Thursday July 5^th                                                                                            Peyton Manning Day                     

Hey Now Everyone,

The good ship TomCat has had to make some adjustments this past week or so…..my numerology has taken a hit, and I term it a setback.

 As I left the radiologist last week after completing my 18^th treatment, leaving 17 to go, I crowed to the girls at the desk that I was “over the hump.” Fewer to go than what had been done, the back side of the hill, whatever……they smiled and said “Yay” and I left.

That was a Friday.

On Monday, my Radiologist met with me after my treatment to “clarify” some things…….he reminded me that the Final Four treatments were going to be even more laser focused on the original tumor area. I knew that. I thought those would be #’s 32, 33, 34, & 35. He had been telling me 35 treatments for over 3 mos now.

 Turns out, those Final Four are at the tail end of the original 35…..bringing my total to 39!

Damn!

For those who have followed this blog and track my numbers with me, this “loss of yardage” so to speak was a total bummer. I gotta tell ya, it took me some time to get over it, and I got straight with my Doctor, explaining how expectations are at the core of this whole thing.

I don’t tell someone they have to pay 10% more for a home after we get into escrow…..that’s what this is, a hair over 10% more treatments.

 Big picture, I get it…..these cats are giving me my life back, eventually, and whatever it takes to get there is the road I must travel. The ironic part is, after two treatments last week, I was at hump day again, with 20 down and 19 to go…..so, I added the numbers right on top of the existing numbers in the garage, and started “re-tearing” them off dutifully upon my return home.

So, today, I sit back at 18, déjà vu all over again, and when I get home tonight, I’ll be at 17 left, with 22 done

 Now, to the effects……getting harder to swallow, the throat is without a doubt burnt through and through….surgery was performed last week to install the feeding tube, which has helped already. It visibly protrudes from my tummy, and after 24 hours of discomfort, has become my ally. What goes in is loaded with fiber, protein, nutrients, calories, it is amazing. That, too, took a little getting used to, but it will be my savior and it is tremendously convenient. I’ve dropped about 15 pounds, mostly muscle and not much fat. Putting it back on will be fun. This tool will help me maintain what I have now.

Before I forget, Sam’s team beat the two teams from Oakland, then came out to Concord again and beat the best that Walnut Creek had to offer in a thriller to win the Bay Area District 4 CHAMPIONSHIP. What a gas. We have hardware all over the place. Kiki and I are so very proud of him and the way his team coalesced. You can’t ask for anything more for your kid. His play was stellar and he was ripping doubles and triples all the way to the end.

And, I sold another big one in Alamo this week, almost $1.4M, so proof again that the angels are in my corner. Thanks to all of you for that supreme energy.