MONDAY

I HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MADE IT THROUGH LUNCH TODAY. THAT'S TWO MEALS WITHOUT BEING SICK. ONDANSETRON AND ELECTOLYTE DRINKS ARE HELPING ME DEAL WITH THE 30 POUND WEIGHT LOSS AND THE DEHYDRATION. THIS HAS EASILY BEEN THE WORST WEEK I'VE HAD SINCE THE BEGINNING OF CHEMO AND RADIAITON.

I've become pretty weak since all the nuasea business hit a couple of days ago. That was the worst period of time I've had but I'm feeling a little bit better now, just weak and out of energy. I'm sure it's from the physical hardship that comes with stuff like that.

Sprits are up and there's no need to call the suicide hot line. I have an appointment at the va tomorrow so I'll get an update then. Doing better.

Sr.

Saturday 10 a.m.

Made it through last night without having to experience any more nausea. Got up this morning at 8:30 and immediately took an Ondansetron tablet. Felt good, ate two cups of corn flakes and sat back to see if I could keep it down. It worked.

Decided to push it a little and began doing a load of clothes. I also made a cup of coffee but haven't tried that yet. Hope that works. Going with Joey today to try and eat some lunch at Melissa's. Hope that works too but will not gorge myself like I did Thanksgiving.

Hang tough guys, just don't forget your antinausea stuff. It will go away and you will be able to eat again. Oooorah!

Sr.

Not for the weak stomach crowd

Not for the weak stomach crew. This is for Stan and Tom.

I have more than one antinausea tablet to take. I ran out of Ondansetron and the alternative did not work. I puked 21 times today. That's right, 21 times. I tried to make it on the front porch to get some fresh air and ended up on the floor. The US Mail lady happened upon that scene and helped me into the house.

Joey went to the VA and refilled my Ondansetron and within 15 minutes I'd stopped throwing up. I'm weak but actually going to try and eat.

Boys, DO NOT run out of your anti nausea tabs even if you have an alternative. This is the worst day I've had since the beginning of this. I didn't know a human being could be that sick that many times.

Doing better now...........because...........it is my job to be a cancer cell serial killer. TAKE THAT, punk!

Sr.

Turkey Day and NO Nausea!!

Got up at 7:30, loaded up on pills, went back to bed and waited. An hour later, I got up and felt pretty steady. Had breakfast at 9 and am not having any trouble with the stomach so far. Hooray!

"I'm a bad piece of leather, well put together, I keep fighting every day. Throw that cancer in the grass, stomp a mud hole in his ass, and keep on fighting all the way". (A Thanksgiving Poem by Timmy).

Thanks to all for the well wishes and prayer lamps all over the country. God bless our Vets and Active Military Men and Women. We're sure gonna need them cause stuff sure is messed up!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Special Hello to big brother Leland, my sister Elaine, Greg and Beth, Vic, Chance, Big Mo, Doug, Bernie, Bruce, Curt, both Bill's, LT, Doc Hamm, Dudley, Jay, Woody, Hubert, Fireball Aviation, the entire 11th Cavalry Regiment and my buddies at the Red River Valley Fighter Pilot's Association. Thanks to Sgt. Joe Day for my 11th Cav coffee cup.

Chemo schedule is now December, January and it all ends in February. Only 15 days of double dosages left. Yeah!

Cancer, you got till February to clear out of town or your ass belongs to me!
Sr.

Figured it out

Today was a reasonably smooth running day. No nausea at all to speak of.

When you are coming off chemo (Stan) as part of a 5 day on double dosages and 25 days off, you are almost certainly going to be much sicker than the dosages you started off with. When you realize that, get up off the floor and kick that cancer's ass. Here's how:

First thing in the morning, no matter what happens, take the anti nausea tablets (in my case 3). Immediately thereafter, go back to bed and be very still for about an hour. When you finish that and you can actually walk without becoming violently ill, eat at least one cup of cereal, maybe two. When you finish with that, try to be still until your stomach settles.

I know it's really hard to be sick every day and maintain any kind of a positive attitude, but it's not impossible. When I do all of the above, and when it works, I get to eat lunch with loved ones and that is a huge thing for me. I come back to Jr's place and take another antinausea tablet and get back in the bed to be still.

Stan, this is something that I've learned the hard way. Stay on the support drugs and above all, do not believe that getting "off" chemo means "getting on" with feeling good. There is a time period that is very tough UNLESS you stay on those support drugs like "Prochlorperazine Maleate" and Ondesetron. Just do it. I never want to go through another Monday and I hope you will have the same kind of luck I've had when you follow the above. Hang tough. Happy Thanksgiving. We all have alot to be thankful for................

Sr.

Ondestron and Sprite

This morning's nausea was easily the benchmark from hell. Couldn't walk. Sent a couple of text messages for help and help came. I had a cup of sprite and an Ondestron tablet and I haven't been sick for nearly an hour. Appears to simply be the "coming off of chemo" thing that all of us have to deal with. Not to worry. Going to take a hot tub bath and see if that helps get rid of these chills and then I'll try to sleep it off!

Sr.

Nausea

Nausea put me down on the ground in the back yard this morning. Called for help and help on the way. Sr.

Last day of chemo for 25 days

Nausea came back to visit Thursday and Friday. It hasn't been as bad as before but any degree of nausea is pretty bad.

Spent two hours at the VA today. Seems as though I needed a consult for PTSD. That ought to stand for Post Tumor Stress Disorder but it doesn't. Guess they wanted to hear the gory details of the war. I let them hear it.

I'm really looking forward to being off chemo for 25 days. I'm sure I don't have any more after effects from radiation because the fatigue I have now is nothing like it was when I was getting shot every day.

Waylon, Kat, Lisa, Carmen, Steve, Doc, Keeesha Babe,........ya'll are the best.

Sr.

Agent Orange and Tumor denied

Veterans package sent to New Orleans by Tim Jr and Kristin has been denied. No agent orange and no service connected classification for tumor. The agent orange denial is bull shit. Pure and simple bull shit.

I have movies of me in Vietnam and Cambodia that show me actually standing in a field of agent orange defoliated jungle. I have obtained the list of gallons sprayed in each village and base I was stationed in during the entire year.

Every place I slept and fought has a list of gallons sprayed per year. Every single place I lived is covered with the stuff. Come to find out that all of my flight time from September of 1970 through May of 71 is classified and some of it from May of 70 to September of 1971 is classified.

It won't be much of a secret if I have to go to the newspapers to get the story out BUT, I'm not going to take that as a first step. Yeah, I'll make that the last step. I just think that combat vets should get their just due...... before we send any money anywhere for "foreign aid".

I have my own version of foreign aid. If the foreigners knew what it was, they'd need to change pants.

At any rate, I'm feeling good enough to bitch about the hassles a combat veteran needs to go through to simply get his due. More later on this. Doc says I simply need to appeal the decision and they will follow up on paper work. "Some nickle dime clerk" screwed that up. Won't tell you who made that comment but will say, the person who did, has been right about everything he's ever said or done about me.

Can NOT wait till Tim Jr gets home to help me work through this. Sent off $21,000.00 worth of medical bills today to Progressive. They've been super so far.

GO VETS!!!

Sr.

Back on chemo

Had a very good meeting with Dr. Phillip today.

He's not only insuring that every step I take is the right one, he's also on top of everybody down line from him to insure that my benefits package is properly attended to. This medical stuff is expensive and, since I paid my premiums in Vetnam, a little relief from these bills will provide the end result they've always promised the veteran.

George Washington said: "The effectiveness of our military is directly related to the manner in which we treat our veterans".

I'm back on double dosage chemo right now and so far, no nausea. I hope I make it through tonight as it's been 25 days since I've taken anything other than anti nausea tablets. Whatever it's going to be, Imma kick it.

Hangin' tough and trying to watch Monday Night Football....... but still being very watchful.

Hey to TeBo, Kristin's cousin SH, Marfa and Otto, Harris Family, Jay, Mo, Bruce, Lissa J, Wayne, Danita, Susie Q and RLB.

Sr.

All you gotta do is fight!

Okay guys, here's the deal.

The future is gonna be the future no matter what but if you chose to fight for your position in it, you definately will alter the outcome. I'm positive that fightin' like hell has allowed me to produce the nausea free days that I've now enjoyed. It's a total of 5 days straight.

Kristin has been a huge help. She's been on me about my drugs and eating habits and eating times like a duck on a june bug.

I'm feeling so much better than I have been since I changed to the double dose of chemo. All that may go to hell in a handbasket tomorrow because I start all over again with the double dose chemo thing. Despite that and despite the certainty of more nausea, all of us know that it's going to be less nausea over all. Pretty cool, huh!

Tom, Stan, you guys keep kickin that butt and fore long, you'll notice that your foot will outlast the enemy.

Feelin' good. Keep up the good fight boys. We'll kick cancer's butt till his nose bleeds. Ooooh Raaahhhhh.

Sr.

4 days no nausea

Yipee!!! No nausea again today. If this is any indication of how the 5 day on and 25 day off chemo deal is going to work, count me in!

I feel really good. I don't have all my strength back but I'm not staggering around nor am I needing the morning nap and afternoon nap. This is what I call progress.

Daddy's doin' good!

Sr.

3 days in a row with no nausea

Three wonderful days without getting sick. It's fabulous.

Don't know what to attribute it to and I'm scared to death that it will go away as I'm going to get back on chemo on the 16th and it will be double doseages. In any event, the 3 days have been most welcome.

I went to the Haynesville Shale convention in Shreveport today. Saw Mark Heacock, Vic, Ross and Micah. Also saw an idiot I knew from days gone by but will simply write that off as a result of "the village idiot is still loose".

Tim Jr, don't sweat the VA letter from New Orleans. Benefit package in Guy's hands and it's going to be okay.

Harris, make Tim Jr give you the email explaining why George W. Bush never got the Nobel Peace Prize. I sure do miss him.

Danita, don't sweat it, I have the pictures.

Man, it feels great to not be sick...................

Sr.

Workin' with half a brain and the Dr. C.C. Miller's Bosom Theory

First of all, I'm in my second morning of no nausea. That's great but I'm already wondering if that means I'm sick two days on and two days off. Hope not as tomorrow will be a real pisser.

The working with half a brain hit me as a good title because I did something "half fast" the other day. I got my clothes from the cleaners, went to the gas station and filled up and was ready to head out to Leesville when I got sick. I don't charge gas on the company card to use for personal stuff so I made a $50.75 screw up. No big deal as I'm sending a check in to cover it and I've used the gas on personal stuff anyway. It's like trips to the hospital and stuff. I just hate screwing up a perfect record.

With regard to the bosom theory, Dr. C C Miller says that the most comforting thing in the world to a male is the female bosom. Now this may not be the typical prescription from the hospital but I'll be damned if I don't think it should be.

If you think about it, when a little boy child is born the first thing that happens is his gets his ass kicked. Then, and here's the important part, he gets a nice, warm boob shoved in his face. That's where it all begins. Men love boobs and women ought to accept that.

I have 8 female friends. Four are single or divorced and 4 are married. I didn't think it would be too cool to ask the married ones if I could borrow their breasts for a minute so I passed on that. The other four qualify as boob donors to the cause. I'll let ya'll know how that works out without naming names but I'm sure gonna give it a shot.

Must be something to it as I had a dream about the "boob detail" night before last and in my mind, all my female friends showed up and basically said "here, feel these". I know that's not gonna happen but there should be a new discipline in medical school to make it happen. Oh well, dreams are great and maybe somebody will step up to the plate. Yeee haa.

Sr.

It's just part of it.

Nausea again this morning. Damn. It's just part of it. There's a whole lot of stuff that's worse than having nausea on a daily basis but having two days without it is wonderful. I just wish I could duplicate that.

Tryin' to keep an even keel.

Sr.

Tim Jr departs for Virginia

Jr left this morning around six or so. Was before daylight. Sure seems a bit lonely. Kristin took him to Jackson to catch the plane back to Virginia Beach/Norlolk. It's so expensive to fly into Shreveport almost everyone flies somewhere else and then drives here. Was $389.00 to Jackson vs. $900.00 to Shreveport.

Took my new drug with Orange juice this morning and so far it's working. No nausea yet. Hope I have that adjusted as I start double dose again on the 16th. Ugh. So tired.

Sr.

New Drug workin'

Got up this morning and immediately took a tab of Prochlorperazine. Followed that with cereal and banana. Felt good enough to follow that with a cup of coffee. Pretty good for me.

Rec'd a $17,000.00 hospital bill from the hospital in Leesville yesterday. Also a $4,400.00 ambulance bill. Am forwarding that to my insurance company and hope like hell they pay it. They've paid everything else so I'm hopeful that this will just fall in line with the rest of it. Progressive Insurance has been great so far even though I'm pretty sick of the red head that's so overexposed on their commercials.

Tim jr. leaving tomorrow and going back to the ship. I hate that because I've had so much trouble recently. Kristin is working full time so his departure is going to end up being a burden on somebody. I just want to go back to my regular lifestyle as I'm really tired of being surrounded by 4 walls everyday.

Thank God for my employer! What incredible individuals they are. Don't make many like that any more as they have stood by me every single day since the wreck.

Gonna put that head down a minute and take a nap before LSU and Bama get it on.

Thanks to all for the written support for my VA benefit package.

Sr.

Jr. called the hospital

Jr called the hospital last night and determined that the recent nausea scenario is typical of cancer patients who are taking the dosages and type of chemo that I am. He went there this morning and came home with a new script for me to deal with this.

I'm on double dosages of chemo now and the "Prochlorperazine Maleate" is designed to deal with but not necessarily stop the nausea. Nausea is part of it.

In any event, I'm fightin' like crazy to make it through the times when I can't talk. When that's done, I get back at my regular routine and continue to march.

Hangin' tough but just real tired of the chemo and nausea deal.

Hope to get back on track in a better sense than I have the last couple of weeks. I'm not giving up so don't ya'll give up on me.

Stan, be advised to ask about support drugs when you get off chemo.

Curt, thanks for the birthday wishes.

To all.............thanks for sending so many confirmations regarding the combat missions we flew in Cambodia. It makes a difference.
Sr.

Never open your mouth and say "I feel good"

I hardly made today's post before the nausea set in. No birthday dinner tonight for sure. Goin to bed real early and try to hit it again tomorrow. Learned to "not" say something about "today" until today is done. Ugh, I hate this nausea thing.

Sr,

Nasuea vs. "Check Engine Soon" light.

No nausea today and I'm thankful for that.

Despite that, my "check engine soon" light came on. Couldn't make up my mind if I should get Tim Jr to take me to the hospital or the auto parts store. Seems as though my "Air Mass" sensor needs cleaning. Almost sounds like a dirty story, doesn't it.

Fatigue level is a bit high today and I don't have a clue as to the reason for that. I've been careful not to overdo anything and I've also been very watchful of my sleeping habits. I'm being careful but I guess it's just time. If it takes that long for the nausea to leave maybe it takes that long for the fatigue and the skin burn to go away.

Today is my 61st birthday and Tim Jr asked what I wanted to do. I told him "absolutely nothing and lots of it".

More later.

Sr.

Two out of three ain't bad!

No nausea today. Had some yesterday but none today and none Sunday. Leland said that I am batting 666 and that's pretty good.

Bernie, thanks. You're right, 5th Woc does rule, always has.

Curt, I'm hanging tough and if I can feel as good tomorrow as I do today, I'll be one happy camper.

I hope like the dickens that this means I'm totally recouperated from all the radiation (except for the skin burns and hair). I'm not fatigued any more. I do have periods everyday where I get a little weak but I'm sure that's from a combination of things like the chemo and the fact that I've spent so much time in bed. In any event, I'm getting stronger.

Tomorrow marks 61 years for me. Lots of ya'll out there bet against me making 21. Some bet I'd never make it past 25. Fooled you, didn't I !!!!!

If the old stomach will let me do it, I'm planning on blitzin' out of here tomorrow and headin' to Baton Rouge to do a little bid work. Don't fret, I have a driver.

That's about it for today. Feelin' better. A little tired but for the most part, this is a major improvement for me. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yeee haaa!!!

Sr.

No such luck!

The old nasty stomach came home this morning about 7. Kinda threw me for a loop.

Thought I'd figured out the answer to how long it takes to get your stomach squared away. Took Ondesetron before I even said good morning to anyone. Birthday Wednesday. Hope it's gone by then cause I want to eat like a king and not be sick.

Sr.

I found my stomach

Today is the first day that I woke up without nausea comin' to visit. I mean no nausea at all.

It's been about 9 weeks since I stopped the daily routine of chemo and radiation for six weeks and then went to chemo for 5 days on and 25 days off. If that makes any sense, there has to be some kind of a time frame required to either rid yourself of the chemo OR whatever!

I felt so good Tim Jr, Kristin and Joey and I went to brunch at the Casino. Was great to be able to do that without being sick! Feelin' better. Don't know how long this is going to last but I'm feeling better!

DOUG, thanks for the signed statement about my combat missions.

Sr.