It's been 15 months or so since my last comment. Been creeping around here when I can. :) At that last time I was chatting about my liver transplant. Then I went quiet, in more ways than one, as I was diagnosed with Stage 4 larynx cancer and put on a palliative regimen right upon diagnosis. A few surgeries, daily radiation treatment for 3 months, a round of chemo later, lots of luck later...... I'm feeling great. Just had my tracheotomy tube taken out. As seen on TV and heard buzzing on TV. Lol. It usually means it's all over and that's what I expected. I was jumped up on fentanyl. Addicted. For about a year. That's all over now. I've gained back the 55 lbs I lost. I was down to 105 lbs at my worse but I feel I'm as normal as i can get now. In the last 3 months since I have been feeling well I've been racing cars and going to concerts. Both "activities" I can do sitting down.
Hi Lil. Hope the best for you. I just had my tracheotomy tube removed. 14 months of Stage 4 terminal larynx cancer was fairly unexpected after my organ transplant. I've battled 5% and 1% chances of even living and I'm still here somehow. Just gained 47 pounds. Strong as ever. Hope everything goes as well for you. :) 1. 56 Weller Crescent. 2. I think I am but no one reads. Having been terminally ill for 5 years... no one reads that series. 3. Very long story. No one has given me support except one of three. 4. 5. I'm not invincible. I've always done death defying feats but.having a heart attack, organ transplant and cancer within 10 years should humble me. 6.Yes I'm kinda resentful of my oldest friend who said some hurtful things over covid and the so called freedom convoy. I'm sad about that. 7. Am I going to still have cancer? 8. Professionally, changing case law and textbooks Being quoted by the Supreme Court in a fundamental case. Personally... getting all my neices and nephews to go to uni and paying for it. 9. Bukurije. My first girlfriend. We cool. 10. To be continued. I'm loving life right now
Update: My pharmacy delivery just arrived. $1400 for 42 days. Plus what I have already = currently about $2000/mth for pills. Covered by Trillium Drug plan.
I am hardly far left and I disagree with many of her legal positions as law is one of my things and I don't fully agree with anyone in that regard. Running a female POC is a ripe pick. She has campain and large-scale governing experience, 20 years younger than Joe and I find her to be relatively personable, super smart and a persuasive speaker with prosecutorial focus. I sense that she is the kind of person you can simply task with a mission and she will just go get it done. I like that. I'm pretty sure she believes in things like science too. The Harris/Pence debate could be entertaining for all but Mike. I am a bit upset though as now Leonard Cohen has to share the honour of being the most famous alumni of Montreal's Westmount high school. Her mom was a doc at McGill.
I just become aware of Playing for Change. They are a non-profit organization, funded by a Walmart heiress, which travels the world recording local musicians performing the same song in their own style. Some 1,000 musicians in 50 countries have been recorded and the results are mixed together. Tons of creators have participated, such as Bono, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, etc. Money raised is used to build and fund music and art schools in less developed areas such as Nepal and Rwanda. Here are the first 2 videos I saw: 1. The Weight- Robbie Robertson (The Band) and friends: 2. Listen to the Music - Tom Johnston (Doobie Brothers) and friends:
I haven't even thought about that song in decades but a machine I was hooked up to at TGH last week had an alarm that beep beeped to that tune! It took me about 8 syllables to name that tune. hehe
That is some quality content! Thanks!
Amazing. I am jealous and did not expect to see a couple of hubsters be such big fans. though I really shouldn't be surprised about that.
That is one of my favorite comments ever. All of it is so true and I am just learning about them!
Got into some ska this week. It all started with "Johnny Was" by N. Irish band Stiff Little Fingers. Originally a Bob Marley tune, I thought it was translated well by SLF to reflect their view on The Troubles.
I just learned that the OHIP bill for a Donor (living) is about $12K.
Alright I'll give this a shot: To receive a transplant I had to register for expanded prescription coverage under the Trillium Drug Benefit, and a precursor of that is being deemed Disabled, and when I received that designation I qualified for c. $1,200/month provincial Disability Payment. So started off every month with that banked. Everyone with advanced liver disease such as mine is almost entirely disabled. I could do one physical task a day before over exerting myself. I went for a 3 hour walk a month ago and then could not get out of bed for 3 days. Mentally most like myself have hyroencephaly that negated my ability to read, remember or even understand basic things. Most require constant attention so they do not do things like eat a raw chicken breast or lose track of medication. I got in my first ever car accident and wrote off a $50,000 car in a single vehicle accident. I missed appointments. One time I could not figure out how to make tea. Many people see this disease as effecting those around the sick person as much if not more as it is often like looking after a stubborn new born. I have a friend who thought he was watching a Leafs game but he was really just looking at an ad in the tv guide. Lol What is the cost of that? In my case I did not really have any free support so had to pay for everything to get done. Grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking. I paid where most people cant and don’t have to. To some extent, RevCan will allow me to deduct medical expenses and I have no idea how much of my spending meets their definition, but it is something to decrease the pocket costs. Lets ignore those third party costs and personal opportunity costs and professional fees foregone, and look only at cash flow. Over and above all usual overhead costs, my monthly expenses that would not have been incurred but for my illness: 1) Care Giving: I was the caregiver for my mother who had advanced Alzheimers, so I had to transfer into a faciity instead of with me. Also had to pay for a cleaning lady, lawn guy, etc.: c $2,900 + 600/mth 2) Drugs and Supplies: sleeping pills, neuropathy pills, like needles and test strips: $50/mth 3) Clothes: I had a skinny set and a fat set and everything needed elastic waists: $200/mth 4) Dietary – high protein, low sodium diet; so much fruit, shake powder: $300/mth 5) Transporatition; Mileage plus parking to hospitals: $200/wth 6) Accomodation; eg. AirB&B for 7 am appointments: $200/mth 7) Various Medical Gear; eg. Dr. Ho electrostimulus machine, girdle: $150/mth Summary: - including care home: $4,600/mth - without care home: $1,700/mth I’ll also add that potential donors and donors can get reimbursed up to $5,000 by the Province. Did I miss anything?
NHL news of the near future: No covid live/work bubbles maintained. 100s of young professional athletes and executives killed. No linemen or referees left. Zambonis are being driven through the crowds as chaos erupts across Canada.
Not one of my friends, colleagues or relatives. My cleaning lady knows many though. Public health issues being what they are.
Thanks lil! Great question. I will get a detailed answer for you soon but for now I will estimate $1,500 a month x 14 months.
Thanks Steve.
Just talked with the doc who put the organ in and he cancelled the biopsy and MRI I was scheduled for today. It is always acceptable to not cut me any more. :) He seemed supremely confident that I was going to have a great outcome so I am obviously very happy about that.
Doing my best. Its hard for me to be moderate and the docs have to keep telling me to get back in bed. lol I've got too much stuff to do!
Hi Everyone, My experience with the virus has been a bit odd. Mostly, it has mostly not affected me as I am in home isolation due to my medical situation (awaiting liver transplant), but I am also greatly affected as any further steps in my treatment have been paused. For example, as a final stop to prepare for surgery I needed an anigiogram but no one was doing them. We finally managed to get in for one (quite odd waking up in an empty hospital ward) but it was pretty stressful as it ate up a 3 week window when a potential donor may have been available. Based on my O- blood type and chemistry the donor pool is pretty small. My one brother was just notified that his apnea makes him unsuitable so we are moving on to testing my sister which takes 6-8 weeks. Oddly enough, I come from an adoptive family and we are not bio related but do have an initial match. Regardless, there is only about 20% chance of her being suitable so looking for a healthy liver is still my full time job. My team is located at Toronto General, which is literally the best place in the world for living donor transplants. (And 4th best in world overall.) 800 performed so far with no major donor complications. As the liver grows back to full size and function in about 2-3 months I am really just looking for a loan! As one part of my efforts, I have set up a website (savedanslife.com or .ca) that has had 40K or so unique visitors so far. Awareness if nothing else is a very good thing. My team has also suggested, and I agreed, to get on the list for a Hep C liver from a deceased donor if one becomes available before a live donor is cleared. Experimental surgery but the theory is I would be way better off with a dead diseased liver than the way I am living right now. I had no idea how important the liver is and it is almost totally debilitating when it fails. I intended to keep updating hubski on the reg but after I get my other shit done I just don't have the energy. I went for a one hour power walk three days ago and I am still hurting! Ridiculous. lol Hope things are going well for you all of you! sgfc
To avoid releasing his tax returns? Perhaps but the cat may be out of the bag regarding his hidden finances. He might end up pulling a Jeffery Epstein.I think he'll resign before he gets removed if it comes to it.
Documentaries: Dear Zachary -> Horror The Act of Killing -> Horror 9/11 (By the Naudet Brothers) -> Horror When We Were Kings Man On Wire Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara Grizzly Man Mr. Death: The Risa and Fall of Fred A. Leuter J. Little Dieter Needs of Fly Grizzly Man Life Itself Jiro Dreams of Sushi Senna Hoop Dreams Anvil! The Story of Anvi -> Music 20 Feet From Stardom-> Music Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (and McFadden's follow-ups if you like) -> Music
Watched the Ken Burns' PBS series on country music and it mostly validated my belief that bluegrass and hillbilly were the best. Did pick up some new adds though including this song that I can't believe I hadn't heard before: On the "other end" of the spectrum, I blasted this tune about 20 times in a row this week: (David Fincher CGI video):
I intended to write a series about my journey through the liver transplant process but gave up after bad timing resulted in my first 2 posts not going through. Short story is: i've lost 50 pounds, have had my belly tapped of infected fluids several times, feel pretty good most days, was at the main hospital this week for multiple tests including 18 blood samples and have apparently plateaued for now. My MELD score (Model For End-Stage Liver Disease) is sitting and staying at a 14 (with a 5 month mortality rate of 6%) and thus my priority for transplantation is very low but I am advised I will get much worse very quickly at some unpredictable point. The docs were impressed by my adherence to or surpassing the recommended dietary, exercise and medication regime. However, the head doc but gave me ridiculous amounts of shit for putting one sip of wine in my mouth, chewing it and spitting it out. He also pisses me off by framing everything I say as "my contention", instead of stated fact, so I began responding in kind to things he said but then decided just to sit there and shut up. ugh There are also real concerns about my lack of a support network. I do not have a SO or kids, my siblings have no desire to disrupt their routines and I am not sure if I really have any real friends; just acquaintances at best. I offered to hire someone to live-in if necessary but they understandably don't consider that sufficient support. Their recommendation is that I impress upon my family/friends the need for support but they don't seem to understand that that just aint going to happen. I am good at being direct and have made it clear to people that I need help but no one has stepped up so I don't think there is much more that I can do in that regard.
Restorative justice (aka Healing Circles) is a small but increasing part of Canadian criminal law after having been inspired by our Aboriginal Communities. I believe it was a ground up movement enabled by flexible sentencing options. Statistically it seems to improve victim satisfaction and generate positive mental health impacts for all participants, "among other benefits" ie. it is really cheap.
Kink should make life more interesting and an essential part of participating in any kink is discussion of and respect for safety, limitations and boundaries. Dysmorphia is beyond kink and is a mental illness. Chapman died as a result of his mental illness being manipulated and fostered by other(s) without regards to his safety. As Dan Savage said in regards to Small Penis Humiliation: So long as he isn't contemplating some dangerous or stupid way to make his cock bigger (like getting liquid silicone injected into his genitals, something that led to the death of a gay man in Seattle last year), you can engage in SPH without doing him harm. In the latest news: Daddy Hafertepen and others in his harem have been sued by Chapman's mom for wrongful death, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. She seeks punitive damages and a ruling that his will was illegally revised to make Haftertepen sole beneficiary.
The Ranger was considered but not nearly as good as the Colorado or Tacoma. The Taco is more expensive, is not as powerful and the electronics package is wanting. More after market support and better resale value though.
Initially the mid-size Chevy Colorado ZR2 was my choice but it turns out I can get a ZR1 with the same build without the AEV branding for $6,000 less. All go and no show options (except stereo). Then add a Roof Top Tent, etc. etc. 