It has been a long time since I started this blog and I really haven't kept up with it very much, but I intend to change that.
First, allow me to bring everyone up to date with what is going on in my life.
December 30, 2007 Go to the emergency for a cold I cannot get rid of and it seems to be getting worse. I've only had this thing for almost 3 months. The Dr examines me and, upon checking my glands under my jaws, she finds lumps on the side of my neck and then starts checking elsewhere for more lumps. She starts the process with my PCP to get testing done.
March 28, 2008 Get a CT scan done. Took about 20 minutes to do a full head and abdomen series done.
June 2, 2008 Had biopsy surgery on a swollen lymph node.
June 6, 2008 I am diagnosed with a low grade lymphoma. Type unclear as of yet.
June 13, 2008 My place of work has decided to close its doors. This is great since I have been recently diagnosed with cancer and now I will have no insurance.
June 19, 2008 I get to finally talk to an oncologist. He says he believes it to be a type of Leukemia, but wants to do a bone marrow biopsy to be sure.
July 2, 2008 Get the bone marrow biopsy performed. Have to wait 3 weeks to get results.
July 24, 2008 See my oncologist. He confirms I have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He tells me this is a very slow progressing type of Leukemia and it could be several years before I would need any treatment. He also tells me that this disease is incurable, but they can put it into remission and can keep it there for many years.
September 13, 2009 Getting another CT scan. The Dr's are concerned about my condition. My white blood count is elevated, but not to a degree that would warrant any immediate action. They are concerned about the increase in my lymph nodes.
September 19,2009 See my oncologist. They tell me my lymph nodes have increased in size by 70% in the last 18 months. The danger here is they can press against other organs and shut them down....not good. They recommend chemo treatment. Not the words I wanted to hear, but I knew it was coming eventually. I always thought eventually meant you had plenty of time. Not necessarily.
October 5, 2009 Had a port-a-cath (or power port) put into my left shoulder. I am now a permanent Borg.
October 13, 2009 Started my first series of treatments. Really nervous because I wasn't sure what to expect. This first series is 4 days of treatments followed by a shot the jump starts my bone marrow. The chemo drugs tends to shut down my bone marrow from making white blood cells, the shot gets it started again.
There are a total of 6 treatment cycles I go through, the first one was the only one that was 4 days. The rest are 3 days followed by a shot the next day. The shot is the only thing I feel any side effects from. It gives me aches and pains like I had the flu, but no other flu like symptoms. I have had no side effects at all from the chemo drugs. I even have all of my hair still.
Today I started my 5th treatment cycle and will end it on Thursday and get my shot on Friday. Sometime Friday night I will start to feel the effects of the shot and that will go all day Saturday. I will start to feel those effects easing going into Sunday. By Monday, my battery is recharged and I am ready to go. My 6th and final treatment starts March 2, 2010.
Since losing my job in June 2008, I have had 43 interviews up until July 2009. I used all of my unemployment benefits and was beginning to wonder what we were going to pay the bills with. I did some research and it was suggested that I check into Social Security Disability. I checked into it, applied in August 2009 and in November 2009 I was approved. A lot of people ask me what I did to get it the first time around and get it so quickly. I tell them it helps to have a terminal disease. The looks of shock are priceless.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday, July 24, 2009
Coffee Table and End Table Set
Finally, I completed the table set I have been working on. The tables are still in my shop awaiting transportation to my clients house tomorrow morning. I took a pic of only one end table, but there are 2 of them. My wife keeps telling me I need to make another set for my client as she is keeping these. But, her bedroom furniture is my next project. I will be posting each piece as I get them finished. It's anybody's guess how long it will take me to finish all of it.
Talk to you soon.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
My first blog
Well folks, I finally broke down and started a blog. Not quite sure what I am doing yet, but I'll figure it out.
As you can tell in my profile, I am a woodworker. I have always had an interest in making things out of wood since I was about 8 years old. In 1979, I started to acquire some tools and started playing around with different ideas to see if things were going to come out like I had pictured. Well....they didn't, not at first anyway. Then I started subscribing to many different woodworking magazines and read about all the different techniques and tools used to perform certain tasks. Within about 3 months I started making knick-knack shelves and selling them at the flea market. Because I was still in the military in 1979, I couldn't really get too much into business, but I did create a client base for which I did a lot of custom projects.
After retiring from the military in 1992, I started working with cabinetmakers and learning the art of cabinetmaking. Not just the manufacture of the cabinets, but going out to customers homes, taking the measurements, and reviewing all the obstacles we had to work around and discussing with the home owners all the facets involved in making their new kitchen and bathroom work for them.
My favorite passion has always been to make furniture. In 1998, I tried my hand at my first piece of furniture....a 5 drawer chest. I built it out of a design I had stuck in my head. I didn't write it down or draw it out. I just went step by step in my head as I was building it and it turned out pretty nice. Since then, I have changed some things about the construction, but it still looks the same. Today, I am still making furniture for local clients and all my furniture is a limited edition of 50 sets. Currently, I have 32 bedroom suites I sold in North Carolina and I am also working on a coffee table and end table set. This is the first living room furniture I have built and it is coming along nicely. I have thought about marketing my furniture online, but not sure if I want the headaches of the logistics of packaging and shipping furniture. It is quite heavy and would cost a pretty penny to have it shipped by common carrier.
What I do have online is 4 sites where I sell my items. These are my sites:
I am marketing wood home decor items at these sites, although at ebay, I don't have all my home decor items listed there. I mainly use ebay for woodworking supplies such as biscuits, shaker pegs, dowel rods, etc.
When I get a new item finished, I will be posting a pic of it on here so everyone can see it and hopefully give me an honest critique of it. With this post, I will attach a few pics of what I already have on my sites.
Thank you
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