Beebe4

Here is an announcement of the project I have been working on (out in San Francisco). Always nice to see some news on the work you have been doing.

They mention some of the work I did also… “upgrade to the latest version with an easy-to-use upgrade wizard” when they are spelling out the cool features of the Web based Control Center.

I have started playing soccer this winter (I know kinda dumb time to be playing, but so far it hasn’t been too cold). Our team isn’t very good and we are playing in Division I (should most likely be in Division II). But I am out there for the exercise and to get rid of some of my manly testosterone. I played defense in High School (which was the peak of my soccer career) but I have apparently gotten slow in my old age, last weekend I was getting burned left and right and always chasing people as they blew by me. But I have gotten better (with age) and playing smarter and playing midfield and forward, so I have two assists (I think we have scored 3 goals total) so not too shabby.

Will update the games as I play them. We are currently 0-2.

Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry I have been so non-present lately. Just been doing holiday stuff and nothing has really struck my fancy as interesting lately… so I’ve just been living. But I have gotten some complaints about depriving some peeps of their once a month entertainment so I figured I would take some time on this Christmas-eve-eve and write down some thoughts.

PEARL

After Thanksgiving Pearl told us that the doctor had gotten a 2nd opinion and that the second opinion concluded that there was some cancerous cells in the tissue surrounding the removed colon. This scared Pearl, but after talking to the kids and talking to the Chemo doc (Dr. Tan) she is feeling better about it.

Her treatment has always been expected to include post operative chemo in anticipation of some cells still lingering around. So all this information tells us is that some definitely exist and it helps the team of doctors know where to concentrate their treatments. So they have decided to include post-operative radiation in hopes of offering the best offense against her cancer.

She goes in Jan 3rd to have the temporary ostomy bag removed which is a big mental thing for her and will help her feel more “normal” (even though I think she is pretty damn normal already). She is looking really good… she looks healthy and she has started gaining some weight back which is great news.

CHOLESTEROL

So my weight loss is great, all of my “health statistics” are doing wonderfully, but given that Beebe3 died at 50 and Lois1 has high Cholesterol my doctor has decided that I should start taking some Crestor. Main side effects are sore muscles and potential liver problems, so I am going back to have my blood work done and have the liver checked out in 2 more weeks.

In case you are curious, here is a snapshot of Ben’s Cholesterol:

Date       Weight  Cholesterol  HDL  LDL   "LDL/HDL Ratio"

---------------------------------------------------------

12/23/97    200      223        51   149      2.9

03/14/01    242      220        39   147      3.8

03/25/03    240      227        46   157      3.4

02/02/04    235      221        39   167      4.3

05/17/04    197      216        46   149.6    3.3

11/24/04    192      237        54   165.4    3.1

On the bottom of the blood test reports is the following chart:

     LDL/HDL RISK FACTORS

MEN     WOMEN         RISK FACTOR

-----------------------------------------

1.0      1.5       1/2 Average Risk

3.6      3.2           Average Risk

6.3      5.0       2 Times Average Risk

8.0      6.1       3 Times Average Risk 

The February appointment was my baseline to see what was going on prior to starting the Atkins Diet. And it worked, there is no doubting that… my weight loss was significant and my cholesterol levels improved dramatically, the doctor was very pleased, but given family history it is still wise to be on medication.

But since the drug has a potential side effect of liver problems and Atkins has a potential side effect of liver problems I have decided to switch back to the a low fat diet, trying to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables… less meat, keep the bread and refined sugar intake down, and so far so good… I swelled up there for a week, but today I was down to 188 which is right around my low anyways so I am pleased.

POKER NIGHT

So I have two groups of poker players that I play with… one is from work, the other is the boys in the family. I hosted the family poker night last month and had a good time… all in all I broke even (as I think I have every time I have played recently) so I have no problem playing for a few hours and not spending any money… to me that is a win. Hopefully I can get a game or two in during the break. I have 11 days off in a row (staring tomorrow) during the holidays so I am pleased to be able to finish up on the house and just relax.

I just played a super cheesy skymiles promotion game and apparently won 10,000 skymiles. Check it out at Dash to the Gate. Free skymiles are a good thing!

We are having a poker night on Friday with the young men from Sherry’s family. Franklin, Mark, and Joseph will be representing the Everett’s, Shawn and I will be representing the Tureman’s and Chuck will be representing the Fergeson’s.

Should be fun… will let you know how much I win!

Not much has been going on… we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in town and then departed to go spend the rest of the long weekend at Sarah’s house since the rest of my family was going to be there. It was good to see everyone.

Pearl is doing good, she is driving herself around and in really good spirits despite her lack of having my daily computer lessons.

We got to see Alison (Sherry’s college roommate) and Chris last week as well. Apparently they have lots of new friends and don’t need us anymore, but we do appreciate them stopping by to say ‘Hi’.

Other then that… same ol’ same ol’ I need to do some stuff around the house and get it ready for visitors.

And great news! The lymph nodes are clean. So we have a the best results that we could of had… a 2nd staged case with everything reconnected and full functionality expected, and a VERY LONG LIFE 🙂

She had the staples removed from her stomach and is recovering and gaining weight daily. She is still staying with Sherry and I, but has been talking about trying to go home…. hopefully she will listen to reason, which is my middle name.

Next steps: January 3rd is the reverse ileostomy (removing the bag that she is using to go to the restroom and resume normal digestive functionality), and a follow up in a month to see how things are going. She will most likely start the final round of Chemo after the January 3rd surgery which is 4 months long.

So all in all today is a great day.

Pearl moved in without a hitch. She has been recovering with Sherry and lots of guests to keep her company. The home nurses came by yesterday to admit her into the home care program, and her assigned nurse is coming tomorrow for her first visit. Sherry has taken off work for these first couple of days and will reevaluate the status or Sunday night. But Pearl seems to be happy to be out of the hospital and in the care of her family with an occasional visit from the nurse.

She is eating and the swelling is going down as her body readjusts to all the changes it is going through. Her feet are swollen and Shawn purchased all of Walgreen’s heating supplies for feet… heating pad, electric socks, the foot spa, the works. She likes the socks the best.

She is sleeping much better and has been napping regularly as she recovers. She has to get up often in the night to urinate as her water weight continues to drop which is normal for post operation patients. I fly home tomorrow and get in late at night so I can’t wait to see both Sherry and Pearl. It’s been hard to be away.

Wanted to say Happy Birthday to Greg. In honor of your birthday I am going to go eat dinner with your brother. We are going to Farallon, which I have eaten at before, last time I was in town. We might go for drinks afterwards.

Anyway, Happy Birthday… Yeah Come On!

So Pearl is coming “home” two days early. She will be living with Sherry (and I) for the next couple weeks until she feels healthy enough to go back home (where her bedroom and bathroom are on the 2nd floor). She has surpassed the expectation of the doctors as far as recovery and pain tolerance (no surprise to anyone that knows her) and they thing she will be ready to go tomorrow. Which is flippin’ great news.

These last few weeks have been crazy busy. My friend Lee is in town right now trying to setup the closing of her house, and I feel bad since I wasn’t able to help her out as much as I wanted to during this stressful time… I forgot to tell her that buying a house (especially the first one is one of the top 5 stressers in life). So I attended the home inspection on Sunday with her, then got recruited to help Shawn avoid city citation by getting the front of his house looking “uniform” and then at 7pm Shawn and I started the cable running project that I had been delaying for a long time so that Pearl could have a TV in her room while she recovers. We got it down before 9 with a little luck and some “oh so much fun” under the house crawling, and on the fly GT (and a little UVA) engineering / rigging.

I then got up this morning at 5am and had my lovely wife drop me off at the airport so that I could be at the San Francisco office before noon PST. It is now 7:18 pm and I am about to head out of the office and get some grub. I was stupid and forgot my cell phone at the house this morning so I will not get to talk to Sherry as much as I usually do.

The Kitchen is complete as far as what I had paid for, all that is left is priming and painting, and so other small finishing touches. But we are pleased, and very confident that we have greatly raised the value of our home, plus I love being able to talk while in the kitchen now… the hole was key.

I will try to post nightly while in SF, since I know my biggest fan checks this thing hourly.

GO PEARL GO!