Things they don't tell you......

- I think the biggest thing they don't tell you when you get cancer is the amount of stress, work, and the emotional and physical wear on your spouse.
You can't help but feel guilty needing help with the littlest of things. But, that is why they are there.  To be candid, I didn't know Stephanie and I were capable of being at this level.  After 26 years together, it seemed like "we've been through it all, we've done it all'....
But, you learn there is another level that you didn't realize was there.  I mean, really you don't want to know it is there because something bad is happening.
Steph has stepped up and been an absolute warrior with all of this.

Thoughts & Prayers.....

https://youtu.be/eY5VNDvea1M?si=nxjpZeHIAfWIXNQP

 Let's talk about "thoughts and prayers".

For years, I would be like, "But do they really pray?" or are they just saying that?

I mean you can send good thoughts, good vibes, good mojo, good juju....whatever is your thing. That is sincere.

If you do pray (and I know people have for me lately), then that is sincere....and thank you. Seriously.

I do think people tend to say it, because of a lack of not knowing what to say when someone is going through a life change or get thrown a curveball.

....and that is ok. It still shows you care.

However, it is the people that mock it that bother me.

If religion isn't your thing, that's ok. I've long said I am not friends with anyone specifically for religion, their political beliefs or their sexual orientation/identity.

Those are all incredibly deep and person beliefs. They mean something to that person.

So when you say "tots and pears".....first of all, you're just an idiot for saying that, because not only is it not sincere you are basically mocking someone's beliefs. Shame on you.

If you call God "Sky Daddy or Sky King".....you're just as bad.

Don't crap all over someone's faith if you don't believe in God or even if you are unsure.

People cling to their faith in their daily life, not just when tragedies happen.

I'll be honest, I lose my faith from time to time. Not understanding losing friend after friend, other people's children, my own 19 year old nephew.....the list goes on and you try and make sense of it.

It is hard to see the purpose of it, and I still don't even know if there is one.....but my faith is something I hold onto to try and find answers, or understand it.

We work in a very progressive/forward thinking/multi variety of identities industry.....and being a white male, I still go out of my way to respect that about people.

Because of it, I have a VERY diverse friend universe. I'm close with some vs others, but the one thing I do is respect them all the same.

Their identity and their beliefs.

We need to get back to the world where we listed to each other, where we worked out our differences without calling each other names (libtards, magats, etc.). You're all wrong for saying or calling someone that.

Nobody will listen to you. You'll never be a voice of change. If anything it is almost like a voice of reverse hate. Like hate is ok, if it is your hate.

Let's just stop hating. Let's just stop mocking people's beliefs and faith.

I know for a fact I'm not friends with anyone on here strictly over religion.....but I am lucky to have very strong faith based people that I know. Andy, Jeff, Bonnie especially them. Thank you for that.

Just show more empathy for people (or choose to ignore it) when they talk about their faith.

That's all.....and chemo round 3 went well.

Stephanie is my absolute rock and she is a big part of my success so far....so if you pray, throw her in the mix. If you don't, send her some good vibes (more than the ones you already send to her for being married to me).....haha

Love you all and thank you for everything. Calls, messages, posts, texts...you name it, I hear and see them all....so thank you.

FAQ's

 I also get asked a lot of questions, so here are a few I get asked most.

- How long have you had cancer?
No idea, but all these symptoms started over a year and a half ago so I'm surprised they "caught it early"

- How much liquid did they remove?
This one is pretty easy.  First, I don't know metric conversions from milliliters to ounces, but they had me on the chest tube for 12 days.
So I kept track and did a conversion chart on what I do know how to measure:

That is 11 pints of beer.....lol, that is how much liquid was removed.

- Does it hurt?
Sometimes. Given that I walked around for 18 months like this, surprised a LOT of the doctors.  Saying I must have a high tolerance for pain.

- Is it hard to breathe?
No. But when they removed the liquid from around my lungs, my left lung was at 60% capacity and my right lung was at 28% capacity (nearly collapsed).