tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319358342012-01-15T09:07:53.098-06:00Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.comBlogger1851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-83142849302308824302011-07-14T00:16:00.002-05:002011-07-14T00:46:23.170-05:00

I've done this blog so that others with the misfortune to get a Stage 4 head and neck cancer have an expectation of what they're facing and a first-hand report of what I've encountered as a survivor.At one point in my treatments, my doctor asked my wife how far they should go to save my life. My wife told them to do everything possible to keep me living. My wife and I have had many

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-72955857949760368262011-07-13T23:45:00.002-05:002011-07-14T00:16:47.785-05:00

I gave up on appealing Short Term Disability denials. I had one remaining. My former employer told me they had no option but to begin looking for my replacement. They encouraged me to apply for any openings where I had qualifications.I've been cleared to return to work, but the specs for my former spot have been changed and I'm no longer qualified for that position. At my age, my best chance

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-15382083984761418892011-06-29T00:46:00.002-05:002011-06-29T01:18:27.928-05:00

Cancer Fatigue is a kinda nasty side effect of treatment for cancer. I was told that I might experience some loss of stamina and have some weakness after my treatments. That's pretty easy to ignore. What I actually experienced wasn't so easy to ignore.Cancer fatigue seems to defy logic. It would seem logical that not exerting a lot of energy would save stamina, but that's not how it works. I

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-34365326939018039102011-06-07T01:26:00.002-05:002011-06-07T01:39:15.341-05:00

I've lost two friends from this disease since I heard the words, "You have cancer". Both were in the age range where this information was relevant.I applied for Social Security today. Taking it early, I get 75% of what I would have gotten had I waited until I was 66. Yep, 66, not 65. The age is being raised. If I was going to get $1,000 a month, I'll get $750. In 4 years, I would collect

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42796949308778169012011-05-31T23:52:00.001-05:002011-05-31T23:53:11.831-05:00

This is the email I sent to HR, my supervisor, and a coworker. It explains my current situation pretty well.I'm making great progress. Energy levels and attitude are greatly improved, but I had a long ways to go. This is a process, and not a quick fix.FMLA was approved last week. It expires June 6. Short Term Disability is still being decided. There's supposed to be a decision this week.

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-47509528167491544972011-05-23T22:50:00.003-05:002011-05-24T00:07:05.542-05:00

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma last fall. He passed away Saturday. Lanny and his wife, Vicki, were two people you just wanted good things to happen to. They enjoyed life and made those around them enjoy life, too. Anybody who knew Lanny is going to miss him being around. My thoughts, prayers, and sympathy are with Vicki. She's got a difficult path ahead of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-27827987590789118772011-05-16T23:11:00.002-05:002011-05-17T00:21:24.457-05:00

I'm clean for a little over 2 years now. It's been 18 months since I finished chemo and radiation. I'd swear I'm still gaining more scar tissue in my neck. Radiation is the "gift that keeps on giving". I think I've lost some bone mass in my lower right jaw. Tooth loss is considered normal after the treatment I had, and I've got a big molar that's loose.Cancer fatigue is the nastiest of the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-72488313035599905192011-02-09T19:00:00.002-06:002011-02-09T19:28:59.322-06:00

I've done it! I actually got on a stage and sang a couple of karaoke songs. To call what I have a "singing voice" is wrong - just plain wrong. I can almost hit the notes over half the vocal range I used to have. I can hear when the note is off and correct it, which is a recent occurrence.I have to pick songs carefully. My singing voice is incredibly raspy. Joe Cocker-like raspy. The one

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-75166736450113365272011-02-09T18:22:00.003-06:002011-02-09T18:58:11.570-06:00

The Good News - Absolutely not a trace of cancer in my body.It's normal to have a loss of stamina and energy after radiation and chemo. It's almost 18 months since my treatments ended and I'm still experiencing fatigue. I asked my oncologist if still being fatigued was normal at this stage and if I should expect improvements past this point.The answers were resounding yes's to both

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-85196721322155008822010-09-14T22:39:00.002-05:002010-09-14T23:33:39.813-05:00

The pain from the shingles is slowly going away. I'm able to work with some pain meds. I'm taking 2 Lyrica and 2 Tylenol 4's a day now. I don't feel the "pain med effects" from those any more, but I have methods of measuring my mental capabilities and I'm at about 85%, so there is some effect in that area.I managed to do the repairs on my roto-tiller (Troy-Bilt Horse) and got it running this

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-55559710040862856512010-08-20T20:47:00.004-05:002010-08-20T21:16:09.019-05:00

That's not a good thing. It's resulted in 24 hours a day pain. I've got the meds figured out that allow me to sleep and just barely allow me to work.Loritabs work during the day. I think I can work while taking those, but I'm not certain of the quality of my work. It used to be just one in the morning and I was good for the day. Now I need another around the middle of the afternoon. Without

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42450409616724071542010-08-04T23:10:00.003-05:002010-08-04T23:59:23.333-05:00

All through flu season, I was obsessive about washing my hands. I made it through and got overconfident. Now I've had some opportunistic invasions take advantage of my weakened immune system. Even the minor ones turned out bad. I need to remember that every day is flu season.I got a basically harmless fungus behind my right ear. That area is numb, so I didn't feel anything. There's no lymph

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-11436098847818566252010-07-19T23:13:00.003-05:002010-07-20T00:19:38.205-05:00

Cancer treatments give patients survivable amounts of deadly substances. The key word is survivable and individuals react differently. It was a year ago that I was about to get out of the hospital after defying that survivable label.Looking back, that was a really miserable time. My radiation oncologist told me nothing would get worse because it wasn't possible for my nerves to register more

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-83943077341160549112010-06-25T21:59:00.005-05:002010-06-25T23:06:20.262-05:00

It's just over a year since I started radiation and chemo. It was about one year ago that my liver quit, I got pulled off of all my pain meds, my throat hurt so bad that I couldn't eat at all, and I lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks.It wasn't as bad this year. Last week I lost 5 pounds in 4 days. I upped my food intake until I stopped that and I've recovered most of the weight. I'm getting about

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-57610965465541276882010-06-11T23:05:00.002-05:002010-06-11T23:23:45.348-05:00

Moe got out of the hospital quick! He had his surgery Thursday. I know I didn't really want visitors the first couple of days after my surgery, so I waited until Tuesday to go see Moe. He was already out of the hospital.I know they won't let you leave the hospital until you can eat. Moe couldn't eat before he went in. I'm certain his throat didn't get better from the surgery, so he's probably

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-65547250501532851702010-05-30T01:39:00.003-05:002010-05-30T02:59:33.930-05:00

A great friend of mine dropped by today. Jerry Davy - everybody knows him as Moe.Some background is in order here. Moe is a drummer. Best drummer I've every played with. He's played with Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, and some other jazz greats. Moe taught me more about music in the years I played with him than anyone else I've met in my life.Moe was a "do anything" handyman. A couple of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-19439312094949482362010-05-11T23:12:00.002-05:002010-05-12T00:36:23.191-05:00

Oops. It's been two months since my last update. There hasn't been much to report. CAT scan, PET scan, blood work, multiple doctor's exams - all indicate not a bit of cancer in my body. This isn't remission - it's elimination. My surgeon has switched from looking for cancer to looking at long-term damage and how to manage that. Not fix - manage. So, I'm goig to take a look at what aappear

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-35799022331599778512010-03-07T22:14:00.002-06:002010-03-07T22:42:12.775-06:00

Words can hardly express how much better I'm feeling. It applies to everything. I feel better about life, better about work, better about what I do, better about being around people.When I look back at how long the feeling better process has been going on, it doesn't seem possible. That's when I realize just how far down I had to have been. I never admitted it or accepted it at the time, but

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-71468146203900312772010-02-22T22:24:00.004-06:002010-02-22T22:55:43.824-06:00

Well, mostly. I'm down to 600 calories a day from tube feedings and I'm gaining just a bit of weight, so I can start planning to cut that back.Here's the biggie. For the first time in a year I was able to go to the grocery store and buy food that both Robby and I could eat and plan a week's worth of meals out of things we regularly ate before all this popped up.This week's menu:Chicken breasts

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-5606071490860900102010-02-04T23:10:00.003-06:002010-02-04T23:42:21.727-06:00

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/Bill-proposes-legalizing-medical-marijuana-in/6NECExD14UqKrMZE4IIB5A.cspxLinks don't work right in this blog. You're going to have to copy and paste this one.I know this is going to be controversial, but this needs to happen. Stoners aren't real productive members of society because they tend to forget what's really going on and spend their stoned time

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-32071982431251155922010-01-28T21:35:00.003-06:002010-01-28T21:57:37.487-06:00

I guess the word setback should be familiar by now. At least the time between setbacks is increasing.I'm back to getting my food out of a can and through a tube until the docs figure out why my digestive system is freaking out. Step 1 is to go back to what was last known to work, which is the feeding tube. The digestive problems began within days of starting to eat solid food.Everything else

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-44553967948789381352010-01-10T22:39:00.002-06:002010-01-10T23:20:33.222-06:00

Well, that's the best things on my diet right now.I can swallow stuff, but what I can realistically eat is pretty limited. Meat is really tough. Wienies just barely make it. Burger works if there's lots of gravy or other sauce. Pork chops cooked in the top of a crock pot (really tender and moist) work - barely.Then it gets into taste. Fortunately, I've never been picky on taste. Swallowing

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-62615733791907960212009-12-28T22:58:00.004-06:002009-12-28T23:18:58.452-06:00

I had my monthly checkup with my surgeon today. There was something I had to tell him to get his opinion.I found a water swallow test on the Net at a medical web site that's been very good. I trust info there. The test is simple. Drink some water. Did you cough? No - you pass. Yes - you fail. Then I applied something I remember from my one appointment with my speech therapist: Had I ever

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-3466178176688452502009-12-26T12:52:00.002-06:002009-12-26T13:10:58.807-06:00

The CAT scan was clean. I would have posted sooner if there had been a problem. I've got some scar tissue in my neck. Surprise! Surprise!My oncologist is so convinced there's not much to watch for that he's moved me to an appointment every 4 months. He's talking about a PET scan next. Those things will show up the slightest traces of cancer before they can be detected by any other method.

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-59259432655395803342009-12-02T21:28:00.002-06:002009-12-02T21:58:29.288-06:00

I wish there were some way readers could tell if I'm not posting because I'm in the hospital or if it's because there's not much to report. This time it's the latter. Not much is really happening.Last time I saw the doc that did the feeding tube, I was supposed to schedule a colonoscopy. Just routine, no reason for alarm. I forgot. Dang! How could I forget to schedule that?The swelling in

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-29976805166518985502009-11-13T10:59:00.002-06:002009-11-13T11:26:52.509-06:00

I didn't pass the swallow test. I'm still getting some things I swallow into my lungs.They're setting me up with a speech therapist. Oddly enough, it is speech therapists who work with swallowing disorders.This means at least another month before another swallow test. I suspect it will be longer. The inability to swallow properly didn't appear on any of the anticipated side effects lists from

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-37772397024540920322009-10-31T11:49:00.002-05:002009-10-31T12:04:28.404-05:00

7 months from my surgery and I'm still clean. No cancer. In a little over a month I get a CAT scan to take a closer look. My throat is still complaining about the radiation and I'm about as hoarse as it's possible to get and still talk. No one knows when I'll get recovery of my voice. Some swelling has to work its way out of my throat and the method for removing the swelling was removed in

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-23387716351576699702009-10-17T11:10:00.004-05:002009-10-17T12:01:21.031-05:00

Oncologist is so confident I'm clean (no cancer) that he delayed my 6-month CAT scan for 2 months.My body is starting to adjust nicely to the 15 - 20 pound lighter version that it has achieved.In anticipation of actually eating again, I sometimes give myself 2 cans of "food" at the same feeding to try to stretch my stomach a bit.This would be a dieter's dream-come-true. Absolute calorie control

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-59791328843695899092009-09-30T20:34:00.002-05:002009-09-30T20:41:26.674-05:00

I had a visual and manual examination of my throat and neck today. There is no sign of any regrowth of the cancer. Tomorrow I see my oncologist and I suspect he will be scheduling a PET scan to look for stuff that doesn't show up with visual and manual exams.The cancer part of this seems to be going great and that's the ultimate battle that's going on.The recovery from treatment isn't going as

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42089215611357386592009-09-15T13:18:00.004-05:002009-09-15T13:37:10.565-05:00

I finally got clearance to get to the one computer Wesley provides for patients and got the password to my blog worked out. Logging in to the blog is not automatic here like it is at home.The Sunday of the Labor Day weekend I was feeling pretty bad and had a 102 degree fever. That was enough for a trip to the ER. The diagnosis was bronchitis and pneumonia.Then there was the bad news. They ran

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-32448468679032792632009-08-29T22:57:00.002-05:002009-08-29T23:13:46.947-05:00

The tracheotomy tube is out. The feeding tube and IV tap (portacath) both go away next Tuesday (Sept. 1).Food now includes: bacon, eggs, cantaloupe. burritos, pork chops, mashed potatoes, and more stuff.I still need a lot of sleep and I'm not gaining weight. My metabolism is cranked. I'm getting an average of about 2,600 calories a day. I don't know what my body is doing with all the sleep

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-74863247584434761992009-08-24T20:51:00.002-05:002009-08-24T21:05:38.213-05:00

I'm getting all my food by mouth and starting to eat real food. I can't put much variety into my diet yet, but...Meat - Grilled fish. That's the only meat I can eat, but I like fish. The next attempt is looking like crock pot pork chops. They cook 4 hours and come out very tender and moist.Vegetables - About anything in small servings.Carbohydrate - Ramen noodles. That's about it from the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-1739929661537598812009-08-19T19:30:00.002-05:002009-08-19T19:55:34.193-05:00

I've been cleared to work 4 to 6 hours a day. That's going to be reviewed around the end of August and I'm expecting to be at full 40-hour weeks by the middle of September. I'm glad I'm able to start off slow like this. So far, in the 2 days I've worked, I've been asleep within a half-hour of getting home.I needed a chance to get back to work. It's one of the biggest signs that my life is

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-15107856918000816002009-08-16T18:31:00.003-05:002009-08-16T19:01:04.949-05:00

This healing process is going to be long. I can notice improvement day-to-day, but it's small improvements. Today's improvement was that eating a banana was easier today than it was yesterday.My diet for the next few weeks isn't very appetizing, but I've found enough nourishment and calories in forms I can eat that I can start working on getting rid of the feeding tube. I've tried hamburger

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-57434651394115420172009-08-10T16:55:00.004-05:002009-08-10T17:33:48.794-05:00

I wasn't expecting much progress the first week, so I'm not disappointed. I am starting to burn out on being sick or whatever it is that I am. This is like cabin fever, except in the middle of summer.I have gotten to where I can swallow water. I couldn't do that the last week of treatments or the first week after they were over.I know body piercings are popular now, but I'm ready to get rid of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-45785462802132158972009-08-03T21:10:00.002-05:002009-08-03T21:41:42.975-05:00

I had my last radiation treatment today. Let the healing begin. It's kind of strange to go 5 months with a series of doctors and you know that every one of them is going to cause pain. Sometimes more of an old pain. Sometimes a new pain. When that was finally over, it took a couple of hours to realize they're going to stop testing my pain threshold limits.My experience is that discomfort

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-32969890561827638942009-07-31T18:59:00.002-05:002009-07-31T19:14:24.410-05:00

I've lost track of when my radiation ends. I know they snuck an extra couple of days in on me due to the time off I had in the middle. There's either one day or two days left. I've already finished the chemo treatments, so it's time to let the healing begin.One doctor said my throat can start healing in a week or two and the healing can be surprisingly rapid. Another doctor says I should

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-39884020281838384162009-07-21T09:35:00.002-05:002009-07-21T10:06:46.545-05:00

Not much of interest or significance happened last week, except for knocking one more week off the treatment phase.I'm down to under 2 weeks of radiation and one chemo treatment, and then this phase is done. I've been able to take some food through my mouth and I've actually gained about 2 pounds by supplementing the liquid food that way. I'm still down 14 pounds from when all this started, but

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-268440166874540502009-07-10T13:43:00.002-05:002009-07-10T14:28:44.586-05:00

There was a complication in my surgery to have the feeding tube inserted. The complication was having my heart and breathing stop, my throat swell shut, calling EMS to revive me in an operating room, and then transport me through a couple of parking lots at Wesley to get to the ER, so the doctors could finish saving my life and inserting the feeding tube.Yes, I died from having a feeding tube

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-70844004659082844802009-06-28T08:50:00.002-05:002009-06-28T09:06:09.573-05:00

By Wednesday, it was pretty clear I had no chance of making it through the week. On Monday I thought I could make it. There was no doubt that was wrong on Wednesday. The escalation of throat irritation was worse than it had been in previous weeks.Thursday morning I asked for a break from my treatments and asked for a feeding tube. As of Fridy at 5:00, I was still trying to get that surgery

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-74743417748874447652009-06-23T09:49:00.002-05:002009-06-23T10:04:22.200-05:00

My radiation oncologist was asked by a medical journal to review some small studies of head and neck cancer treatments and to compile a number of studies into one article that included all of them. He recently completed that. Head and neck cancer is the category where my cancer falls.He said that during treatment, the vast, vast majority of head and neck cancer patients end up on a feeding tube

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-17527536743090569592009-06-22T20:06:00.003-05:002009-06-22T20:54:09.884-05:00

I had pretty much hit my tolerance point for pain and the structural integrity of my throat. There are only 3 weeks of treatments left and if things keep getting worse the way they have the last 2 or 3 weeks, I'm going to be way beyond my tolerance threshold. The only thing that worked to provide any type of sleep or pain relief was acetaminophen, which took the pain levels to tolerable and let

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-62234207600915330912009-06-15T20:29:00.003-05:002009-06-15T21:28:34.302-05:00

I'm just about finished with 3 weeks of the 7 weeks of treatment I've got scheduled.I skipped writing about it for a week because I'm trying to keep this as positive as possible. There wasn't anything positive last week. The bad stuff started building up quick and that left me with a pretty negative outlook. Now that I'm getting used to things getting worse (going to hell in a hand basket is

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-48934993639029559742009-06-02T20:25:00.002-05:002009-06-02T20:45:01.612-05:00

1 week of chemo and radiation is over and I'm feeling great. I need more sleep than normal, but that's it. The medication gets interesting. I get medication for the side-effects of the chemo. Then I get medication to counter the side effects of that medication. There's also a little medicine-shuffling to try to avoid getting addicted to anything. I have 3 medications I've got to watch. I

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-9412482251620539772009-05-29T22:27:00.003-05:002009-05-29T23:19:13.782-05:00

I'm on a 7-week schedule. Radiation every day. The radiation treatments last about 5 minutes. I've completed 3 treatments, so that leaves only 32 remaining. Chemo every Monday. The chemo treatments are 4 to 5 hours. I'm on what's considered light doses of both radiation and chemo, so I may have a better than average chance of minimizing the negative effects of treatment. There is no

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-22707505847964174162009-05-24T00:39:00.002-05:002009-05-24T01:23:02.816-05:00

Recurrence is a biggie.If recurrence happens in the left side of my neck:1) I've already lost the jugular on the right. The one on the left is handling the load for the one that used to be on the right.2) I've lost the thyroid and parathyroid on the right. The ones on the left can handle the load as long as they exist.3) Vocal cords seem to have a major attraction for cancer. Mine are fine now

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-74127990527400176332009-05-23T23:11:00.002-05:002009-05-24T00:09:07.929-05:00

I appreciate the comments that unanimously urge me to get a second opinion. It's not just comments here, it's in emails and personal conversations. There are problems.The first problem is that my surgeon (Wichita Clinic) has no experience with bypassing radiation in a case like mine. He's never seen that in his medical practice, which might be totally in this area. He has no financial

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-12647703467800228542009-05-22T23:08:00.003-05:002009-05-23T00:16:41.108-05:00

I signed the consent forms for the radiation. The treatments start next Wednesday. I can still change my mind or chicken out. All I have to do is not show up for the appointment.I told the radiation oncologist about my concerns. He told me I could quit any time I wanted, and if I quit now, "...you will die. I guarantee it. Your neck is contaminated. There is no reasonable expectation that

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42773764311080752822009-05-22T06:56:00.003-05:002009-05-22T08:37:44.981-05:00

The dental oncologist is the first medical person I've met that I don't trust. The meeting with him went poorly. It was all about how much money I'm going to spend with him, how he's going to charge me, and some really bad news about the rest of my life. Of course, the rest of my life will be much worse if I don't throw a bunch of money his way.What I don't understand is that in all of my

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-77027776163953911282009-05-20T21:34:00.003-05:002009-05-20T21:39:45.865-05:00

I knew that I lost my internal jugular vein. I figured there was a jugular vein and the internal jugular vein was probably a small branch. That's wrong. There's an internal jugular vein and an external jugular vein. The external jugular vein is the little branch. The internal jugular vein is what is commonly referred to as the jugular vein.Man! I didn't think it was possible to remove a

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-1136302371258555482009-05-19T22:08:00.002-05:002009-05-19T23:09:11.417-05:00

I met with the radiation oncologist again today. He's happy with where everything is at and ready to move on with my treatments. There's still some planning visits before treatments start, and I have another new doctor. This one is a dentist who specializes in tooth decay caused by radiation treatments.I think this is about what the doctor said today, "Oncologists used to do extractions of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-54181048238144984522009-05-14T23:13:00.002-05:002009-05-15T00:39:46.514-05:00

I am so glad I checked on the meaning of "fistula".I thought that meant they were going to close an opening in my incision. Yeah, let's do that. I'm ready for that. If I hadn't checked out what they were going to do, I would have signed the consent form.If I signed the consent form, they were going to open up my neck and look for the hole in my throat. When they couldn't find it, I don't know

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-10118152704359939442009-05-13T21:15:00.002-05:002009-05-13T22:06:16.744-05:00

Thursday, May 14, with a noon check-in time. When they called today, they wanted me to confirm that I was scheduled in to "close a fistula". I should have looked the word up before I agreed to it. A fistula is an opening between two areas that aren't normally connected.That was 3 weeks ago! 4 or 5 weeks ago my oncologist refused to continue until my surgeon saw me again. The oncologist said

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-44458533477842653872009-05-09T23:12:00.003-05:002009-05-10T01:13:49.984-05:00

This is a continuation of the previous entry. If you haven't read that one, you might want to before continuing with this entry. I think I pretty much covered what was found during the surgery, so this post will try to go into what all that means.Recovery from the surgery is a mystery. Today was the first day I didn't have anything leaking from the incision. That's 53 days or about 7 and a

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-5685421199660467562009-05-06T22:14:00.002-05:002009-05-06T23:52:48.280-05:00

I have squamous cell carcinoma. It's a huge category and a very general classification. It can occur anywhere on the exterior of a body and a few places internally. Chances are you either know someone (other than me) with this diagnosis or someone you know will eventually have this diagnosis.I need to lay a bit of groundwork so you can understand some things I've learned. If you get tired of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-59721414883459084202009-05-01T19:24:00.002-05:002009-05-01T20:26:31.328-05:00

Now I have 4 doctors, as a Radiation Oncologist has been added to the mix. At my first meeting with him, I got to see the pathology reports of what actually happened during the surgery on my neck. That type of information should be read on an empty stomach. It doesn't seem like they could have removed that much and actually left anything.The radiation treatments are bad. The doctor and PA (

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-91487691770459599302009-04-17T23:33:00.002-05:002009-04-18T00:16:36.266-05:00

Instead of scheduling the start of radiation treatments, I'm going back to the surgeon for another followup or two. I need some more healing from the surgery before they start the radiation. Once the radiation starts, it will be every day for 5 or 6 weeks with a low dose of chemo every Friday. That's probably 2 or 3 weeks away. Patience is not one of my strong points (to put it mildly). I'm

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-50376243518557038422009-04-10T21:01:00.004-05:002009-04-10T21:56:35.560-05:00

Thank you for your thoughts and your prayers. So much happened so quick and so much changed so quickly that I haven't really had time to digest it or realize exactly what happened.The entire situation has only taken 9 weeks so far. In that time I've gone from nothing to a diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer to an all clear diagnosis. That's a lot of changes in a short period of time.At one point I had

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-88950531367550746892009-04-10T20:33:00.003-05:002009-04-10T21:01:27.793-05:00

The surgeon has cleared me for radiation and light chemo treatments. My first visit with the oncologist is April 15, when I will find out about the schedule for post-op treatments. It's taken me about 2 extra weeks after the surgery to get cleared for the treatments. My surgery was St. Patty's day (March 17). It's normally 2 weeks from surgery to radiation, which would have been March 31 (my

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-52873740875453426212009-04-02T17:53:00.002-05:002009-04-02T18:16:15.436-05:00

The problem with my throat is healing on its own and will not require additional surgery. It's been a little over 2 weeks since the surgery to remove the lump in my neck. It only took six weeks for that to grow from nothing to the size of an egg. After two weeks there is no indication of any regrowth of the lump.No regrowth of the lump means two good things. 1) That's an indication that the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-44997343646199842722009-03-28T18:47:00.002-05:002009-03-28T19:15:03.038-05:00

Hey, it's sunny now. I've kind of made this next quote mine. It fits so well."You're never really ready to ride the bull. Sometimes it just happens to be your turn", Ty Murray, World Champion Bull Rider. I'm not riding a bull, but that sums it up so well. I wasn't ready for this, but it was my turn to take the ride.My energy levels are coming back and I've started getting hungry again. I am

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-14143236288295111212009-03-26T21:41:00.002-05:002009-03-26T22:02:24.276-05:00

The feeding tube is gone. Eating is harder than I remember it being.There's one spot in my throat that's still got an opening that's not supposed to be there. I suspect I have another surgery coming. This one will be very minor - just a staple or 2 to close up an opening from my throat to the area of the main surgery.Next appointment is a week from today. I'll find out then what's happening

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-11551181657738383172009-03-25T16:58:00.002-05:002009-03-25T17:20:48.456-05:00

By this time tomorrow (Thursday, March 26), the feeding tube should be out and I should be able to eat real food again. I'm ready to end 2 weeks of liquid or "easily-swallowed" food.I'm going to need to get active and build some stamina back up. At one point I lost 8 pounds in a week. As long as I'm tied to this dang IV stand that feeds me, it's tough to do anything. I'm mostly doing nothing,

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-89933563552543651122009-03-23T19:58:00.003-05:002009-03-23T20:59:44.431-05:00

Tuesday, March 17Checked in to the admittance at 5:00 AM. Anesthesiologist told me to be prepared to be on a breathing tube after the operation.In the recovery room, I checked stuff out. I didn't have a breathing tube, I could hold and move my head, My right arm worked fine. That was all good stuff.I did have about the most sore throat you can imagine and swallowing was almost out of the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-49558794163172978552009-03-22T21:49:00.002-05:002009-03-22T22:25:02.135-05:00

The Best News is the from the surgeon and oncologist.PrognosisThe surgeson said that if there was a source, he got it. He had an unusable lab result on my right-side thyroid and that's the one he thought was the source. I don't have that thyroid any more, so if that's it, it's gone.The oncologist said that with what's already been done, there's no point in continuing to look for the source. He

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-83300051284364659922009-03-16T21:06:00.003-05:002009-03-16T21:26:15.769-05:00

Tomorrow is day 1 of the beginning of the healing. Everything up to now has been trying to find what all needs to be healed and where it's located.The lump on my neck is being removed tomorrow. It hasn't been there long, so hopefully it doesn't have offshoots growing into a lot of structural components in my neck. They are going to cut out anything associated with the lump and anything else

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-32168182406635400122009-03-13T15:53:00.003-05:002009-03-13T16:16:56.592-05:00

Everything was done inside my throat. That's not what I was expecting. I did ask the doc how sore my throat was going to be. "That depends on what we find in there" wasn't exactly answering the question and now I know why he didn't tell me. I have to swallow twice just to drink a sip of water.I will not explain just how sore my throat is, because I'd rather not type 2 paragraphs of

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-15142779642826019742009-03-12T20:38:00.002-05:002009-03-12T21:22:52.433-05:00

I'm not your Mom. I'm not your Dad. I wouldn't have paid any attention to this advice if you had given it to me a year ago.Quit smoking! Do it now! What I've got may take me down. Maybe it can save a life or two and maybe it can avoid some misery for some of my friends if they can learn from what happened to me and do what they can to avoid it in their own lives.Forget the prescription meds.

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-10892978966104742242009-03-12T20:08:00.002-05:002009-03-12T20:35:49.155-05:00

PET scan is interesting. I got carb-starved for 24 hours. No carbs, just proteins and vegetables to eat. Drink lots of fluids. Drive the blood sugar down. Then they gave me a radioactive sugar solution through an IV. After that I got to sit for about an hour. 2 things happen in that hour. Normal stuff latches onto the sugar, uses it, and flushes itself of the sugar. Stuff that's growing

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-7910592665221691292009-03-11T21:34:00.002-05:002009-03-11T21:53:07.913-05:00

The steps involved are:1) Get rid of anything that can be cut out.2) Nuke the crap out of anything left.3) Locate and nuke the source.4) Make it to September (6 months).6 months is the first milestone. If my current secondary site is the only one, that location is generally controlled at that time. If the source is found, the difficulty of controlling that location is the next factor. After 6

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-28158812510336602272009-03-11T20:52:00.004-05:002009-03-11T21:55:13.062-05:00

Oops, I was off by a day for the PET scan. It's Thusday, which is still tomorrow.I did better reporting it than my medical facility did scheduling it. My medical facility shall remain unnamed because of this little problem.When the doc called me with the biopsy results, he gave me a name and number to call to schedule a PET scan and a surgery. I was taking notes, but rather than review all my

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-4973103187694683522009-03-10T21:09:00.005-05:002009-03-10T22:26:54.233-05:00

I just checked the timeline. It was 30 days.The last week in January I noticed a little lump in my neck. Swollen lymph node. No biggie. It got bigger. And bigger.Scheduling a doctor was nearly a 2-week wait. That wasn't a problem. I thought I had some infection my body was handling and saw no need for Immediate Care or an Emergency Room. It was 4 weeks from when I noticed the lump until

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-71333270245835578922009-03-10T20:59:00.002-05:002009-03-10T21:08:39.097-05:00

Today was kind of a bummer. I learned an additional surgery has been scheduled. Tomorrow, I get a PET scan while the docs continue looking for where the cancer is coming from. Friday, I get a sort of exploratory surgery, while the docs look at what the PET shows, keep looking for where the cancer is coming from, and look for the best way to remove the egg-sized lump in my neck.The person who

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-51986966033284374922009-03-09T23:47:00.002-05:002009-03-10T00:00:24.263-05:00

I have cancer. I am going to give updates to diagnoses, what the docs expect, what I'm experiencing.I'm going to share the site with a support group that has a similar type of cancer.There will be some interesting stories, some utter incompetence in the medical community. I'm getting a sense of humor back and still have a sense of irony. I'm going to try to make it an interesting read about a

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42801795307058587762008-10-21T22:06:00.002-05:002008-10-21T22:14:15.228-05:00

I don't recall the exact details from the radio news report, but this is pretty much how it went down.A Marine in Afghanistan got a letter from what was supposed to be his girlfriend back home."Dear Ricky,This isn't working out. Please return the photo I sent you.Sincerely,Betty"Ricky's reply included 57 babe pics wearing varying amounts of clothing and this reply."Dear Betty,I can't remember

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-35205296249543762882008-10-20T23:27:00.002-05:002008-10-20T23:55:48.732-05:00

The Monday night league ended up with 12 players. Post 4 added a 5th board in the middle of the 4 boards they already had. There's still great spacing on that wall. Post 4 is adding a 6th board on the opposite wall.I don't recall all the placings in Black Division last season, but the Red Division had Lizzards, the current Still Trashy and Dairy Air duking it out for the top 3 spots all

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-66830894290794811772008-10-07T20:42:00.003-05:002008-10-07T20:46:27.675-05:00

It seems there is something to this Lizzard story.Vanuatu has already issued stamps commemorating the 2012 Vanuatu Lizzard Olympic dart team

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-52407598704364265802008-10-05T01:14:00.013-05:002008-10-05T01:49:11.302-05:00

The 2012 Summer Olympics are in London. The hosting nation gets to choose a sport to include. On the assumption that the Brits will include darts, the Lizzards have appealed to the Vanuatu Olympic Committee to be their dart representatives in the 2012 games.The requirements to represent a nation are pretty loose. It seems that if your once-removed great-grandfather was born there, that's

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-42010433618956682272008-10-03T21:51:00.003-05:002008-10-03T22:22:30.417-05:00

Normally, the fight for last place wouldn't be worthy of a mention, but when it's the Rats vs. Dairy Air. That's a lot of long-time players who don't normally get into the battle for last place.Roger Whitney is having a great season and had a great night against us. In the Cricket game I played against him, he closed every number we could point on every turn he had. It was no contest. Roger

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-11642972144780045912008-10-03T21:05:00.003-05:002008-10-03T21:47:48.401-05:00

There were two things none of us realized. Wednesday night is 2-for-1 night at Shananigan's and it's also "Amateur Pole Dancer" night.The pole dancing was scheduled to start at 9:30. At 9:30, there were still 8 darters in the building. 5 women and 3 men. I stuck around till 10:20 and the actual competition hadn't started. The warmups were pretty weak. Oddly enough, the best performer on the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-62807560741238259182008-09-27T00:25:00.003-05:002008-09-27T01:03:16.603-05:00

Starting with current stuff. We found a hammerhead tip at Post 4 Thursday. It's been used, but not long. The hammerhead clip and the point are in excellent shape. If you lost a hammerhead point and recently played at Post 4, I've got your point.____________________________________________________________________________A 1995 WDA NewsletterSummer leagues were starting May 22. Monday leagues

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-4939348095633625452008-09-20T22:10:00.002-05:002008-09-20T22:26:02.534-05:00

How are the boards at your sponsor looking? How about your practice boards at home? The WDA has some barely used boards for sale. They were used at the last Regional. Since the WDA is going to premo boards for the Air Cap, the Regional boards are available for sale. I think the price is $25, but check with Ron to make sure of prices. Get your orders in quick. The Razor boards we're using

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-45853130405457445502008-09-20T21:47:00.002-05:002008-09-20T22:10:23.110-05:00

It was great to play with a couple of former teammates. Steve Terronez was fixing phone lines (imagine that after a flood) and Bob (Bob! Bob! Bob!) was at the Bluegrass Festival. We brought Katherine and Robby in to sub for them.That was the extent of great for the night. 4-10. That makes 3 times in a row Kelly's team has taken 10 against us. I don't understand how that team isn't in the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-35334129883471035872008-09-12T23:54:00.003-05:002008-09-13T01:21:27.830-05:00

This match started setting up Wednesday night. Paul, Sr. and I got into a bit of trash- and smack-talking. I didn't want to go too far with it. We've gone 31-11 against Generation X3 the last 3 times we played them.Dairy Air took the first two doubles 501's. We should have known better. That's the curse. Not even the "Bob" cheer can overcome the curse!We introduced our new secret weapon in

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-43014532734967679012008-09-07T00:50:00.003-05:002008-09-07T01:20:51.371-05:00

The next Thursday session starts Sept. 11. Ron expects to have the schedules published by Tuesday, Sept. 9. Visit the WDA's site to check where you're playing.There's a Regional Cricket qualifier coming up. The regional is in Miami, OK Nov. 14. That's a Friday. The WDA is not providing travel money, but the WDA is sending one additional person for every 10 who play in the local qualifiers (

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-10129305449687832332008-08-27T00:17:00.002-05:002008-08-27T00:41:33.689-05:00

Not all of this is confirmed in media, but here's what appears to be happening.The Broadview has been bought by Drury Hotels. The plan is a total gut of the building and a total rehab. That will leave the Broadview closed for about one year. The plan is to start the rehab in about one year. That leaves the Air Cap in great shape for 2009, but without a home in 2010.

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-87327854816099633142008-08-20T22:44:00.006-05:002008-08-20T23:57:31.184-05:00

2 events have been added to the Air Cap.Ladies Singles Cricket has been requested for years. It's on the schedule.301 has been added as an early bird event. It starts at 6:30 Friday. This is an ADO points event. Entry fee is $20 with a total payout of $480. The finals of this event will be best 3 of 5. We will need chalkers, so plan on showing up early, chalking a few games, and relaxing

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-66648534183876376312008-08-14T23:38:00.002-05:002008-08-15T00:15:06.508-05:00

Going into the last week of the season, Dairy Air was third and playing the team in first. Dairy Air was 11 wins behind Mz Thang's Gang and 10 wins behind the Lizzards.Against Mz Thang, Dairy Air went 9 - 5, leaving them 7 wins behind. The Lizzards went 10-4 against the Outlaws. That put Dairy Air in second. 7 wins behind Mz Thang and 11 wins behind the Lizzards. Dairy Air had a makeup. 8

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-89689036774309392142008-08-04T22:25:00.002-05:002008-08-04T23:17:37.829-05:00

The next Thursday session starts September 11.We have a couple of players going to National playoffs. Dan Zimmerman and Leanna Clifford are going to Stamford, CT for the East-West All-Stars. Accompanying them will be Zach Zimmerman and Katherine Fitch playing in the National Youth Playoffs.Thanks to Sandy Diel's hard work, some alternate funding methods were found to send more players to

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-87872276757351452662008-07-25T23:36:00.002-05:002008-07-25T23:52:40.093-05:00

It was surprising how close the team averages came out in the Red Division. That didn't happen in the Black division.Dart Frogs 17.01Cory's Team 11.92Rats 11.66Young Guns 10.91Horny Toads 9.71Pobody's Nerfect 9.47Black Widows 9.37Looking at those ppd's, you kinda gotta expect that the Frogs are going to dominate the top 10 - and here it is.Dan Zimmerman

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-14983751746861741642008-07-16T22:03:00.002-05:002008-07-16T22:31:37.501-05:00

The WDA's points per dart are based on roughly equal numbers of 501 and 301 games and should not be compared to soft-tip averages or to steel-tip leagues that do not play 301.Team ppd averages - Red Division:Lizzards 11.96Dairy Air 11.84Mz Thang's Gang 11.57Outlaws 11.21Generation X3 11.07*It's All Good 10.95Doug's Team 10.67*That one was a little surprising since 2

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-28833574165086513352008-07-14T20:54:00.002-05:002008-07-14T21:46:15.149-05:00

If we have a meeting at a smoking establishment, it is illegal for members under 18 to attend. It doesn't seem right to require someone to buy a membership if it is illegal for them to attend meetings.The sections of the bylaws that are on topic include:Article 3, Section 2 - Meetings. "Attendance by a Board Member ... is required at all Board of Directors meetings..."Article 5, Section 5 -

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-61905748864367876242008-07-10T17:36:00.002-05:002008-07-10T17:40:17.886-05:00

Steve's mother passed away Thursday morning, July 10.Steve and his mother were very close. They were important parts of each other's lives.Keep Steve in your prayers and let's all wish him the best as he enters a part of his life missing a person who was very important in his life to this point.

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-38171987969370385142008-07-04T00:22:00.004-05:002008-07-05T19:07:37.075-05:00

Entry fees are being raised by $2 for all events other than blind draws and the Youth event. That puts the Air Cap in line with entry fees for other tournaments in the region. Math stuff here - shut your eyes if you can't stand it. It takes about the same number of entries to break even on entry fees and payouts for the $7,500 payout as it did for the $6,500 payout. There was a thorough

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-56515515840694885982008-07-03T23:29:00.003-05:002008-07-05T19:08:26.732-05:00

Order your LizzardPalooza shirts online or by email. Save yourself and Jim the time for all the personal contacts. Jim has more obligations this year and isn't going to be able to track you down to buy a shirt. If shirt sales don't fly, the funds for the event don't fly. ORDER SHIRTS! NOW!!!The really big news has it's own post - $7,500 Air Cap is coming to a town near you this January!The

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-77155021923076780882008-07-01T22:23:00.002-05:002008-07-01T22:37:39.172-05:00

Men:45 - Dan Zimmerman91 - Gary Boisen171 - Chris Martin269 - Danny Evans284 - Bryan Byrnes377 - Mike Durham396 - Brent Johns414 - Kraig Moore417 - Randall PattersonLadies:53 - Christy Zimmerman104 - Teresa Garcia136 - Leanna Clifford180 - Sandy Diel181 - Michelle Donham200 - Kelly Balliet207 - Shelley Hein212 - Lori Kennedy215 - Missy Leffew274 - Jennifer Holley425 - Diane Menard

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-32196444499431028842008-07-01T21:36:00.002-05:002008-07-01T22:07:29.838-05:00

There is discussion of raising payouts at the Air Cap. I don't think it's a good idea. There's too much we can possibly lose and not that much we can gain. I've asked why we should raise payouts and got the following answers: 1) We want to bring in more players. 2) It doesn't cost the WDA anything. 3) We want to bring in better players. More players: With the

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-25875969926248159152008-06-21T00:51:00.002-05:002008-06-21T01:28:03.831-05:00

http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/story/440246.htmlSomewhere around June 27, 2008, this story will disappear into the archives. Friday morning, June 20, Bubba's was front page content on the Eagle's website. After 24 hours there, it dropped off into the Lead Story in the Entertainment section.I think the Eagle's food critic was a bit skeptical. "You don't need sauce" is a challenge to a food

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-73075596398509600462008-06-13T23:07:00.002-05:002008-06-13T23:59:09.857-05:00

Check out Thursday night Red Division. Here's the win numbers for the leaders:Dairy Air 31Mz Thangs Gang 31Outlaws 30Lizzards 29It's All Good 27There's a tie at the top of the Black division, but that's the Black division. Red Division is where real darters play. Ron swears he didn't rig the divisions to put all the good teams in Red, but sometimes I wonder. I can hang

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31935834.post-73486522789438135922008-06-04T22:26:00.002-05:002008-06-04T22:48:18.459-05:00

For those of you old enough to remember Johnny Carson:The turnout for the blind draws was so bad (pause)How bad was it, Johnny?It was so bad that Merlin got into the top 4 in the blind draw Friday night.If you're thinking that the only way I could get into the top 4 was if only 8 people showed up - you'd be right.There were 18 people Saturday night. 26 people over 2 nights wasn't quite what

Merlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01613704197454050389noreply@blogger.com0