Message to Sophia & vague health / life update

Sophia,
   Thanks so much for your kind comment! I am glad to have given you information and encouragement.

   I am intrigued by the type of meditation you mentioned, but when I clicked on your name, it would not let me leave you a private message.

If you leave a comment to this post, it will make me approve it before its published, so if you want to leave more info for me that way I can read it and NOT publish it if you'd like.

   The doctors do have a pretty good idea of why I've been in so much pain, but I'm still not sure how many details I want to be sharing in public.

   Suffice to say... in an astonishingly freaky turn of events I'd never believe were it not true of me... I have a syndrome as complex and intractible as my wife's.


   I keep working on the rugs in doctors offices, while waiting for scans, etc. I've gotten a plastic bag rug almost half done. It is two tone- yellow and white. I'm using a repeating sequence to make it look like an abstract painting of a daisy or sunflower.

Quite looking forewards to doing some new tutorial videos one of these days, but as long as my world keeps getting turned upside down every week or so...

My right femur broke for no apparent reason, have been in hospital, now in PT, still no etiology

Its been a wild time for me of late. A week ago last Thursday I spent half the day in MRIs and a bone density scan. Before I even got my coat off, the doctor's office was calling because they'd scheduled an emergency appointment for me the next day. On arriving, I found out the bone scan had revealed I'd broken my femur right below the joint, and emergency surgery was scheduled for the next morning.

Went in for that, they used a relatively new procedure to put a 1/4" rod in my femur so it could bear load again. The bone scan revealed significant ostepoenia, especially in the top of my femur, along with several other "hot spots." These hot spots, and the absence of any other apparent cause for the pain I'd been in and the broken bone (I suffered no accident, when not making rugs had been very physically active and fit) the concern for cancer was raised.

So I was in a sub-ICU unit, beautiful place, top notch. Were I to get into personal details here, I'd be singing the hospital and nurses' praises, and I am writing lavish thank-yous to them.

The next day I had a consult with an oncologist, who ordered a CT scan.

A week ago today a different oncologist told me of some anomalies on the CT scan which, combined with the afore mentioned "hot spots," had them concerned that I was in stage 4 renal cancer.

What a fun day that was! Additional scans were ordered, these ultra-sound. They revealed the anomalies were benign cysts. We didn't find that out until the next morning though. It was a rough night for me, my wife, my family and friends.

I was discharged that day, but will be in physical therapy and off my feet for quite some time, as I have been since about my wife's birthday.

We've ruled out many horrible things as the cause, but we have no idea why this has happened.

I don't generally post about my personal life here- I have other places for that- but since this has resulted in a much more prolonged absence than I had planned, and will continue to keep me away, I wanted to offer a word of explanation.

I'm not checking email often, but if you want to know more of the gory details and medical stuff, drop me an email, and when I'm up to it, I'll either tell you about it in private, or direct you to my personal blog. I've not been updating it either, but a dear friend of mine has been keeping people there apprised for me.

My friends and family, doctors and nurses, have been wonderful blessings to me through this. I have no complaints. Merde happens- why shouldn't it happen to me?

And yes, I was working on a rug while in the hospital. So imagine me there, IV in one hand, cuffs on my legs to keep circulation going, being taken out for scans several times a day, working on a rug!

Not dead, just moving- Look for better tutorial videos Dec / January as a side effect

I tend to keep details of my personal life off this blog for the simple reason that they're not relevant to this craft. What my tastes in music are, where I live, and so forth having nothing to do with anything, and easily become distractions. (I've been involved with the medium of computer-aided communities and communication since the days of 300 baud dial up modems, so I've seen a lot of flame wars, etc.)

Those who have asked via email, I'll say a bit more to, but I love this craft so much that I don't want me, my life, or my personality to distract from it.

That being said, events in my personal life obviously affect the frequency and nature both of my rug making, and of my posting about it. I've mentioned before about working on rugs while waiting at the doctor's office and in my wife's hospital room (she is disabled and is hospitalized several times a year.)

So, a big one is coming up which will take me off line for a while, but when I come back, my posts here and especially my videos will show the difference. We're moving to a new home in a different but not very distant city. That home has much better lighting and "studio" resources, and that city has several other rug makers in it, so I may get the chance to showcase the craft of others, should they be willing to.

I expect I won't have anything new until December at the earliest, and for a week or so in November when the move itself happens I probably won't even have access to email, but go ahead and keep sending me questions, and as I have the chance, I'll be happy to answer them as always.

Happy rugging, be well, God bless...