somewhat different.
On a recent Saturday morning, a really nice lady named Eryn Travis visited our juggling group (The Turks Head Jugglers) to write up a piece for the Examiner.com website. Her interest was whether the THJ is a place to recommend for children and/or adults.
She and I sat in one of the School's classrooms and had a nice chat (with me trying to explain we're not a babysitting service or any kind of organized "club" with age restrictions, lessons, skill awards, etc.) Then she went into the gym and took some good pictures of some of our group members "in action."
The piece recently appeared on the website, and you can get there by clicking on this: http://www.examiner.com/x-22075-South-Philadelphia-StayatHome-Moms-Examiner~y2009m9d1-Introduce-kids-to-juggling-with-Turks-Head-Jugglers .
I could quibble with some of the wording, but I think Eryn captured the essence of what we're all about. Thanks Eryn!!
So if you've ever been curious about our juggling group, please visit the site and tell me what you think! (And don't miss the short "slide show' towards the end of the article!)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Superficial"
It's just after 6:00 PM and I just got off the phone with my E/N/T guy, who did the operation on my jaw around 8:00 this morning. He called just to check in.
I assured him I had no pain or any discomfort, to which he said, "Yeah, well you really shouldn't. The tumor was really very superficial -- it didn't get down into the muscle or anything like that."
(Now honestly, folks, when was the last time you enjoyed -- you were thrilled --at being called "superficial"?)
Anyway, I told him I still found it puzzling that the tumor showed up at all, and he said that he had talked to my radiation doc during the day, who confirmed that radiation can sometimes trigger a latent patch of pre-cancerous cells. That it's unusual, but certainly not unheard of. And that it's not something to worry about: if it's going to happen at all, it will happen shortly after the radiation treatment. Like now.
So.
I assured him I had no pain or any discomfort, to which he said, "Yeah, well you really shouldn't. The tumor was really very superficial -- it didn't get down into the muscle or anything like that."
(Now honestly, folks, when was the last time you enjoyed -- you were thrilled --at being called "superficial"?)
Anyway, I told him I still found it puzzling that the tumor showed up at all, and he said that he had talked to my radiation doc during the day, who confirmed that radiation can sometimes trigger a latent patch of pre-cancerous cells. That it's unusual, but certainly not unheard of. And that it's not something to worry about: if it's going to happen at all, it will happen shortly after the radiation treatment. Like now.
So.
Health Update: 9/1/09 -- Today's Surgery
The operation this morning went about as smoothly as one could imagine or hope for.
During our visit with the E/N/T doc yesterday in preparation for the surgery, the doc had me smile and smile again -- to allow him to determine the best possible approach to the excision: should this be more of a horizontal cut, a vertical one, or something in between? In this process, he found a "line" in the structure of my face that he liked a lot and explained it to Deb and me: "See? there's a natural fold in the skin and muscle right here, and if I follow that line, it should make the excision easy and complete, should be a quick healing, and it should keep us well away from the facial nerve."
(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)
So the surgery site is bandaged -- as one might expect -- but the size and shape of the dressing looks like he followed his plan closely if not exactly.
The operation took place under local anesthesia, so I had the opportunity to listen in on the "chatter" that took place during the procedure between the doc, the nurses, and the anesthetist. Most of the talk was about kids going back to school. Very pleasant and relaxing. (Does anyone out there remember Bill Cosby's routine about hearing his surgeon say "Ooops" in the middle of an operation? Cosby says: "Doc, I don't know what you mean when you say 'Oooops,' but I know what I mean when I say 'Oooops'!" Nothing like that today!!)
While I was recovering from the anesthesia, the doc talked to Deb and said he was quite pleased with the way the surgery went. He said he had "clean margins all the way around" -- which means he could easily see where the tumor stopped and the healthy tissue started, and was able to excise the entire tumor with confidence.
(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)
During our visit with the E/N/T doc yesterday in preparation for the surgery, the doc had me smile and smile again -- to allow him to determine the best possible approach to the excision: should this be more of a horizontal cut, a vertical one, or something in between? In this process, he found a "line" in the structure of my face that he liked a lot and explained it to Deb and me: "See? there's a natural fold in the skin and muscle right here, and if I follow that line, it should make the excision easy and complete, should be a quick healing, and it should keep us well away from the facial nerve."
(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)
So the surgery site is bandaged -- as one might expect -- but the size and shape of the dressing looks like he followed his plan closely if not exactly.
The operation took place under local anesthesia, so I had the opportunity to listen in on the "chatter" that took place during the procedure between the doc, the nurses, and the anesthetist. Most of the talk was about kids going back to school. Very pleasant and relaxing. (Does anyone out there remember Bill Cosby's routine about hearing his surgeon say "Ooops" in the middle of an operation? Cosby says: "Doc, I don't know what you mean when you say 'Oooops,' but I know what I mean when I say 'Oooops'!" Nothing like that today!!)
While I was recovering from the anesthesia, the doc talked to Deb and said he was quite pleased with the way the surgery went. He said he had "clean margins all the way around" -- which means he could easily see where the tumor stopped and the healthy tissue started, and was able to excise the entire tumor with confidence.
(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)
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