I had a very full day at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center on Tuesday. A good friend put my mother and I up for the night in the East Bay, drove me to my MRI, and kept my mom company all day. My MRI took over two hours. We did not complete my doctors visits, blood tests, nurse interviews, and other exams until after 4 PM. I was at the MRI building at 10 AM. We left the East Bay at a quarter to 9 AM. The traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area is phenomenal. A colony of carpenter ants in the jungles of Panama have nothing on the traffic activity of the East Bay. Fortunately we had three people in our car and could take advantage of our car pool to get around the 40 minute backup at the Bay Bridge.
My friend did get me to the church on time. Offering us his home to stay for the evening and his expert driving. His kindness has been very comforting for me and my family.
I have a new Neuro Surgeon Fellow from Quebec, Canada. She read the MRI and my treatment has been effective in arresting the growth of the tumor. The tumor has not “miraculously disappeared” as I have been visualizing, but I am working on that.
I have been visualizing condors and vultures carrying away dead cells from my skull effortlessly soaring on the thermals of love available to me from my friends, family, and community. I may need to develop a more active visualization like my dog eating active tumor cells the way he eats deer poop I am getting skilled at visualizing positive changes in my skull.
I told my Drs. I was able to get my heart rate up to 185 beats per minute and I had no difficulty recovering my heart rate back to aerobic levels. My Drs. expressed some concern about my exercise intensity. They cautioned that me exercising above my lactic acid threshold rate increases the possibility of a seizure. My Drs. did not forbid me from exercising intensely and I do plan on continuing to find where my maximum heart rate is going to be. I also informed my Drs. how I manage tinnitus with using simple mantras or standing on my head. Sometimes I think my docs do not know what to think of me.
I had a bit of a shock on Tuesday when I tried to refill my drugs. My drug copay changed from about $40 a month to $582 a month. Wow! I think this error is going to be worked out between me, my employer, and my insurance company. This type of expense can be stressful but nothing scares me. No problem is so complex that it cannot be worked out in a mutually satisfying manner. I will be starting chemo this cycle two days later than planned but that should not be an issue in my overall health outcome.
Today I started work at 6 AM and stopped working a little after 5:30 PM. My brain is strong, flexible, and powerful. The space between my ears feels good. My ability to concentrate is back. Work is good.
I am going to enjoy the rest of the evening with my father.
Peace and Love,
Jack Burton
4/16/2008 8:12 PM Pacific Daylight Time
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