SPC Jason Cox

I have waited until the funeral for this young soldier, killed in Iraq by an IED was finally laid to rest to write something. I helped during the visitation and during the service as an usher and escort for Senator George Voinovich. When I got the call from the church asking me to escort the senator, I really did not want to say yes. I have been backing off from pressure situations that I have been in the past ready to jump into. Also, with the lack of testosterone, I was worried about how I would handle it. Everything came together, both with the service and me so that I was honored to have helped.

I met the senator years ago when he was mayor of Cleveland and I was in charge of the National Guard detachment that was assigned to Cleveland during the snow storms. He said he remembered me as well as some other times that I had met him when he was Governor. I was impressed by his concern for the Cox family. Greg gave a great testimony to the Senator and as I walked with the Senator back up the aisle, he was choked up. He related to the family about his loss of a daughter many years ago while she was walking to school. I saw in him and Greg the same sense of loss of a child. I remember that same sense of loss in my Grandpa Moore when my father, his only child, died. For years afterwards he called me Jackie, my dad's name. The senator asked Greg is there was anything he could do. Greg mentioned that Ryan was going back to convoy duty and expressed concern that his head may not be in the game when he returned to Kuwait/Iraq. The senator said he would call General Casey to see that Ryan had some time to adjust. Greg expressed that Ryan in no way wanted out of his duties there, but that he was concerned. The senator understood and said he would see that he was looked after.

I was glad of the professionalism shown by the military personnel who were assigned to the detail. It is a tough duty. I remember doing the same thing three times while I was in service. They were all training accidents, but none the less, they were soldier doing their duty. It made it no less hard to do. We should all be proud of these men (and women) who have volunteer to serve. Several have completed two and three tours in the middle east at their choice. I salute them all and pray to God for their protection.

Doctors update and test results

While at my IV treatments today I talked with the doctor. He gave me the results of the treatments so far. I am passing a lot of mercury, aluminum and other heavy metals that affects the immune system. He also showed me the thermography results from my scans six weeks ago. They look like something you would see from NASA. It is obvious the areas where the surgeon went into and also the areas of the radiation. My right side is totally lit up while my left side is not. He said it is the lymph system trying to repair itself from the surgery and the radiation. That makes sense regarding what Patti and I observed last night. We were splitting a truckload of wood at the office. I was wearing one of my army brown t shirts. We noticed that the shirt was darker all over my body except for the radiation field area. My left armpit was soaked while the right was perfectly dry. Guess that means my deodorant will last twice as long as I do not need it on the right side. The thermography picture shows this whole area a the brightest of colors and it matched what my shirt showed last night.

I am getting along well. Feeling good and eating a lot, but yet still dropping weight by about 1/4 # per week. Patti wants me down about another 20 pounds. I am down to the last holes in my belts that I bought last summer. My energy levels are up but my stamina needs work. I can go about 30 minutes of a good brisk walk or on a bike. After that my legs get weak and I start really laboring to keep going. We have built it up from the initial 15 minutes just two months ago when I quit the interferon so there is improvement.

Continue to pray for the Jason Cox family. His body is to arrive today in Cleveland. His viewing will be on Friday at First Baptist Church of Elyria for 3-8 and the funeral on Saturday at 11.

June 21, 2008

This past week was a busy one. Patti and I traveled to Tennessee on Tuesday and got home at noon on Thursday. I had to take a contractors license test for Tennessee. We will be traveling soon for the test in Georgia and an upgrade test in South Carolina. We took the camper and stayed at a KOA in Bristol, Tn on the way down and at Salt Fork State Park in Ohio on the way back. Salt Fork is two plus hours from home but both of us were exhausted. The slack time of the past 8 months has made our 12-14 hour traveling days a thing of the past right now.

I am continuing the treatments for removal of the heavy metals out of my system. That will be for the next 14 weeks, twice a week for 8 weeks and every other week for the last 6 weeks. They seem to drain me but nothing like the interferon. I am also having all my silver fillings replaced over the next two weeks, on opposite days of the IV days. I feel I am getting stronger daily and I am loosing weight slowly without giving up anything other than sugar. The old Benjamin Franklin saying about eating like a king for breakfast, a queen for lunch and a pauper for supper is working. I am now at 175 for the first time in 16 years. If it keeps going the way it has been, I will be buying new clothes as my pants and my belts are not staying up very well right now.

Continue to pray for Greg Cox and family on the loss of his son Jason to an IED in Iraq. He was 21. Pray for Pastor Quick and his wife Debbie as they deal with their cancers. Also pray for my mother's friend George as the doctor has advised him to contact hospice. He is doing good right now, but the doctor told my mother that when he turns bad, he will go fast. Pray for my son Steve T. as he is under a lot of pressure with the business. And continue to pray for me and Patti. I feel I am coming along good and have set myself to fight this cancer in body, mind and spirit. Diet and exercise seems to be the key to beating this cancer. I am amazed by how many articles and TV news segments are starting to say the same thing.

June 16th

It has been awhile since I put something on the blog. We have been busy camping out at our church on the church grounds. This makes 13 or 14 years that we have been doing camping on Father's Day. It started as a Father/Son camp out and has developed into a family camp out. Patti and I as well as Clarence and Barb were out there Thursday thru Sunday. Lots of fun and lots of activities. Caleb and Micah came real close (reach out and touch close) to a deer in full run coming out of the woods. Close call. We rode the four wheelers and dune buggy and all seemed to have fun.

Tragic news from the church today. Jason Cox was killed in Iraq by an IED. Jason's dad, Greg, and I prayed many times for his three boys and my son Steve as they were over there. Greg is very proud of his three sons, all of whom are serving in the military. Jason was just three weeks from coming home. I know it strikes my heart hard as I remember Steve's time there and my two of my three nephews who were there. Pray for Greg and his family. Pray also for the nearly 2 dozen other men and women serving who have ties to our church thru membership or family.

New Bikes

Patti and I went out on Thursday and bought new bikes so we can take them with us when we go camping and just to ride in the park and places for exercise. We went 5 miles last night in the metropark in Berea to Strongsville. It is relatively flat so it was something I can handle and will have to build up to longer trips. It was a lot of fun and we were quite soaked by the time it was done with the temp and humidity. We are planning to go on some camping trips soon. The first will be the family camp out at our church this coming weekend. For 12 years Patti and I handled all the details and got the food. We have passed that on as of last year to younger folks. With all that is going on with my health and trying to eat healthy, and now 16 more weeks of IV's, neither one of us has the time to do it. We have to make our trips when we do go, short and not too long. I worry with only one arm to stick if I will be able to make it thru the treatments. Last time I had to have a pick line. These treatments will not make me sick hopefully, just clean the heavy metals out of my system. I get the IV twice a week for 10 weeks then once a week for six. We will miss a week in August as that is our date to go to Canada for 10-11 days.

Pray for friends of ours from church, Jim and Judy Davis as Jim just lost his mother and Judy's sister has but a few days to live. Judy talked to Patti alot because her sister had been diagnosed with cancer about the same time we found out about me. Continue to pray for Pastor Quick and Debbie and their cancer treatments.

Doctor Visits Wednesday & Thursday

Patti and I got our yearly physicals on Wednesday. The doctor said I looked good but wanted to know the statistics of how long they gave me. I told him I didn't ask and that was because I am not a statistic. He then proceeded to tell me about advancements in new technology, but ended it by saying, "It will be too late for me to take it." Talk about a downer. All he did was sing the praises of chemotherapy and how many lives it has saved. He needs to do some reading.

I went to my preventive doctor as they had the results back from my 19 vials of blood drawn three weeks ago plus hair samples. Well the results show I am not as healthy as I should be. My immune system is depressed. I have a lot of heavy metals in my system. I am lacking in Vitamin D very badly. And my cholesterol is overall bad because my good cholesterol is low. All signs of what the interferon was doing to my body as well as the diet that the other doctors had told me to do. So, more supplements and vitamins. Eat more meat and cut out the carbs. Go on an IV twice a week for ten weeks to flush the heavy metals, especially mercury that I have a high dose in my body, take a pill that will tan me so that I will be less prone to skin burns from the sun, and having a half unit of blood taken from me because my iron level is 7 times higher than normal. Oh yeah, and I have to take testosterone shots as my level is very low and causing some of the problems. Then there is the matter of my fillings. I have seven that are mercury silver and they have to come out and be replaced.

Now I am usually a skeptic on things, but something God has put in my path to help me along this alternative way of treating my cancer is survivors who's testimony has helped tremendously. Just this morning a business associate whom I have know for 35 years and who is a cancer survivor told me he has know my doctor for over thirty years. Twelve years ago he was diagnosed with lymphoma. The chemo treatments did nothing. He took the same stuff basically that I am taking and he has been cancer free since then. When he got his cancer they did not give him much hope and the chemo was making him a cripple. He quit the chemo when he was told it gave him a two to five percent chance of a better survival rate, but that he would not be able to walk. He quit, went to the alternative doctor and he is going strong these 11+ years later. This man is a very educated man who I have know and trusted what he has said for many, many years. He is well read and has a lot of documentation on FDA approvals and non approvals and why. I sure wish I would have talked to him a lot sooner.

Patti has women at her exercise class asking questions about my cancer. One of them has a member of her family who has cancer and she is looking for an alternative way for them. Patti has been giving her a lot of information and she has passed on a lot to us. Many conventional medical facilities are now turning to alternative medicine and preventive medicine instead of criticizing it. Kinda like their acceptance of the quackery called chiropractors. Make one think about all forms of medical practitioners looking out for their patients the best way possible and not the way of the almighty dollar.

Blog has been down

I got some nice comments about my last posting. I would have put something on sooner, but the blog was off line for some reason until now. They mainly came from people in the same "club" as it is. I guess when you find out you have something like cancer, you can either run and hide or get the facts and choose a course of action. Although I chose the conventional way to start, I feel the alternative way is the way for me to finish. Just me, just my decision.

Anyways, it was a good weekend with my 56th birthday on Saturday. I know, I look 65, but I really am not inverting the numbers, honestly. The kids took me to Red Robin and then to Dairy King for a chocolate cone dipped in cherry. Patti and my favorite ice cream (except for German Chocolate Cake Ice Cream from Hershey's). I got a card from Ron, Heather, Caleb and Micah that looked like star wars on the front and played the theme when you opened it up. I will not tell you what the card said, you can refer to the 65 above and get the hint. Steve and I worked at the property with Tyler and Josh cutting down a few trees where the pole building will go. It was a fun day and hard work. The boys like to play like they are working too and run around all over the property. We took a few four wheel rides around the yard. Josh want to push the gas so I have to watch as sometimes when I let off the gas we speed up thanks to Josh.

Monday after work Steve and I continued to cut up the trees we had dropped Saturday. I pulled off the poison ivy wherever it was since I do not get it and everyone else does. Patti loaded up the red F350 with logs for the fire for next year, after is drys. Now I will have to unload it tomorrow at the office as that is where we will keep it until it is ready. To leave it on the property would mean it will probably disappear sometime this winter. People are gathering up wood all over the place to help offset the rise in gas prices this coming winter. It was hard work and we were all soaked to the bone. I really enjoy working like that.

Continue to pray for me as I build up my body thru the supplement and healthy eating. I do not even miss things like sweets. Never really liked them before the cancer. Pray for Pastor Quick and Debbie dealing with their cancers. Continue to pray for Ted Kennedy. I would not wish what he is going thru on my worst enemy.