I'm okay. Really! Well, pretty much...

First of all, I feel I should apologize to you for not posting more often. Important stuff has been happening, and I want to document it all here. Truth is, life has been busy -- and happily so. And I want some "space" and peace and quiet (internal as well as external) around me as I write to you. So I haven't been posting much...

I've been volunteering at the Academy of Natural Sciences pretty regularly for the last several months, and enjoying that immensely. One of these days, I hope to post about what that experience means to me.

And, after cleaning out my Dad's house, I wound up with 14 boxes of documents and memorabilia, which now decorate our living room in a most unbecoming manner. Among other things, I found my Mother's 3rd grade report card; my varsity letter from high school (for tennis -- never got a sweater on which to wear it, though); Dad's income tax return from 1972 (along with hundreds of other financial returns and receipts); dozens of greting cards of the birthday / Christmas / anniversary variety; (I never really understood how deeply my parents loved each other, as they never allowed themselves to show it. But the truth is written in the cards!); a box full of WWII pamphlets, newsletters, military orders, etc. -- from the 1940"s and 1950's; and on and on.

... and I've been performing a bit and working out at the gym and having music lessons and practicing on my keyboard and doing morning meditations and stuff like that. But it's not that I haven't had time, I just haven't had quiet time.

So there. But anyway, I'm okay medically. Pretty much, that is:

A Visit with My E/N/T Doc
Deb and I visited with my E/N/T doc yesterday for a routine check-up that proved to be exactly that. Routine. Nothing new. Everything seems to be fine.

In the process of telling me how good I looked, he muttered about "that nodule in your cheek seems to have dissolved" or something like that. Hmmm... he hadn't mentioned anything about a nodule before. So I have a choice of being happy that it's gone now or anxious that he's not telling me about everything that's going on.

I think I'll choose the former course and just let it go.

Blood Clots, Anyone?
I mentioned in an earlier posting that I was about to have some comprehensive blood testing done -- including DNA analysis -- to try and pinpoint the issue(s) associated with my blood clots. The results are in -- have been for a considerable time, in fact -- and there's something of a path forward emerging from the data.

All of the blood chemistry numbers were within normal range except one. Something called "antiphospholipids," or "APS." Here's a link for that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiphospholipid_syndrome. My chemo doc tells me that a single test for that is not conclusive for anything and that a second test roughly 12 weeks later is highly recommended. And I'm scheduled for that testing Thursday, March 5th. Results to be posted here after that date, of course.

The genetic testing did not identify any DNA markers for clotting, but that part of the story has a new and interesting facet. My cousin Frank (who's an MD practicing in Kansas) wrote me an e-mail recently that lists a number of relatives who have had blood clotting issues. And those that have had DNA tests for clotting have also come up negative. So he's suggesting that there is a genetic origin for these conditions, but one that hasn't been identified yet. So who knows?

I'm still wearing compression stockings every day, but have now been off of blood thinners for months and months. And Deb and I flew to Key West several weeks ago without incident. (The flights were quick, but I got up several times to walk around -- get the blood flowing -- and I had taken aspirin before each flight -- just in case.)

So the idea of flying to Alberta to do dinosaur work this summer is back on the table! (Lemme hear you say "Yay!")

Thyroid Status
I went to my GP several weeks ago with a set of symptoms that she identified as possibly related to a thyroid condition. More blood tests. And they showed an overabundance of TSH (don't ask), which suggests an underactive thyroid (please don't ask).

Like the APS testing above, a follow-up test is strongly recommended, and that testing will take place in a week or so as well.

All of Which Means...
When I look over the outstanding medical issues above, it becomes clear to me that I should expect issues like this because I'm 64 years old. The previous encounter with cancer notwithstanding. Deb will still need me, Deb will still feed me, but she can't undo the wear and tear on my body that 64 years of living has left within me.

So I'm good. Really.