Thursday, January 1, 2009

On Questions I Have



Everyone going through such a journey is inundated with questions. Being an exceptionally curious fellow, I seem to have a never ending supply of them. I thought today I might share a couple of the more profound questions I have with you today.

1. My doctors tell me I must avoid dogs because they carry too many germs, yet I've always heard that a dogs mouth is cleaner than a humans. If this is the case, isn't it safer to kiss my dog than my girlfriend?

2. This one's a common one that I've actually dwelled on little except to have some fun: What gave me cancer? Here are my top four theories:

i. The Cuban cigar I smoked on a festive college night, inhaling the whole thing before a friend looked at me and said "you're not inhaling that are you?" That was a long, pale, nauseated night.

ii. Resting my ipod and FM transmitter on my upper right leg when driving to get better reception (this wouldn't have entered my mind had I not joked every time "this will probably give me cancer," then awoke one night four months ago with a terrible pain in my right femur and a premonition of the treatment to come.

iii. Impure thoughts in church as a child.

iv. My affinity as a child for removing the foil from the tops of individually packaged jello cups, nuking them in the microwave to liquify the contents, then swiftly drinking the sweet nectar of melted corn syrup -- and probably molten plastic.

Yup. I'm thinking it's the jello.

Any other ideas?

All right, enough tomfoolery, tomorrow will find me in the clinic for the final blasting of induction. I would really appreciate it if anyone reading would make a mental note or set there calanders to send me good vibes as the chemo drugs do there best to wreak havic on the lymphoblasts. So that's tomorrow, Friday, from 10:30am to Noon.

Here's to a Happy and Healthy New Year For All,

Sam

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year Sam. Sending you love and strength as you continue your fight in 2009. 2009 will be a landmark year for you. You will no longer be a patient receiving medical treatment, but a survivor, who conquered illness. That is truly something we all look forward too.

Rob.

bacca said...

I don't know Sam, but I think it was probably the thoughts in church
as a child. I'll be with you in 'spirit' tomorrow. Wishing you A Blessed New Year. Gramps and I send you all our Love.

Stuart said...

Friday 10:30am to noon it is. Way to come of the 2009 gate fighting. You are a strong man and will come out ahead. Thanks for keeping in touch along the way, Rest well, Blog Strong... we'll take it one day at a time.

Annie Gore said...

Sam, this is Pete. I'm logged in to Annie's account (and I don't know how to log in to my own). I'm not sure how this works, so I hope the comment goes through.

Knock the lymphoblasts dead tomorrow. Good vibes are coming your way.

As far as "why" you got cancer, you would think that the top two culprits are: (1) the cuban cigar (which I remember smuggling in to the country for you); and (2) that time you and I went swimming in Lake Superior last fall.

I've ruled out the cuban cigar, because I've smoked something like 25 or 30 of those cigars from the very same batch, and I feel okay. On similar logic, I've also ruled out the Lake Superior swim.

In the end, I'll have to agree with Grandma. It must have been the impure thoughts.

Annie Gore said...

Sam, Pete again. I've thought if over some more. It couldn't have been the impure thoughts, because I've had a few of those as well.

Deductive reasoning dictates that the cause must be the jello cup microwave thing. I've certainly never tried that, but it sounds delicious.

Vitse said...

Good to see you the other day and thanks for the metaphor shout out. Here are suggestions for further metaphors:
1. Perhaps as you are riding your bike you can see the sun rising at the end of your ride
2. You can have a big scary bat in your house that you can subdue with the help of your friends
3. You can have troubles connecting to the server remotely for a while only to realize that the answer lies inside you.

Happy new year

pauly said...

Dogs mouths have less bacteria in them than humans' do, but they carry more germs all over their body than we do, so petting them and such transfers lots of germs.

salmo said...

Thinking of you.... & hope that you do not have to avoid loving the pups. Sal

jesseray said...

Hope the last induction kicked some lymphoblast ass, buddy!

I bet a cancer culprit, in addition to the jello, could have been excessive testosterone itis, evidenced by your need to wrassle with people bigger than you (Schmidty and me - even though i was never much bigger).

Or maybe all of the shrieking and psychological trauma endured during debate overnights ;)

Happy New Year!

PapaDeMetrios said...

wrong, wrong, wrong.

Don't you remember the "Happy Acres" RV park that Flippy made us stay at for the WORS at Wilmot or Alpine Valley? That "swimming pond" was just a cesspool for the RV wastewater. It was definitely Happy Acres...those sonsobitches

Candace and Stuart said...

thanks for the info on the spinal taps... they come and go. went to clinic today and they said they thought it was too little fluids - so we got a bag.
I'm with you - i think it is the spinal tap.
In that case, good news - he has 16 more to go!

KC Kelly said...

It was definitely the joking around about cancer because life is full or cruel irony...

Good luck with everything Sam...I don't know you very well but I was friends with both your sisters a while back and I just want you to know your story is an inspiration to the people you love and even the people you don't know. Stay strong man! You're doing great...you're not done on this Earth yet.

Anonymous said...

I think it was putting that radioactive cell phone to your ear. But that's just me. Anyway, good luck this year. May the lymphoblasts get what's coming to them... A short drop and a sudden stop. Happy new year, buddy.

JD said...

I don't know how I ever came upon your blog (maybe it was you in the canoe), but I feel deepest sympathy (and compassion) for you; and I am on your side, rooting you on. You can beat this! If I can only add one suggestion, or perhaps two, or more: 1. The power of positive thinking is unknown (greater than I have ever imagined at least, in my most recent experiences); I believe this power can launch us further than modern man could have ever imagined. Thus the power of positive thinking is KEY! 2. Proper diet and the flushing of toxins from your body is also a key to healthy living. Sure, you can eat some crap, enjoy lager and spirits - but be sure to flush that out with lots and lots of pure water. 3. I have experienced the miracle of oxygen and tell the tale first hand. If you fill bombard your bodies with oxygen (what your body craves to survive) I believe that you can fight just about any ailment that is attacking you. My answer to this came in the form of 'CELLFOOD'. It has treated and rid me of any and all ailments I have had. It has given me energy when I requested it. It has helped me cope with what my body and my soul lacked. If you look this up on the internet, just go here, check it out and maybe give it a try. I swear it HAS to help you. It has helped me immensely. Here is the link (I hope to hear/read that you're progressively getting better)... http://www.nuscience.com/
If you wish to contact me and chat or ask about this stuff, feel free - jme.delaney@gmail.com

Kate said...

Sam, it seems clear to me. You got cancer from kissing dogs.

Schmidty said...

i just assumed it was payback for drowning that hooker... and killing hookers was supposed to be a victimless crime!