan

Hope I passed, just kidding......all i can do is lay there and let the machine do the work.  I told Amanda the Tech that I wanted the " Super Bowl " scan and results.  I wanted to hold the trophy.   Oh well the faith and the hope is there.

Now I just wait till Friday.  Appt is @ 11.20, don't know when I can update this, but for sure by Saturday morning or Friday nite.  Just don't know the schedule til I know the results.

This weather in Indiana has been unbelievable, today the sun is out and it is high 50's, feels great.  After the above scan, the wife and I drove around the downtown area ( here in town they call it the "Super Route" ).  There was hardly any traffic, course it was noon and nothing for the real crowds was open yet.

Anyways talk to  you soon, thanks for everything, Captain