Whew! Endoscopy's over; the good doc did great

Had the pleasure once again of joking around with Dr. Philip N. Styne of the Center for Digestive Health on Mills Avenue, and then he got down to business. (The good doctor's photo is here, courtesy of the Center for Digestive Health's Web site.)

I'm glad I was totally out of it by the time things started. But when it was over, daughter Karen told me Dr. Styne left images of my insides (At the bottom of this post, if you dare!) and told her it appeared the tumor was smaller. Not sure I can tell from the images if it's smaller or even what it is. But the images are there in all their living color.

But it was good to know that Dr. Styne is a reader of this blog, so maybe he'll let me know what's where, which is up or down and what to look for and then I'll inform the rest of you. Dr. Styne even joked with the two nurses and myself in the procedure room, warning that they should be careful what they say because it'll be online by tonight. How right he was ... even sooner. But I did point out that I've never, ever said anything bad about any of my docs -- that's because I can't think of a bad thing to say. They're all top-notch and I recommend each and every one of them if (God forbid) you need their services.

So check out the images and let's find out what they mean.

Oh, and apologies to my buddy John Cutter, but after the procedure my wife and daughters and I had brunch at TooJays off Colonial.

More doses of reality and visit from Prof. Fate

Aside from the daily tugs of war my stomach wages with the unused feeding tube firmly implanted there, another reality is approaching. Friday, as I've noted before, is the endoscopy, and then Monday is my PET scan.

I had a call from Florida Hospital today to pre-register for the PET scan at the Advanced Nuclear Medicine building across Orange Avenue from the main campus. By pre- Prof. Fate, r, in "The Great Race," c. Warner Bros.
register, of course, they mean pay your co-payment. Which I did. I'm pretty close to the max I'll have to dish out for the co-pay, $1,250, so the surgery and resulting hospital stay won't require a payment. Whew.

But the reality is that once these two tests are concluded the doctors will determine my fate. Or maybe my body will determine my fate but the docs will evaluate and assess said fate. Maybe I should call the docs Professor Fate (some of you might get that). But that would be a slur to my docs, who I really admire, so I'll hold off.

Another mixed bag from blood draw

Monday's blood draw was mostly good news. Most of the things docs look for were somewhere between low and high on the scale. White blood count was good but the red blood count was below low. Hemoglobin also was under par.

What it all means, I guess, is that I'm normal. One wouldn't expect someone who just went through chemo and radiation to be perfect. That's why the docs wanted me to have a "cooling off" period, where, as Dr. Z put it once, the smoke can clear.

Friday is one of the big days for me -- my endoscopy. Then Monday is the PET scan and by that Wednesday, Dec. 12, I should have a good idea as to whether the chemo-rads one-two knocked out the cancer and when (and if) they surgery will be.

So that's my status in a nutshell. I'm personally going nuts sitting at home, though I do find myself sleeping a lot, which can't be a bad thing at the moment. It's bizarre for a person who regularly works the night shift to go to bed by 9 p.m., but that's been me for a couple months, especially since the stomach tube ends up waking me up by 4 a.m.

I can't wait to put this behind me and get back to work. I keep saying that and how odd it must sound. But it's true. Being idle certainly is no fun.

Hopefully, it won't be much longer.

Went topless -- as in no hat

I ended up going to the wedding without a hat (as you can see in photo at right), and I'm glad I did. Apparently, family members think it suits me. Maybe they're being kind.

I go to the doc's today for a blood draw and I hope the numbers start to improve, since surgery could be as soon as 10 days from today -- yipes!

I added this photo of the bride for the fun ot it. I snapped it just moments before I escorted her down the aisle. I'll post shots of us as soon as I have some available. Pardon the background, but it's a golf club, after all.

Today is big day, but dilemma is hat or no hat?

It is Jen and Chris' big day today, and the whole family is quite thrilled for them. They're a wonderful couple who have been together for a few years and know what they want. I'm glad both myself and my Mom are able to be at their wedding this afternoon.

The happy couple are pictured above (with Jen's sister Kim as the officiant and niece Remi to left and nephew Elliot at right) and at the bottom during the rehearsal at Stoneybrook Golf Club on Saturday.

So of course I have a glitch that I'm trying to resolve internally at the moment. Hat? No hat?

On one hand, no hat reflects who I am right now. No hair, shiny head, big smile. On the other hand, no hat also reflects glare into the cameras -- really don't want to white-out the photog -- and gives me a sunburn on my scalp. Something a hat would prevent.

I'm leaning toward a hat, since that's what I have been most comfortable with since having my head shaved prior to the chemo in October. (I've since had to shave my head a couple of times to keep the few very thin hairs that have returned from looking bizarre atop my head.) And I don't think Catherine would allow me to wear my new best buddy, my Yellowstone hat, at the wedding.

So for now I'll go shopping this morning for a hat and if I find one suitable for a wedding, well, I'll buy it. If not, I will go bald to the ceremony.

Mom's finally in Orlando

Catherine drove me down to retrieve Mom from her rehab center in Boca Raton and Friday we made the trip back to Central Florida and Mom's new short-term home at Conway Lakes Rehab Center in Orlando. We were accompanied by Aunt Anne, Mom's sister, and Sylvia Clark, Mom's best friend for more than 50 years, who also will attend the wedding.

Mom already has had a couple of physical therapy workouts, though so far she's not thrilled with the menu at Conway Lakes. She is thrilled that on Sunday we're checking her out for the afternoon so she can be a part of Jennifer's wedding. (Mom, pictured above at Conway Lakes, checks out the wonderful scrapbook made by my friends at work. She and my family were mighty impressed.) She won't be up to walking Jen down the aisle, but she'll be there -- something we were not sure would happen a couple months ago.

So to Beatrice Spitz, we at the Kohn household just want to say Welcome to Central Florida!