I See Light

I have sent an application to Dr Truitt in Nuevo Laredo to see about getting care from him.

I decided today to cancel the oral surgery until I see if this might be an option for treatment. I have very good feelings about this and trust that God is working it all out.

RJ

Oral Surgery

Just got home from Dr Theriot and I will have oral surgery on Friday morning to remove 3 wisdom teeth. Fun stuff!

RJ

Healthy Teeth

I went to visit Dr Baines today and he gave me a clean bill of health with my teeth. No cavities. Tomorrow morning I am going to see an oral surgeon about my wisdom teeth to see if they want to remove them before chemo/rad. They said it would be harder to remove them later and I don't totally understand why and hope to learn tomorrow.

Alex and I went out to eat tonight with Dante and I got stuffed...

RJ

Are You Juicing?

I had a great smoothie this morning before breakfast. I had bought some romaine lettuce last week and had not had a chance to make a salad yet with it. So I put it in the juicer with some organic carrots and a tomato and it came out very tasty. My body really agrees with it too as I am drinking it. I think it just knows that it is the good stuff and part of my healing. Last night I had a salty snack and it did not go over quite as well.

Off to see the dentist today and see what they have to say about my teeth.

RJ

Throwdown!

Had another great wedding Sunday at Green Pastures tonight! The place was rocking. Having dad with me has been wonderful and I've really enjoyed our time together. I almost have him fully trained as far as hooking up the gear, running a computer, well that's another story. Special thanks again to Tanya for making it all smooth.

RJ

Weekend

I did a wedding last night for Joni & David and it was great to be working again and also to drive too! Dad and I had a great time out at Kindred Oaks in Georgetown. What a beautiful place they have. Donna and Elaine were very helpful doing whatever it took to make sure the evening flowed smoothly. The Arundel Ensemble performed in the ceremony and were excellent too. It's so great to keep making more new friends with the work I have been chosen to do.

I went by Alex's graduation party afterwards and got to see my baby and a bunch of her friends and family. Special thanks to her mother Melissa who put it all together.

RJ

Next Step / Alex Graduates

Yesterday was a big day!

Went to see Dr Doner at ADC. He is a medical oncologist and was to have been administering chemo for me. He said he couldn't do anything for me since I don't have insurance. So I will be talking to the folks at Shivers in Austin and also MD Anderson in Houston to see if they can help me.

Last night Alexandra graduated from Anderson and the ceremony was held at the Erwin Center. I'm so proud of her for making it through. My mom and dad were there and also Alex's mom and other members of our family. It was quite beautiful.

RJ

Oncologist

I went to see Dr Brown today at Austin Cancer Center with Lori and Mom. We all clicked very nicely together. He is very direct and to the point and I like that. We are looking at 8 weeks of radiation/chemo treatment. I was happy to meet the receptionist Sandra, who went to school with a friend of mine named Yellow who passed away a couple of weeks ago. She is from the VI and a big reggae fan so we have that in common which will be nice.

RJ

Wednesday Morning

Well my brain decided it did not want to sleep this morning and woke me up at 5:30. It's 7:15 now and after a few great text messages came in I decided I would get up and start the day.

This like it will be a great day. Two big things happening today. My daughter has her last day of high school at Anderson. I'm so proud of her. It seems like yesterday when she was just a baby.

The other thing is that I will be meeting my new friends at Austin Cancer Center and see what the plan is for the radiation treatment.

The things that have been on my mind are the amazing amount of friends and love that I am surrounded by. All these angels are helping me on my path to healing. Daily miracles and things coming into alignment just when they should. Thank you God!

Last night my friend Sarah came by and helped me with some Quick Books accounting stuff and another friend Diane came by and brought some homemade calzones by that were killer!

Today I can hopefully get some more of this glue off of my neck. The incision looks very clean so far from what I can see of it. I have two weddings this weekend. I am picturing a glue free DJ!!! LOL

Wishing you a blessed day!

RJ

"Be enthusiastic. Remember the placebo effect - 30% of medicine is showbiz."
By : Ronald Spark

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."
By : Abraham Lincoln

Monday

Had a great weekend.

Went to church on Sunday with mom and got filled up with spirit. Had a healing session after the service and it was great. I will be having these twice a week for the next few months to accelerate my healing. So many great friendships I have made at Unity that I am grateful for.

Went to see Alexandra after lunch with mom. We went in and got her a new camera for a graduation present. I'm so proud of her that she is graduating this week.

My father arrived Sunday afternoon and we have been hanging out doing our usual musical history research on lots of 50s songs. I always learn so much when he comes and stays with me and I really treasure our time together.

Got to hang out with my beloved Anne today before she flew off to Cleveland to be with her mother who is having a procedure done there this week. We had a great day together.

After she left, mom took me to see Doctor Kriesel for a checkup on my neck. He says I'm doing great and that I should be able to rub the Dermabond glue off of my neck by the end of the week. That will be nice. It's so tight and limits my range of motion as far as how far I can rotate my head.

All for now.

RJ

What A Week!!!

Today is Friday.

Last Thursday my life changed.

I received a call from Dr Kevin Kreisle who diagnosed me with oropharyngeal squamous-cell cancer. It started in my mouth and spread quickly to my lymph nodes in my neck. He called me and said I had to come into his office on Friday morning at his Round Rock office. I was scheduled to setup at Bluebonnett Elementary in Round Rock to DJ for their field day. I setup and played for a bit and headed to his office, where Mom and Anne met me at 8:45. He gave me the lowdown and possibilities for treatment. One of the options was surgical removal. When he told me my voice would not be the same, I am almost lost it. He continued on with the other option, which was removal of the lymph nodes in my neck that were infected, followed by radiation therapy. I had a lump in the left side of my neck for the past few weeks.

My first trip was to ProMed on South Lamar and they mis-diagnosed it as an ulcer after spending no more than 2 minutes with me. I was prescribed anti-biotics and an oral solution, both of which did nothing. Next I sought treatment from a Chinese doctor and did 2 treatments with her. I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere and knew I had to have an answer. My beloved Anne called some of her friends and Lauren called back and said I should check out Dr Brode at Austin Regional Clinic on Ben White. I went to see him and saw that he was genuinely concerned with my well-being. He ordered me to have a catscan done. I went to ARC on May 4th to get it. The results were sent to Dr Kriesel and I saw him on the 8th. He read me the results and did a biopsy on the black spot growing in my mouth. Results showed that I had cancer and that we had to move fast to remove the bad cells that had spread to my lymph nodes. I finished my Friday school gig and my Saturday wedding and even did my usual sound gig at Unity Center. Some time Sunday afternoon, it finally hit me like a load of bricks! Was I making the right decison with the surgery? I had been so busy focused on work that I had not really had time to process it all. After several panicked hours, I calmed down and decided to go forward with the surgery.

Monday morning Anne and I checked into good ole Hotel Brackenridge at 5:30 am. Mom and Lori met us there. One of the people who processed me in happened to have the same last name as my mother, so we were related with roots in the small town of Commerce, TX. Surgery began around 8am and I came to some time after noon. As soon as I woke up I began throwing up from the anesthesia. No fun at all when you've had your neck sliced open. I think they sedated me and gave me something for the nausea. I awoke again at 2:30 and they took me up to the 8th floor to check in to my room. After the elevator ride, I got in my room and began throwing up again. Reminders of my body's sensitivity to drugs. I decided then that I would try to stay off of morphine or hydrocodone if at all possible and somehow I succeeded. I figured I could put up with a little discomfort if it wasn't too bad. The main discomfort I had was the tightening of the skin as I felt God's little angels doing their healing work in me. The swelling was bit uncomfortable, not too bad. I also set my mind on the idea that I would be released on Wednesday and frequently reminded those around me to correct their language with that outcome in mind. Expect the best, yeh? Two nights in the hospital and I did not get much sleep at all. I sleep very lightly and was not able to get much rest. Monday evening my butt had gone to sleep after lying on it all day, so I got out of bed and took a walk around the halls with a little help. Lots of friends came by that day and hung out with me and brought cards, flowers, and even an excellent Lance Armstrong book which I am devouring. What an inspiration his story is and the writing is excellent too.

Tuesday went very well and I continued to walk around the halls and had more guests come by. The highlight of the evening was when my cousin Kelley surprised me with a to-go box from Casa De Luz. Brack's attempts at a vegan food option left much to be desired, which we suspected. We went to Whole Foods Sunday night to get some things to get us through the days. Anyway, Casa's food is excellent macrobiotic veghead food! Full of that magical thing called life. I devoured all of it even after eating the frozen veggies that had been delivered.

Wednesday morning I awoke early before mom who was sleeping next to me. I got up and hit the bathroom and splashed my gown into the toilet as I sat down to do my morning bidness. So I threw that off and took a walk to the nurses station to find a fresh one. I got one and found Dr Kriesel making his rounds. I spoke to him and he agreed that I was doing great and would order me to be released that morning. Got my new gown and went back to my room to wait for mom to wake up as I knew she didn't get much sleep the previous night. My sister Lori had stayed with me Monday night away from her two boys and mom didn't get much rest. Both of them and Anne made things so easy with their encouragement and positive attitude.

Gotta also say special thanks to the other angels on the 8th floor at Brack who helped me get through: Jessica, Armand, Beulah, Rosario, Cresencia. I have been with Anne who is also a nurse for the last 2 & 1/2 years and I must say I now have a much better understanding of what nurses do and go through to genuinely help people. They are amazing people!

Thursday I made a trip to see Dr Kriesel's office and got the drain tubes taken out of my neck. After that lunch at Golden Wok which was excellent.

Fast-forward to Friday and I had a great day today. I finally got to shave my face today and that was a relief. Spent some time with Anne and it was great with her. We watched a movie about Dorothy Dandridge that was good but tragic. My friend Jane came by for a prayer healing session and that was great spending some time alone with her and the Creator.

My next doctor visit with Dr Kriesle is Monday and I will meet with my oncologist on Wednesday for an initial consultation and treatment plan.

Through all of this, the support of my mother, daughter, Anne and family and friends has been amazing! I love all of you dearly!

I know that I am going to make it through this and I ask all of you for your prayers and positive thoughts.

RJ