Fall Weekend

Ok here is the finished product - before and after. Pretty good eh?

So we spent the weekend out at the 'get away' and it was a good time. Went for a long and lovely motorcycle ride yesterday from Buchanan Dam through Llano and over to Fredricksburg. It was great weather for riding.

My youngest daughter is 23 today... that makes me... older than dirt!

Continue to decrease the dosage of steroids but not really seeing much change. I did read today that my next decrease should facilitate weight loss and getting back to normal. I can't wait -

My friend Todd Henry is coming to town on Friday this week! Can't wait to see him.

Bride is good - life is getting better :-)

Ted

kidney doctor visit today

I am going to the Neph guy today... Man I hope everything is ok and back to normal. I can't wait to get off these steroids and get back to what I consider normal which was about 5 yrs ago.

Work is really getting to be a pain in the ass!

I will talk to you soon with results from blood tests today.

time goes on

I have to show you a pic of the patio at the lake house... actually I need to do a before and after. Let me see if I can get a before real quick - ok there except that is during / before.

So things are pretty good - I am worried about my daughter Sara and her health; she seems to have some odd stuff going on (Vertigo) and can't get in to the doctor soon enough for me but I guess she is doing ok. She had an MRI recently and is suppose to go in to review the results; I guess that is required to diagnose the type of Vertigo this is but her appointment is not for another 3 weeks. In the mean time she has these bouts of feeling terrible. She is planning a wedding at the same time... stress?

Ok, I believe that is all I have to report today!

I did win after all...

Woo Hoo! I am Hepatitis C free! As a bonus my kidneys are functioning correctly again too!

After the last year... I have a lot of living to do --

I am getting back in the groove at work and to some degree it is fun but I do find that I still get tired; I am not telling anyone that though :-)

I am really excited about putting that damn door in at the lake house this weekend - going to be great fun. I am also putting a washer and dryer in and having a guy give me an estimate on a patio; it would be really nice to just get'r done.

Went to Cabo and caught the fish of a life time - see above!

All for now :-)

forward progress :-)

Well I went to the GE yesterday and got very positive news on Hep C and Kidney functions... seems I have a chance at winning this battle!

Work is better these days, I spent 10 days in Sweden getting that system up and running in a pilot with the help of some very talented people. (John G. and Troy W.)

The lake house work is getting closer... decided to start with the patio door. I am going to ask my father in law to help me with it. I could get my brother Will but I think I am going to save him for demo and porch remodel.

Bride is crazy but I love her - Kids are great... all of them. Dog... dumbass :-)

all for now!

I have a dog I call dumb ass

1 year old lab and while intelligent... dumber than a box of rocks! Way too much energy, muscle and slobber for any one animal to have. That is all I have to say about that.

My oldest daughter has been reminding me about my approach to parenting lately... it is really funny and I hope useful to her as a parent later. You know... I hope I get some time with grand kids.

My job has sucked lately but it is what I do and affords me a lot of luxuries that others don't necesarily get so I am gonna put my head down and plow through it. We all know it will change!

I am going to see my brother John this weekend down in Corpus; I love that guy!

My health is pretty darn good and I thank the big guy for that!

lake house decision

I believe one of the best things I have ever done is to buy this little lake house out in Buchanan Dam Texas. It is a lot of work to take care of and slowly fix up but it is also very relaxing and the work is rewarding.

Even Valerie and Payton enjoy it out there... hoping to get my girls out there some but actually just trying to communicate with them more is my primary objective. One of them does a pretty good job but the other appears to be just too busy for a lot of interaction right now.

Yep, that hurts but I also know it is normal... but we do need to discuss some things soon since I recently realized that I am not immortal :-)

Feeling good these days; I have put on a lot of weight but still way within reason for the circumstances. I am still 25 lbs lighter than when I started interferon treatment.

Should recieve final approval on CHL license this week!

ttyl

Ted

life continues...

Ok, it is May 2011... early May and things are pretty good.

I am getting physical exercise again; I went to the gym a couple times and actually went for a run this morning. I ran on the treadmill at the gym for 5 mins then walked the remainder of the 1/2 hour; it felt good! So I got up this morning and ran in the hood... that went very well too, in fact I far exceeded my expectations but I do have to go measure how far it was. I estimate about 1.5 miles but not positive.

I am still on a lot of meds, recently adding prednisone to the mix. I was worried about it at first but to date have managed it well. I know there are some undesirable side effects that could happen but they might not too :-) moon face being one of them -

Kids are doing great! Congratulations to my youngest daughter for graduating from college and immediately becoming engaged to a stand up guy! So, I will have two married daughters with two really good son in laws. What next? You know what I mean...

Heading to the lake house this weekend and looking for more opps over the summer!

Valerie is doing pretty well too - although Lolita comes to town every once in a while.

I guess that is all for now -

Poppa T

Diagnosis: FSGS (short name)
Meaning: kidney disease
Treatment : Predisone
Side affects: can suck

Overall I feel very positive; at least I know what I am dealing with. The weight has stayed off, in fact I have been eating like a horse and really haven't put on more than a pound or two - I am ngoing to the gym this weekend for the first time in almost a year - whew I have lost a lot of muscle mass... I mean a lot!

So my life has changed a bunch lately - it is quite a transition I have gone and continue to go through. Things are pretty good today 4/19/2011 :-)

How long?

For heaven's sake; this has been going on for a very long time ( 3 months) - What does a guy have to do to get a correct diagnosis and a plan to resolve issues?

10 days later...

Yep, 10 days later - blood infusions, Oncologist visits, nurses poking holes in my arms left and right with little success - and nausea, chills, vomiting, water retention persist...

What the hell am I suppose to do with this ol' body --

I know this is temporary, I know this will change but for god's sake this has been going on 3 months now; I need some relief.

Hopefully we are getting closer to that point --

spending some time with family and friends this weekend, then gettin' married the following weekend... not all is bad :-)

Me

Oh my goodness..

Hep C sucks!

I just can not tell you how the last 2 months (+) have impacted my life and my approach to life from this point forward...

I swear I will never take another beautiful day for granted - I will not take people, my love or my family for granted.

I think I came pretty darn close to dieing a couple of weeks ago; and that will just scare the shit out of you -

Nausea persists, fever, chills, water retention... it all sucks :-)

Ted

starting to see day light!

Wow, it has almost been a month since my last post and I have been seriously ill the entire time. If I lose the water I retained lately I can't weigh more than 215 or so... cause I have eaten about two full meals in the last month.

I have more energy this morning than I can remember having in quite a while
:-) good stuff! Now to maintain and grow on it... I can't take this feeling for granted and go eat a big ol' cheeseburger with an ice cold beer although nothing sounds better right now!

So, I will have a bland breakfast, lunch and maybe some dinner I am not sure and just cross my fingers that some of it stays in my body -

Did I tell you I am gettin' married in March?

Ted

whew...

Hi -

Boy I have never been so sick in all my life - between this treatment (interferon) and the stresses of work... well I am just miserable most of the time.

Currently I can't keep any food down or up for that matter... everything solid I consume comes rushing out of me somehow.

I will be very surprised if I am not in the hospital next week once the lab tests come back or that this is the beginning of something other than hepatitis c --

It is kind of humbling...

Just an update for now; I don't have any answers or any other news to share.

Ted