Bad News from the Dr Yesterday

So sorry to hear this, my first thought was your previous work in the shipyard. Take care man, I pray for a speedy recovery for you.

 

Hope you get this taken care of LodgedTree not the news we want to hear at all but we’re here for support!

 

Got more new from the the Dr yesterday and it continues to be bad: it seems there is some junk in my liver now.

 

Were here for you and have you in our prayers

 

So sorry to see this news LodgedTree ... good luck with treatments going forward.

 

Lots of prayers offered up for you form this site.

 

Just an update here...

FIRST and Foremost, I appreciate the genuine concern for my health, wife and four daughters as shown on here, it truly makes this forum a remarkable place. Words cannot convey that actually accurately enough, but I did try. From offers of prayer to the offer of a house in Cambridge should I need to stay at the hospital in Boston. I am humbled by your concern and generosity.

As for my health, something is really wrong inside my throat and I am not sure what. When I yawn, or move my mouth just right sharp, intense pain hits my left side of my throat and has been getting worse these last few days. I see my Surgeon for a follow up on Friday so I will see what he says.

I did a lot of blood work yesterday and I think they actually let me keep a few pints to myself! At supper time (all other 49 states call this dinner time) but my Endocrinologist called me up and said that my medication levels to take care of my removed Thyroid were fine, but she found something wrong with my Liver and to get with my Primary Physician as soon as I could. She is booked up so I will see her on December 18th.

Mentally some days are better than others. Yesterday was really bad. I am still logging and now down over an incredible ravine. It is full of boulders, ledge, steepness and mud, but also teeming with Ash and Maple trees 2 feet or more in diameter. They are there because they are hard to get too. I know, I know...no pictures...did not happen. Unfortunately the Lodged Tree Photographer has been sick (Katie has kidney stones/infection) so no photos, but yesterday everything went bad. Living up to my name I pushed a tree into my saw again. The chainsaw survived (Husky 562) but the bar got mangled. I just lost it when that happened...it sounds stupid but it was not just that, just one thing after another that would not go right, from frayed cables not sliding right, to lodged trees, but in the end it turned out okay. I stayed out of the woods the rest of the days, got that blood work done, and then got the bad news. I went back in this morning and finished my load of hardwood logs, and things went better.

Overall I have more energy now that my Thyroid has been removed and I am operating on 100% medication, something that will occur the rest of my life. Rain is coming in tomorrow so I will do something else, but then clean up those hardwood "tops" for pulpwood, get out a load of that next week, then start on some Spruce Logs. That will be enough.

Career wise Katie is looking at entering the work force after 7 years as a homemaker. She looked into a nursing degree on Friday and found out our Governor cancelled the program on Tuesday and are not taking applications. So God shut the door on that plan, but a local construction company (the biggest on the East Coast) has a training program and she might enter that. It is 4 weeks of paid training, 2 weeks of application, then they seethe best fit. She is thinking a non-tradional job in the trades might do her well.

Farm wise, we just shipped a pile of sheep and they went for $75 a head. These were prime lamb so we are really thinking about things hard here. Between the acreage for pasture, and acreage for winter feed, we are thinking we might be able to do better than that with another commodity. We will always have a few dozen sheep kicking around, but maybe for now produce small grains or something? I dislike changing farm plans after 9 years, but at what point do you change what is not working well and try something else, or just keep going and hope in the end your plans all work out through perseverance? I do not have an answer to that last question.

 

LodgedTree, thanks for keeping us up to date on what's going on with you. We really do care. And we're brimming with free advice, none of which you are obliged to follow!

 

Well I am not always clear. I had someone ask me in a private message about how the liver and Thyroid was linked.

On October 23rd my Thyroid was completely removed and why I was not posting on here much. I took 3 weeks off from logging to recover, a bit long perhaps, but logging is a bit demanding physically.

Before they did all that, they tested my Thyroid for cancer because if it has cancer, while removing the Thyroid, they also take out other glands so it does not spread. It tested benign at that point, so they just took out my Thyroid but it did not look right to the Surgeon. It is supposed to be the size of a peach pit and mine was the size of the surgeons fist he said, and that was just one side! It has 5 tumors, one the size of a ping pong ball. The other side was okay size wise, had only one tumor, but was supposed to be smooth, and it was lumpy. So they tested it, and found out it was full of cancer. So I kind of gypped. When they were in there they should have taken out more body parts, but honestly, it might have already been spread.

There are 3 types of Thyroid Cancer, one stays in the Thyroid, and the other is rather slow traveling but goes outside the Thyroid, and the other is more aggressive. In either case of the latter two, Thyroid Cancer tends to go to the bones, or go to the liver. I need a lot of blood work done because without a Thyroid, I would have no hormones...none, so that is supplemented by medication I must take the rest of my life. So the blood work was done to make sure everything is working, and it is, and the Thyroid Dr (Endocrinologist) is happy and is done with me...but she also noticed that in that blood work there is something amiss in my kidneys.

In firewood speak, it is like having a skidder engine starter go bad and you take the starter to a specialist and have it rebuilt. They tear it apart and tell you it is getting low voltage and thus you need to see a mechanic to have new battery terminals and main battery cables replaced. It is the same thing. The Endocrinologist can only tell me that something is wrong and that it is not with the Thyroid, just as the starter rebuilder cannot say where the low voltage is stemming from, just that the starter is starved of voltage. That starter person would say, "see a mechanic to get your battery wiring figured out", and that is what she is saying, "get with your primary care physician to get a plan going on why your liver is messed up".

The frustrating part of this has been, ever since I took that chainsaw to the face, the Dr's have blown all this off. The symptoms of Thyroid issues are so slow growing that the only reason they found it was because they thought I had a concussion from the chainsaw accident and took a cat scan. Back then (March 27th) they said "Oh it is just an enlarged Thyroid, we will have it tested but it is probably no big deal." Then they tested it and said, "Wow, it has 6 tumors and is huge", but it is probably no big deal, we will test it to see if it has cancer." Then they say, "Oh it is not cancer, we might not even take the whole Thyroid out". I actually had to talk the surgeon into that! Then afterwards they say, "Oh it had cancer all through it." Now they are saying "Something is amiss in your liver", but they are not saying do not be worried anymore, that is because in March nothing was wrong with my liver. Now I am worried, because if this pattern keeps going, I'll be dead by Christmas. (Joking, but only slightly)

 

Not sure if you've read about my dad. He went in for a bleeding ulcer, and they found Esophageal cancer. His treatments start next Monday. A bit different mind you. He's 81 and you are 42 I believe.

At 6' 3" and 302 for a while, I joined a gym and started with a trainer 2 months ago. The weight is slowly coming off for me, but I am seeing changes. I am swapping fat for muscle. For he better part of my life I've been dealing with migraines, and over the past 15 years I've been dealing with depression and anxiety. The past two months I've started to see a slow improvement in all three. My mind has been clearer, a positive outlook on life and no depression. Energy has returned. Life was looking good. Even when we first found out about my dad's cancer I felt ok. It didn't hit me that bad. Then this weekend, I took a 6 month step back in my head. I created a medical binder for him to take to his appointments to keep his meds, doctors, appointments and any other medical information straight. He really likes the binder. However; making the binder really hit home for me. The cancer was more than real.

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you. Since Sunday my head has been spinning, and it's now Thursday and I finally feel like I am starting to get my feet under me. I cannot imagine what you must be thinking and feeling right now. One thing I will say which you brought up in your comments, I've always felts that this forum is a family. I've said things here I'd never say online to other people. Knowing that the other members would not ridicule me for my comments. We are here to support each other morally, mentally, and physically as best we can. My life might be upside down right now, but if you need anything from me, just ask. I'll always do what I can.

In the Navy, we have a saying, "Fair seas and following winds." I hope things start to turn around for you, and will add you and your family to our prayers.


Jason from RI.

 

That last paragraph of yours, LodgedTree, lays it out why, if you do need further treatment for cancer, you should get a consult down in Boston.
It's a matter of experience. At someplace like Dana Farber, they see hundreds of similar cancers a year, while up in Maine, not so many. Post surgical infection rates are lower, and cutting-edge treatment protocols are being developed. savemoney, what do you think?
Also, if it was me, I would lay off acquiring any new sheep for awhile, until you get this worked out.

 

Wow, I don't really know what to say beyond the obvious, that I'm so sorry to hear this. You being a man of faith and inner strength will serve you well in the journey and fight you will have to make to tackle these issues. Stay strong, as easy it is for me to say, and as hard as it will be for you to do. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Also, know that you have friends in the area that can be leaned on and could possibly help directly in some way.

 

My brother had Esophageal cancer 2012, Chemo and removeing some of the esophagus stopped it. Has to have it streched every so often but other wise doing fine with that. 2015 discovered cancer in hios liver. Again some chemo but there were problems so wasn't given the norman chemo treatments. They did surgery and removed part of the liver to get rid of the cancer. that took a lot out of him lost close to 125 pounds, could walk with out the aid of a walker either. To be honest I had steeled my self to thre fact I was going to loose him.

Just this morning I got a E mail from him and said test done and cat scans yesterday said he was still cancer free. He has gained 75 pounds back so weighs almost 150 pounds now. does wood working in his garage and sells the toys and stuff he makes.

The BIG C has taken many our family loves but it can also be beat too.

May the Great Spirit look over you and yours.

Al

 

I am no good with words in a situation like this. Just know I am praying for you and yours.