On January 7, 2002 I had surgery for prostate cancer. Unfortunately, health issues seem to set the main theme for this period in my life.
As I look back on it now, I had been having symptoms with my prostate for several years. My first PSA test had been in 1991 and it was 2.7. At that time, the PSA test was fairly new, and it was thought that a result less than 4 was "normal." The latest information says that may not be so. The current thinking (2008) is that the rate of rise (increase) of the PSA is the most important factor. If it increases over a short period of time, the likelihood of cancer greater. In retrospect, I probably had prostate cancer ten years before it was diagnosed. After much deliberation and research, I decided to have a radical prostatectomy as my primary treatment. My urologist had recommended brachytherapy, radiation seed implants. He said it was "easier on the body." It was important to me, with a surgical background, to know the stage of my cancer, and the only way was to remove the gland and have it pathologically examined.
My surgery went OK but with some complications because of my chronic back problem. For as long as I can remember, if I stay in bed more than about seven hours, my back begins to hurt. The second day after surgery, the usual back pain started. My surgeon was afraid I had a pulmonary embolus and sent me to X-ray. I was in so much pain, every time I moved it was like I had been hit by a cattle prod. He finally called in an internist, who prescribed an ice pack to my back that relieved me within a few minutes. I am forever grateful to Dr. Tom Hampton.
I asked for a chair that I could sit and sleep in to get out of the bed. The hospital claimed they did not have a sleeper chair. With the help of my best friend Johnny, my wife brought my recliner from home and I spent the remainder of my hospital stay in it. This and frequent ice packs kept the back pain under control.
The next issue was my leg began to itch and be painful. The doctor had used a great deal of adhesive tape across the Foley catheter to my right thigh. He had written on the tape "do not removed under order of death" and it was signed Osama ben Laden. After loud complaints from me, the tape was removed to expose large blisters and redness of the skin. I had not had any previous problem with allergies to adhesives. It took several weeks for the skin to heal.
I went home to begin my recovery. I had to wear the catheter for three weeks. As I remember, this was the worse part of the surgical ordeal. I had pain when I sat down. It was helped somewhat by sitting on a gel filled pad we took from Jane's dad old wheelchair. Getting the catheter out was a relief.
I got bad news from the surgeon. The cancer in my prostate was much more extensive than he thought. The pathologist reported it had extended beyond the capsule of the gland on one side. This meant I would be very likely to have recurrence, as all of the cancer had not been removed. He recommended external radiation therapy to begin as soon as I healed. I sought a second opinion from a professor at the local medical school. He said he would not recommend starting radiation until it was proven that my cancer recurred by following the PSA level. He said I would foul up what appeared to be a good surgical result.
While I was waiting to heal, I developed another problem.
It became very difficult for me to empty my bladder without straining. I
had developed a bladder neck obstruction, according to my urologist, that
required surgical correction. He had been unable to get a catheter in my
bladder in his office and said his experience relieving this situation by
dilatation had been poor. I had surgery, and had to go through a period of
total urinary incontinence for several weeks. This delayed my start of
radiation. I decided that it would be foolish to wait to begin radiation
therapy, as a second pathological opinion from the medical school pathologist
said the cancer was beyond the capsule of the gland on both sides. I
finished the radiation about the middle of July. I was not able to go with
my friends on the annual guy's
Rather than to bore you with my health issues, I will refer you to this section that sums up a lot of things.
I had been working part time for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. I took a short delay during my recovery, but went back to work as soon as I was able. I have learned that work is good for me. It gets me out of the house and with other people and gives me some purpose in life. My good friend George Williams lent me a book to read several years earlier entitled "Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well" by Ralph E. Warner. The bottom line is that the people who were happiest were doing things for other people in their retirement. Wealth was not important. The practice of medicine is doing things for other people, and I have always enjoyed it.
In the fall of 2002 I attended the Texas Medical Association convention and ran into an old friend, Dr. James Fancher, who works full time for the Veterans Administration. He asked me if I had any interested in going back to work. I told him that if anything ever became available, to let me know. Our common good friend Dr. Bernie Yollick currently held their only part time job. At Christmas time, Fanch called me and said Dr. Yollick would retire at the end of the year. I applied for the job and was accepted. The only problem was they could not put me to work until March, as Dr. Yollick was still on the payroll using up his sick leave time.
I started working in at the V. A. clinics in
I enjoyed the work, and especially enjoyed the comradare that existed among the group of doctors who worked in the surgery department. I met and got to know Dr. John Houston Smith, a general surgeon. John had worked in the V. A. clinic since it opened twelve years earlier, as had Dr. Frank. We all became good friends. We enjoyed many lunches together where we solved multiple problems, both personal and professional. The younger guys called us the "brain trust."
I worked in the V. A. clinic at the Bonham facility on
Tuesdays. I enjoyed working there very much, more than in
The V. A. has some problems with staff. Many belong to
the union. Many do as little as possible, as it is very hard for a V. A.
employee to get fired. Some are great people, but a few rotten apples
spoil the barrel. If I had been able, I would have fired the ward clerk in
After about a year, the work load in the
After several years, and a couple of near accidents, I began to dread the commute, especially to Bonham. As I was car pooling with Dr. Frank on Thursdays, those days went by quickly. I passed the time in the car by listening to audio books. You can see what I read on this page. I began to make plans for retirement. I talked with the man who helped with retirement issues and he assisted me in "buying back" the time I spend in government service with the Air Force. Those two years would help add a little to my pension. In the Air Force, you did not pay social security tax. To be able to use those years toward a V. A. retirement, you had to pay the social security tax for those years. I learned that after five years of work with the V. A. you would be eligible for retirement. That date would be March 31, 2008 for me. I began to make plans to retire.
In 2007, I reached my 70 1/2 birthday. I was required to take a minimal required distribution (RMD) from my IRA. It gave us a new problem, more money than we really needed to live comfortably. We increased our savings and investing, but at the same time our federal tax burden became greater. I was already paying federal tax on most of my social security income. I had begun drawing it when I was 62, the recommendation at that time. Now advisors are saying to delay taking social security as long as possible, as it is a better investment return that you can make in the market place. My dad used to tell me never to complain about paying income tax, as you should be happy you had income. I think the tax burdens today are more than my dad ever encountered in his lifetime. This added to the incentive for me to retire from my V. A. job.
Enough about work. We did have some fun during this
period in our lives. My illness prevented much travel, but in March
after my surgery in January, we made our first trip to visit the
We stayed for three days at the Chisos Mountain Lodge,
located in the center of the park. It was comfortable and made it
convenient to take day trips to the rest of the park. We visited several
areas of the park adjacent to the
The road between Terlingua and Presidio runs along the river,
and is very scenic. It has some very steep grades and signs warn people
who are towing travel trailers to be wary. We visited Marfa,
We tried once again to spend time at Cloudcroft. This time we took along an oxygen generator, and Jane was forced to use it a good bit of the time we were there. We decided it was time to sell our place. We remembered that one of our neighbors had mentioned that if we ever decided to sell our place, to let them know. We did, and they bought it a day later. We removed a few very personal items, but left it completely furnished. It was with sadness we left it for the last time. Yet another example that there is a time and place for everything in our lives.
As I had not completed my radiation treatments, I was unable
to go on the annual guys fishing trip to
Our only trip the next year was our annual visit to
Our friends the Keiffers told us of a trip they were planning
to take, sponsored by one of the local radio stations.
It was to begin in
We flew to
We returned to
We arrived the next day at the end of our train ride in Jasper
to find big elk near the center of town.
We spent the night in a lovely lodge.
The next day our bus took us to
Our night there was disappointing. We had been asked to request our dinner entree, either fish or beef. It appears that many people changed their minds, and they ran out of beef. It took two hours to get served, and some people left in disgust without having any dinner. When we got to our hotel rooms about 11:00 PM, we were further frustrated by a fire alarm, which proved to be false. As we left the hotel the next morning, a representative from the Fairmount boarded our bus and offered an apology and a free dinner at our next visit there.
We visited the Atabasca glacier on our way to spend our next
night in
As we look back on this trip, we enjoyed our visit to the
I was able to go to Colorado in the summer of 2008, thought limited in what I was able to do. I was still in the recovery phase of my foot operation. There were four of us who went that time, George, Gene, Johnny and myself. We had a good time and caught of ton of fish.
We have a favorite spot on Spring creek where we fish every year. There is a shallow water road crossing where we frequently see motorcycles crossing the creek from somewhere over the mountain to the east. We were told that a fish hatchery truck stalled out at this place and dumped their entire load of fish. That may be so, as the fish were everywhere. The stream in this area is about 15 yards wide and only about 18 inches deep. I sat on the bank and caught more fish than ever before. Gene taught me how to use salmon eggs. I got tired of baiting my hook and found a spinner bait in my tackle that looked promising. It was about the color of salmon eggs. I caught a fish nearly every cast. We had our limit in just a few minutes and I was catching them and releasing them back to get bigger. Gene, George and Johnny had the same results. We did not have to depend on John to be able to eat fish during this trip.
We played golf one day, and I was surprised that I was able to last 16 holes before giving up. My foot was so painful I could not stand to walk any more.
We actually returned home one day early, as everyone was tired of catching fish! This was a first.
I have been able to play golf at home a few times. My down the street neighbor Tom has a regular group that plays on Wednesdays. Occasionally, someone can't play for some reason and he calls me. I enjoy the group and especially enjoy playing at Stephens Park were I learned to play golf as a teenager in high school. It brings back many fond memories. Jane and I will try to play on Tuesdays, weather permitting.
Jane is currently in Philadelphia (March 2009) helping our daughter Sharon manage her household while she recovers from hip surgery. Her surgery went well and she is doing better than anticipated. We hope she will recover completely and be relieved of her chronic pain.
I am feeling better, my foot is gradually getting better and I am thinking about trying to find something regular to do to occupy more of my time. I volunteered to help Johnny do some of the computer work for his business. I had a couple of lessons last week and we will see how it goes. It is work I can do at home. He has a passive imaging system for the oil business that is an adjunct to seismic and much cheaper. Many people are using it to see if they want to spend the money for seismic information. He listens with very sensitive microphones to the sounds created by the earth and patterns show up when there is petroleum below the surface. It is the same technology that has been used for some time to monitor earthquakes. It was developed by both the Soviet Union and the United States when they were both listening for atomic explosions. Of course, it is all done by computers, right up my alley.
By April of 2008 I was feeling well enough to return to my volunteer job at church. I was getting around on one leg and the use of a scooter called a "turnabout." It was much easier than being on crutches. I was still wearing a boot on my right foot and had very limited weight bearing ability.
One of my goals after surgery was to be able to go to Colorado with my friends on our annual trout fishing outing. I was told that six months after surgery, I would be able to do anything I wanted to do. That did not happen. I went fishing, but was unable to walk good enough to wade a stream. I spent my time fishing sitting in a folding chair on the stream bank. To my surprise, I caught more fish this way than I ever had fly fishing wading streams. I used my spinning gear and a spinner bait that was the same color as salmon eggs. The eggs worked good too, but they were a pain, as you often lost your bait on the rocks.
One of our plans is to play golf. I played, but after 16 holes gave in to the severe pain I was having in my foot. I am glad golfing was not one of our major planned activities. My friend Johnny does not like to play golf anyway.
Over the next few months, my foot slowly improved. I was better enough by the fall to think about singing in our church choir again. Choir singing involves standing, both during practice and always during a performance. I had quit the choir some time ago, as standing had become too painful, mostly in my right knee. I had subsequently had surgery on my right knee and standing was no longer painful. We had a new choir director and she offered me encouragement. She said I could sit during a performance if I needed to.
At Thanksgiving, we went to visit our daughter in Philadelphia. We were there for about 10 days, as we used our AA miles and had to fly when there was no holiday blackout. As always, we enjoyed our visit. I missed my XBox and Sharon bought one for me to use while I was there. It helped me pass the time when the ladies were shopping or doing other things.
All of our kids and grandchildren came to visit us over the Christmas holidays. The only one absent was Paul's wife Julia, as she stayed home with a sick dog. We had a great time with all of the kids. We gave Matthew, our 4 year old a Wii music game. It was a blast watching him and his siblings and cousins play. We have only four Wii controllers, and they had to take turns, save for Matthew. You could not get him to share his controller with anyone.
All of the cousins were playing one evening and it was time for some of them to go home. As they were leaving, Matthew called to them and said then needed to come back and help him pick up the toys that were scattered all over the den. One of them told Matthew he could do it by himself. His response was "it will make me too tired." He was able to get them to come back and put up the toys. I told his dad that he had definite management potential.
Our friend Lee came over who serves as our official family photographer. She took a picture of all of us standing before the fireplace. I will treasure it always.
As I write this, it has been 15 months since my foot surgery. It still hurts, especially after standing. We had a very long choir practice this week, and my foot was on fire again.
Jane started on corticosteroids about six weeks ago, and she has really been "wired." She has painted the whole interior of our house. It did not need it, but she wanted to change colors. She enlisted her friend Scottie to help. They finished the job this week. She even painted our red dining room and made it the same color as the living room and den, a color like creamed coffee. She also has been working in the yard. The flower beds are in need of digging. She ran out of gas using the hand digger, as the beds are filled with tree roots. We have too much shade from huge trees, both in the front and back of the house. I ordered her an electric tiller, but she hasn't had a chance to try it out because it is raining today. When she is on corticosteroids she is hard to keep up with.
Jane and I began a "regular" date of playing golf on Tuesdays. We have been playing at Stevens Park Golf Course, where I learned to play golf 58 years ago. It is a fun course, but I am grieved about how little the city of Dallas spends on keeping it up. There was almost no grass anywhere during the winter. Now that spring has come, it is beginning to grow some. There are many trees that need cutting down because they are dead. The best part of our day is when we eat at a great Mexican restaurant named La Calle Doche on 12th Street. It is TexMex but with a flair. Eating is something I do much better than playing golf. I am fairly consistent in shooting in the high 80's. My short game is terrible.
As I sit here in the rain, I think the golf tournament I am scheduled to play in today is going to be rained out. My friend and neighbor Tom invited me to play in his annual church golf tournament. I have played in his group when one is out for some reason. They have a special rule that really helps your score. They call it the forty foot rule. If you ball is obstructed by a tree or such, you can improve your position by forty feet. They also play at Stevens Park. Seniors can play there for $23 for 18 holes. Pretty good deal.
Our daughter-in-law dropped in this AM (5/16/09) after taking Natalie to school to serve a detention. She did not do her homework. I hope this is not the pattern that will happen again. She enjoys school, but is somewhat a social butterfly. It is very important for her to visit with her friends and asks to go to school early to give them extra time. She needs to concentrate more on her school work. Hopefully, the detention will get her attention.
In the latter part of 2009 I had a conversation with Rip Fancher, who was and still is, working at the VA. He asked if I had any interest in going back to work. I said yes and began the re-hiring process. I had been very bored at home with nothing to do but watch TV and read.
I made a visit to the HR department at the VA only to discover they had "lost" my personnel records and we had to start all over with the credentialing process. That was a disappointment for several reasons. I knew it would take time. I also knew that the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) was the agency that was to run the new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) when it went into effect.
I finally got back to work in late January, 2010. It was good to be back at work. I worked two days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, at the outpatient clinic in Fort Worth. I decided not to return to Bonham. I did not want to make that drive on Mondays. I hooked up with my friend Gordon Frank and we began our carpooling operation. Gordy drove on Tuesdays and I drove on Thursdays. It took a while to develop a "practice" again, but the audiologists were very happy to see me again. They were having a hard time getting their patients to Dallas for ear cleaning and care after audiometry. The doctors were also happy to see me again, as they were having a hard time getting their patients seen in Dallas at all.
The new clinic under construction was to do open in the Fall. We finally got moved in November after several delays. I was not happy about my location. They did not choose to put my clinic in the area as planned originally, next to audiology. There was a problem with ward clerks. The audiologists were not to have a ward clerk. My old ward clerk was to work in the surgery clinic on the first floor, and that is where they put me. I had a separate office and two exam rooms. As I had only one exam chair, I only used one room. I had no help, same as in the Rosedale clinic. I felt very lonely, as there was no one else working in my area. After a short while, Dr. Rose Resendes, a podiatrist, started working down the hall. I was concerned that if I had a patient to faint or otherwise become incapacitated, I would have no one to help me. I could scream my lungs out and no one could hear me.
Last edited 12/11/11