But a special day for me as it was the first day back after the fast.
Making a video like this has been on my list for nearly 20 years.
Back then I had the idea of making videos and having a series called “A day in the life of …” And document a bunch of outdoor jobs.
Hope
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Transform Your Mind
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
Perseverance
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phil 4:13
Bruce Lipton on rewiring your subconscious. https://youtu.be/OqLT_CNTNYA
A great video explaining some things about fasting. Dr Pradip Jamnadas
After the upbeat tone of the last post I now need to widen the scope of the examination.
I was not ready for the amount and speed of the snow we were blessed with. I have neighbours who have lived here for 30 years and this is the most snow on the ground they have seen. What a contrast to last year when we had very light amounts of accumulation and I only plowed our driveway three quick times. At the end of last season I was having some mechanical issues, it did work albeit with some effort, foaming of the fluid and a dropping ram which keeps the blade aloft. I did think about the needed repairs several times over the summer but it never reached the top of the do pile. I finally got around to ordering some parts at the end of November. So when the snow arrived mid December the plow did not lift or angle with the hydraulics so I was forced to do it manually. Do achieve this I attached a chain puller to raise and lower the blade, and to change the angle I needed to remove a hitch pin, push the blade to the desired angle replace the pin then lower the blade. Then I jumped back into the truck. Repeat each time I changed from forward to reverse. This was annoying, slow and led to a poor snow clearing result. Luckily I had chains on all the wheels and therefore I only got stuck twice, but being stuck with all the jewelry on meant I was really stuck, once it took over two hours to get free. So after three days of plowing and shovelling 6 hours a day (did I mention clearing the canvas covered garage and old chicken coop) I was getting angry at the snow and my lack of planning. For me to curse the snow is unusual to say the least and it was not healthy, Im trying to live stress free remember? I even began to dream. “How nice and easy it would be living in the tropics in an apartment, only owning a few pairs of shoes not 30, only a few sporting goods to buy and maintain, no seasonal storage, being able to grow and eat fresh veggies year round”. When I got my focus back I was pushing hard on the brakes to where you can feel the ABS vibrating…Slow motion crash into the Audi which was stopped at the lights. I had a big sigh, asked if my four passengers were ok and took a deep breath.
I forgot to mention the cancer. Well back in December I had another CT scan and the results were in, in part it reads. “The scans through the abdomen demonstrate the low-density lesion in the right lobe of liver superiorly has increased in size and now measures 2.6 cm compared to 1 cm previously. There are also two subtle lesions in the right lobe of liver inferiorly the largest measuring 2 cm. There is enlargement of an azygous lymph node and left axillary lymph node”. While not exactly encouraging I was able to ignore the findings or at least think of them as not really relevant as its more about how I feel overall than a scan which can be mis-read. At least that what I choose to believe. Then in January I had more blood work which showed one tumour marking holding steady but the other had nearly tripled. “Oh well, at least I still feel good”.
Oh no, forgot something else. Over Christmas we had a tougher one too. For the first time our nuclear family was split up as Anna was in Paraguay at her YWAM outreach. Then Naomi tested positive for Covid on the 26th, I saw the 2nd line on the 28, finally Heather succumbed to the virus on Jan 7. So that was a lot of isolating and extra sleeping. None of us had a bad case but it sure interrupted our holiday and ski plans.
I felt I needed to make a plan of new thoughts around the cancer. I am happy with my eating and juicing methods, but I wanted to do more (without chemo). My oncologist has still not contacted me to go over the results, I think he assumes I will call him when I want to get back on the drugs. So far I am planning on waiting another 6 or so months. I will have my blood done once a month in the meanwhile. Back to my plan, which has me trying to find out where the cause is. In my head these days I am thinking about the following as causes.
With those things in mind the actions I have taken lately is to:
As our life goes on I am still doing some shop work as ski guiding is very slow again this year due to covid, snow conditions and I am only a part time on call guide this year. I have yet to work a day.
The take away is that God has blessed me so much, I am thankful for his grace, I am surrounded with family and friends who love me, I feel good, have the strength, mind power and desire to keep on learning, healing, playing and loving. Please join with me as we say goodbye to Covid, cancer and divisions among us, and hello to Life, Laughs and Love.
With love, Rich
2021-06-25
Within the chest, there has been interval development of a small subplural nodule located laterally at the right lung base in the region of the costophrenic angle. This measures around 1.5cm in size. It was not present previously. This could represent a small metastatic nodule or even potentially a nodular focus of atelectasis . A small perifissural nodule in the superior segment of the right lower lobe is unchanged. Another tiny sub plural nodule located posteriorly in the right lower lobe is also unchanged. No other lung nodules are seen. No plural effusions. The mediastinal structures remain normal. A small left axillary node seen previously is even less conspicuous today.
No sinister skeletal lesions within the chest.
Within the abdomen pelvis, couple of tiny hypo densities within the right lobe of the liver, located superiorly and inferiorly, are unchanged. These both correspond to sites of previous metastases. No recurrence of abdominal lymphadenopathy seen back in August of 2020. Small calcified gallbladder stone again seen. No free fluid. No sinister skeletal lesions.
In summary, the only concerning finding is the new small nodule located laterally at the right lung base as described above, of uncertain significance however.