Many who hear of the almighty power of the wacky waving inflatable-arm flailing Tubeman laugh, as if it were a joke. On some days, getting Chele in and out of the car or maybe back into bed after using the toilet at 4:30am, I smile at the image of Tubeman. Sometimes I laugh out loud! We have good days and bad days here at the Luck house. Good days consist of Chele standing with little assistance, walking with an arm or hand from the couch to the kitchen table for dinner. Bad days we use the wheelchair for everything. I support her back to help her stand and use my knees to keep my back healthy. My tennis elbow is acting up, luckily that is my only complaint.
Chele continued her IT treatment this week. We had an MRI last week that was not readable because we skipped the contrast. Insurance denied the PET scan. We are hoping for approval with a resubmission 6 months apart from the last PET. This continues our palliative path until the PET or MRIs show us chemo is or is not working. Whenever the situation fits, we will move from palliative care to hospice. Insurance will not cover hospice and palliative care at the same time. As the days and weeks move forward, we get closer to these harder decisions.
I write this throughout the week and update as needed. One morning, later in the week, Chele woke up vomiting. No explanation this time. The neurologist calls these seizure type moments probably caused by existing brain lesions. I called the on-call oncologist who prescribed a high dose of steroids. Michelle remained lethargic and non-communicative for 24 hours. She had a seizure type activity while transferring her to the wheelchair after that, which was scary for both of us. She does remember it and is aware of what is going on.
Highlight of the week Chele and I spent time together, hand in hand. We watched TV and ate meals together. I am loving every minute I get with her right now.
Random Fact of the Week Where did those dancing inflatable men, called Tubemen, AirDancers or “tall boys”, originally come from? Trinidadian Carnival artist Peter Minshall created these long-armed, long-legged, exuberant dancers. Plastic, body-shaped tubes set on fans for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Minshall’s Olympics creative partner Doron Gazit controversially patented the tubes without Minshall, and now we can see them waving wildly from used car lots and cell phone stores.
Turns out that vertical inflatables also make for good scarecrows. Farmer Gary Long says that he saw bird damage declining in his orchard of honey crisp apples from 20,000 pounds a year to zero.
Did you know? Michelle never uses the words dumb or stupid. She Thinks the words are degrading and demeaning.
Throwback Love Story “THE PROTECTOR PART II” When Michelle and I heard that Leesie was adopted less than 48 hours after intake, we realized there was nothing we could do except possibly sue a non-profit organization. We still would not get our dog back; it would take months or maybe years, so we decided it was not worth the hassle. We are not the litigious type and did not see what satisfaction we would get out of it. I contacted the same breeder in west Texas and asked if he had any puppies left. He had 1, Sansa. Sansa fit right in at first. She hung out at the barn with Titan and loved hanging out with the sheep and chickens. Truth be told, she loved chasing the chickens too, it was a fun game for a young puppy. Every night we would hear the coyotes howl and we knew our sheep were protected.
The pasture was far from secure. Michelle and I spent weeks putting up square sheep fencing around the entire 20 acres of our ranch. We did a decent job but there were areas where puppies like Sansa and Titan could get out. Plus, it was impossible to fence in the lake. Getting out and roaming free became an everyday occurrence. I would always find Titan, not too far away but Sansa would be gone. It would take hours on the gator searching for her, before I would finally find her and bring her home. I tried electric fencing, electric collars, leashes, ropes and kennels. Eventually I knew that Titan would stay around the ranch and Sansa was the wild one. She was the one teaching Titan how to explore. My solution was to keep Sansa tied up and Titan lose. This worked, if I did not think too much about it. Thinking about it, brough on guilt. I hated to be one of those people who contain their dogs. Titan would get out from time to time, I’d get a call from the neighbor saying he was in their yard, or they saw him walking near their house.
It was 104 degrees one day and I got a call from the neighbor. Titan decided to use their doggy door and hide behind the bathroom toilet. Titan is not a small dog. Some say they have never seen a bigger dog than Titan. Him fitting through a doggy door is a challenge. The image of him “behind” a toilet was inconceivable. When I picked him up, he was happy to see me, confused as to why I would be upset. I am sure he was thinking who wouldn’t want to find shelter in 104-degree heat? I also learned he had also climbed up in bed with them. This is not the dog I knew. It still isn't. Meanwhile, we had some decisions to make. It was time to - get a donkey for protection, find Sansa a better place to roam, and move Titan into the house. I asked the doggy door neighbor if they could watch Sansa for us while we decided on what we needed to do with her. Titan no longer needed to sneak through doggy doors and was very content in the air-conditioned house, leaving only on cool mornings and for bathroom emergencies. Our neighbor still has Sansa. As for the Donkey? You will have to wait for part III on that story.
Deep Thoughts What runs our generators? For the tubeman, you just plug him in, and the generator produces air and this wacky waving airdancer makes us smile. For us humans though, what fuels our generator? Food is the obvious choice. Fluids too, pretty obvious. Something not so obvious is emotions and attitude. I've seen in our cancer journey that positivity affects attitude. The human brain has a natural tendency to give weight to negative experiences or interactions more than positive ones. This is called negativity bias. I have learned that if we channel out the negative bias and focus more on the mountain of good things in our lives, the outcome is beneficial for both Chele and me. Is it hard and challenging? Of course, it is.
Air Dancing Daytime "Snack vs. Chef” (Netflix) Twelve chefs go head-to-head in a snack showdown; they must recreate iconic snacks, while inventing original snacks inspired by beloved classics; only one chef will prevail to claim the $50,000 prize.
“Beat Bobby Flay”, “MasterChef”, “Worst Cooks in America”, Football
Inflatable Primetime “Central Intelligence” (HULU) (★★★) Bullied as a teen for being overweight, Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson) shows up to his high school reunion looking fit and muscular. While there, he finds Calvin Joyner (Kevin Hart), a fast-talking accountant who misses his glory days as a popular athlete. Stone is now a lethal CIA agent who needs Calvin's number skills to help him save the compromised U.S. spy satellite system. Together, the former classmates encounter shootouts, espionage and double-crosses while trying to prevent worldwide chaos.
“Midnight Mass” (Netflix) (★★★), Football
“Flailing Flame”
The Menu
Wacky Starters
THC Gummies
Mandarin Oranges
Jellybeans
The Inflatables
Pizza
Panko Crusted Cod (★★★)
Chicken Jambalaya (★★) Too spicy again
Pizza
BBQ chicken Sammie’s (★★★)
The Blower
Green Beans
Fried Corn
Mixed Veggies
Protein Shake
Love you,
Brian
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