Hard to keep up.

No new photos today, although I have a bunch of good ones from our recent trip to the Hot Air Balloon Fest in Hudson WI. I was pleased that we were able to get right up to the balloons and photograph from any angle imaginable.
I have been taking Ben to his chemo treatments. He goes everyday this week and so far he is doing very well and not suffering any side effects. I am also posting his progress on CaringBridge at Benjamin_Campbell.

New Photos At Last

Last night was Camera Club night and I had submitted two photos for judging. Photos are judged by five judges, each judge rates the photo from 1 to 5. One being the lowest score and five the highest. The the highest score and the lowest score are dropped and the remaining scores are totaled. A photo must score 10 or above to qualify for the end-of-year judging.

The top photo is titled Fisher and it scored 12, the bottom photo is titled Chain Link Fence and it scored 13.

Ben Report

Yesterday I took Ben to St John's Hospital to have a 'Port' installed. This is an access point to IV injections as he will receive during chemo and it can also be used to draw blood for tests. The port is a disk that is implanted just below the skin and is connected to a blood vessel in the upper chest. We also stopped to see Dr. Mulvey and he has scheduled the chemo to start on Monday, February 9th. The chemo will be for five consecutive days and then he will have two weeks to recuperate. He will have a total of 4 weeks (20 days) of chemo over a twelve week period.

I'll keep you posted

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Frigid Cold. I am where I have to be, not where I want to be. If I really broke that down and was 101% truthful I would have to say I am also where I want to be.
More Later!

Super Bowl Sunday

Not much to do while I wait for the big game to start. I know this is titled a Photo Blog but I do not currently have any photos to display. Got a couple good shots at Minneopia State Park yesterday and a couple down by the Lake Minnetonka Dam but they are not ready for posting.
The exercise bike is GONE. I think Craig's List is great. I had lots of calls and it is gone.
D'Lisa is still in the hospital or at least in Rochester. There is a rumor that she might come home today but no confirmation yet.
Tomorrow Ben goes in for a PET body scan. This is standard procedure before they start chemo.
I think we might buy a new PC. This poor old guy is gettin' so slow.

More soon, Bye

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Mary took Ben to see Dr. Hamler today and then she took him to his radiation appointment. I go the day off so I could go to AA. I will also take to time for a haircut.
D'Lisa is feeling much better and at this time we have not heard when she will be able to come home. She did want to be home so she could go along to his appointment with Dr. Mulvie, the chemo oncologist. There is a big mystery surrounding how all the cars in Rochester will be returned to their home but I'm sure it will all work out just fine - maybe.
I went out yesterday to take some winter photos but did not ind anything outstanding. Besides it was too cold. The weather is moderating slightly so maybe I'll be able to brave the elements when they are not so harsh.
We have been trying to sell our exercise bike. It just gathers dust and it should go to a better home. Someone is coming to look at it today at 5 pm - hope thy take it.
Bye till next time.

Faithful?

I have not been as faithful posting to my blog as I had promised myself I would be. I have been following the posts at the CaringBridge website for D'Ann Mitchell, Ben's sister-in-law. Ben's wife, D'Lisa, donated a kidney to her sister, D'Ann, on January 23rd. Everyone is doing fine and D'Ann's new kidney is 'working'.
It seems that our live is consumed with medical stuff. Hospitals & Doctors. What is even worse, it is impossible for a group of seniors to gather and not talk about pills, meds, doctors, clinics. About midway through one of these medical conversations I just want to scream. Of course everyone would decide that I need to be medicated. Maybe So!
Next week is Radiation week for Ben. I'll keep you posted.

Confusion & Tension

These are trying times. Next week Ben is supposed to start his radiation treatments and tomorrow D'Lisa donates a kidney to her sister, D'Ann. Ben and all the kids are going to Mayo Clinic today so they can be with the donor and recipient. They will be back on Sunday so the kids can go back to school and Ben can start his radiation treatments - if he finds out the time of day they are to start.
Too many unknowns and too many recovering patients. I'm not sure if I just have a need to be organized or if I am OCD.

I am not asking for opinions.

Bye