Journal entry by Les Whitney —
Lots of positive, upbeat things have happened since my last post.
A few hours after my last post I played golf for the first time in months (horrible) and then headed off to join three other couples for dinner at one of their homes. I walk in the door and there are 30+ friends waiting to “SURPRISE!” Me for a belated birthday party. It was truly a wonderful feeling seeing so many good friends get together to love and support me. Thank you John Murphy for the 2nd surprise party you’ve thrown for me since I was diagnosed.
Not to be outdone, my Rotary Club decided to surprise me with a short concert put on by five fellow members. Apparently, they decided to buy ukuleles and learn/practice three songs to sing to me at the meeting. It was a wonderful surprise culminating with a beautiful rendition of happy birthday.
i had scheduled a podcast interview with Troy Edgar and his Ameritocracy Podcast. The video released 8 days ago and I couldn’t be more pleased. The 50 minute video is interesting, inspiring and informative. As one person who commented on the video said, “grab a glass of wine, sit in front of your commuter and enjoy!” Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l24SnXRnORs
I’ve seen the write up on my CT scan and can’t make sense of it. It looks as though everything is static which would be a good thing. I’m waiting until we meet with my oncologist next week to make a final judgement on my current status. I have passed the 5 year mark so that should be celebrated.
I had cataract surgery yesterday on the same eye I had the retinal peel in December. The surgeon said there was an 80% chance I would need cataract surgery after the retinal peel. My eye sight had been getting worse since February 1, so I was excited to get this done. The doctor decided that I need a new lens. I was told it would take a month for my eyes to fully adjust, but I woke up this morning with the best eyesight I e had in five years. It’s wonderful how beautiful life can be when I see clearly.
one concerning note, because I’ve been on very heavy steroids (prednisone and dexamethasone) for over 8 weeks I’ve been living with morning glucose levels over 400 (they should be 100 - 120 for me). I think these levels have had me on the verge of passing out and perhaps diabetic coma. I think the three really tough days in Africa and the few tough days I’ve had since returning were a product of glucose levels. I’ve been off the steroids for two days and numbers are still too high but down in the 200’s. I hope the trend continues down as I move farther and farther away from the steroids. Note: the doctors decided to give me insulin before my eye surgery yesterday because of my high glucose level.