just a quick note to say that after a what seemed like ages but was actually on 10 days the results from my latest excision came back with flying colours! they were able to conclude this time that they successfully got it all, no nasty cells left behind. YAY.
thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and positive energy, for all intense and purpose they worked! i have had the pleasure of spending some quality time with my family who are supportive and loving as per their usual MO. over the past few weeks, when not dropped by illness or post surgery pain i've been able to touch base with some old friends, some of whom i haven't seen in a few years, all are doing great.
you have all been more helpful than i can even begin to express so please take this small thanks and know you've helped me through a difficult time.
Wednesday, February 17
Monday, February 15
happy family day!
hi all, sorry for the lax behaviour with regards to my postings and musings on my blog. let me recap the last few fun filled weeks as i am sure you are dying to know all the exciting and fun things i've been doing to fill the time...
lets being with my head in the toilet, for that is exactly how my return to ottawa began, praying to the porcelain god oh joy. i was literally felled by the debilitating stomach flu for the whole weekend. managing to get up just in time for my doctor's appointment monday morning. the surgery lasted for 55 minutes (much longer than i had expected) but it felt like only a few minutes due to a wonderful suggestion from my sister ... NO2/laughing gas = AMAZING. (thanks lara)
maybe now would be a good time to discuss drugs vs pain. regardless of how we feel about drugs illegal or prescription i think we can almost unanimously agree that pain is bad. so why is it i had to wait until i was 32 to be giving NO2 to help ease the pain and anticipation of pain? throughout my life i have had my fair share of cuts, bruises, fillings/teeth pulled and later in life interesting (and scary) bouts with foreign born infections. never once was i offered anything for the pain aside from local anesthetic (and if i may point out those needles tend to hurt as much if not more than the offending problem). why is this? why oh why would we subject people to pain without even the offer of respite? NO2 happens to be even better than a dulling of pain i would dare to describe it as fun, i was completely removed from the experience of having a doctor roughly cut, scrape, dig and sew just below my lower lip for just under an hour. i would not have wanted it any other way. from now on i will take responsibility and ask for help with the pain instead of stoically enduring simply to say i did.
so the surgery was bearable (fun) but the post was brutal. my lower lip swelled and swelled to the point of ridiculous. i was likened (by me) to a white bubba from forest gump, not cool. unable to drink but from a straw, eating but the most basic of soft pureed foods (thanks for all the effort and delicious smoothies and milkshakes mom!) this lasted for 4 days, brutal, it got to the point that i believed my swelling lip would never subside and was beginning my life anew as a freakshow scarring little kids and making babies cry being my new niche.
but then on the 5th day the sun shone and my lip reduced, and the people rejoiced!
saturday i woke with a purpose, a raison d'etre. off to look at some new cool sleeping bags that occupy 1/4 of the space of my current sleeping bag, it just made me giddy. then off to coffee with a couple of friends. a very successful coffee if i may say so, 1 richoo is working on my professional website (so when it gets launched and looks super cool you know where to go for your wicked cool site) 2 recruited my buddy marc to join me on a scuba adventure in early april! how cool is that! we both have been wanting to get out padi for ages and now we plan to get it together in the most inexpensive places in the americas on a reef that is considered second to the great barrier reef! not to mention march and april are two months you are likely to encounter whale sharks! omg!
from there i got in the car and headed to my sister's where i've been since. together (lara, mike, katie and matthew) we celebrated valentine's day and now family day. oh the fun we are having! they say the best medicine is family and i would have to agree with "them". when katie saw my face she said "uncle damon, what happened, you have a booboo?"
"well katie, i went to the doctor and he did some cutting and making me better"
"does it hurt?"
"well yes a little but not so much anymore"
"uncle damon"
"yes katie"
"i am so proud of you!"
well if your heart doesn't melt from that you just may dead inside. (that was harsh so i am going to add a smily face to lessen the impact) :-)
so now i am waiting for the results which will of course be good news and filing my days with fun, family and friends. trying to accomplish a few minor improvements on my pack and travel system, see as many friends as possible and spending some quality time with my family.
until there is more to report, be well.
lets being with my head in the toilet, for that is exactly how my return to ottawa began, praying to the porcelain god oh joy. i was literally felled by the debilitating stomach flu for the whole weekend. managing to get up just in time for my doctor's appointment monday morning. the surgery lasted for 55 minutes (much longer than i had expected) but it felt like only a few minutes due to a wonderful suggestion from my sister ... NO2/laughing gas = AMAZING. (thanks lara)
maybe now would be a good time to discuss drugs vs pain. regardless of how we feel about drugs illegal or prescription i think we can almost unanimously agree that pain is bad. so why is it i had to wait until i was 32 to be giving NO2 to help ease the pain and anticipation of pain? throughout my life i have had my fair share of cuts, bruises, fillings/teeth pulled and later in life interesting (and scary) bouts with foreign born infections. never once was i offered anything for the pain aside from local anesthetic (and if i may point out those needles tend to hurt as much if not more than the offending problem). why is this? why oh why would we subject people to pain without even the offer of respite? NO2 happens to be even better than a dulling of pain i would dare to describe it as fun, i was completely removed from the experience of having a doctor roughly cut, scrape, dig and sew just below my lower lip for just under an hour. i would not have wanted it any other way. from now on i will take responsibility and ask for help with the pain instead of stoically enduring simply to say i did.
so the surgery was bearable (fun) but the post was brutal. my lower lip swelled and swelled to the point of ridiculous. i was likened (by me) to a white bubba from forest gump, not cool. unable to drink but from a straw, eating but the most basic of soft pureed foods (thanks for all the effort and delicious smoothies and milkshakes mom!) this lasted for 4 days, brutal, it got to the point that i believed my swelling lip would never subside and was beginning my life anew as a freakshow scarring little kids and making babies cry being my new niche.
but then on the 5th day the sun shone and my lip reduced, and the people rejoiced!
saturday i woke with a purpose, a raison d'etre. off to look at some new cool sleeping bags that occupy 1/4 of the space of my current sleeping bag, it just made me giddy. then off to coffee with a couple of friends. a very successful coffee if i may say so, 1 richoo is working on my professional website (so when it gets launched and looks super cool you know where to go for your wicked cool site) 2 recruited my buddy marc to join me on a scuba adventure in early april! how cool is that! we both have been wanting to get out padi for ages and now we plan to get it together in the most inexpensive places in the americas on a reef that is considered second to the great barrier reef! not to mention march and april are two months you are likely to encounter whale sharks! omg!
from there i got in the car and headed to my sister's where i've been since. together (lara, mike, katie and matthew) we celebrated valentine's day and now family day. oh the fun we are having! they say the best medicine is family and i would have to agree with "them". when katie saw my face she said "uncle damon, what happened, you have a booboo?"
"well katie, i went to the doctor and he did some cutting and making me better"
"does it hurt?"
"well yes a little but not so much anymore"
"uncle damon"
"yes katie"
"i am so proud of you!"
well if your heart doesn't melt from that you just may dead inside. (that was harsh so i am going to add a smily face to lessen the impact) :-)
so now i am waiting for the results which will of course be good news and filing my days with fun, family and friends. trying to accomplish a few minor improvements on my pack and travel system, see as many friends as possible and spending some quality time with my family.
until there is more to report, be well.
Wednesday, February 10
my attempt to learn spanish - the plan: fly into cancun january 9, travel through belize to xela, guatemala for a month of spanish lessons. another tw
as you know i am back in canada for a short spell but this morning i came across a very fun blog of a young lady doing much like i was doing and thought that while you can't live vicariously through me, we could all live vicariously through others like her...thoughts? well like or not here it is.
Sunday, February 7
now that i am back in canada...
for those of you who don't know my politics, this is a satire of the current ruling political party that i have NO love for.
for those of you who do know my politics, this made me laugh it just might do the same to you.
enjoy.
for those of you who do know my politics, this made me laugh it just might do the same to you.
enjoy.
Thursday, February 4
i am home (well toronto)
just a quick note to tell you that all is well. after a grueling day - 22 hours of travel - i woke up in a comfy bed in my sister's basement. walking up stairs i heard my sister and her two lovely children playing in the family room. upon opening the door to the basement my niece looked up and with such a look of surprise and joy that all of yesterday's angst melted away. the day was spent playing, playing and then there was some more playing. i also found some time to finish editing a video from monday's adventure (i still haven't told you what i did but soon you will see!) and finishing some potential posts i started while waiting the day away yesterday. below is one called "how is this justice" and it should be noted that my friend who's name isn't jim (i changed it just in case) is no longer in any danger of arrest or anything but that shouldn't make this any less interesting....read on....
__________________
how is this justice?
just a small note to tell of a pretty crazy thing that is happening to a friend and a little advice should you ever find yourself in a similar situation while in guatemala...
the other night while my friend was in his apartment a german guy who somehow got on his roof subsequently fell off the roof. from inside his apartment, jim saw through his window the man falling from said roof. being human, jim rushed to the man's aide, first finding him in the bushes then calling the ambulance and police. wow. but that isn't the crazy part.
yesterday i met with him and he told me that the german died in hospital and that the police wanted him to go to the station for comment but what we learned that afternoon convinced us that going to the police station was a BAD idea. why? well, in guatemala they have a strange law that says the last person to 'touch' someone who then dies is legally responsible and in this case that person was jim. kind of messed up as jim did not invite the german up to his roof, jim did not push the german from the roof, jim did go to his aide and the german did die. considering the law, the country and the situation we both agreed that going to the police station was NOT in his best interest, rather calling the consulate and DC lawyer were what was in his best interest.
i was blown away by the law and by what it ensures, that an injured person is unlikely to get any kind of assistance on the street from passerbys. the government is breeding a negative moral fabric to this beautiful yet fragile society.
not much of a post i know but i think it is important to not only extol the beauty and the majesty of this stunning country but to also show the 'other side', the ugly, the unforgiving, the unjust.
Wednesday, February 3
sitting in the airport in guate
not happy. very tired. started my day after 2 hours sleep at 1:30am. drove to guate for 3 hours. now sitting in the airport 3 hours before check-in as a result of trying to beat guate's rush hour situation (1 km=1 hour).
nothing to report, just whining. maybe chat in miami but only if i can find the time in my 7 hour layover.
today sucks.
nothing to report, just whining. maybe chat in miami but only if i can find the time in my 7 hour layover.
today sucks.
Tuesday, February 2
t minus 12 hours.......
there is not much time to write now as i would (no offense) spend my last few hours in this lovely little community with new friends and new family. in fact that has kind of been the case lately as i am sure you noticed but that does not mean that i've been up to nothing, you will soon discover that it is quite the opposite.....during my 22 hour trip home (gotta love cheap last minute flights) i hope to cut some video, work on some photos and write up some of the last few days in the hopes of ignoring the 'present' - siting on a plane, sitting in an airport, getting overly aggressively searched at the airport.
so cheer up folks, damon is coming home! so clear you calendars and get ready to make me dinner and have me sleep on your couch 'cause it is going to happen!'
so cheer up folks, damon is coming home! so clear you calendars and get ready to make me dinner and have me sleep on your couch 'cause it is going to happen!'
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