I had a nice conversation with Dr. Tamorie Smith this morning. I was up front with her that I had beaten her up pretty badly in my last evening blog post. She was really nice and we had a great, although short, conversation. She answered all my questions with professional ease and I feel good about the medication Dr. Shah prescribed and the prospects of controlling the gout for the future. The pain is almost completely gone in my toe and I’m able to move it with ease.
That is a good thing, because I’ll be doing some walking tomorrow in New York City before our appointment with Dr. Dutcher. We fly very early in the morning, so we’re just about to turn in and try to get some sleep.
Jill and I really appreciate the outpouring of love and support from so many people as we prepare to take this next step on the journey to beat this cancer. I got a call tonight from someone who has a very similar tumor in his spine to the one I had. He is seeking some feedback from my neurosurgeon, Dr. Mike Gorum, because of the good outcome I had from my very tricky operation.
I also want to thank Chuck Williams and photographer Mike Haskey for the very nice Sunday story and photos in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. They did a great job and I’m particularly happy that the Salvation Army got some great ink during a vital part of their year. They do so much good work across the country for people who are in need, especially during the holidays. I was happy to ring that bell again this year!
Just a short post to say thank you to our legion of supporters. We go tomorrow with hope, determination and the knowledge that our “Verizon Network” of supporters will be right there with us throughout the entire trip. I just wish Dr. Pippas could be with us. And Gayla and Sandy (two Hardaway High School classmates and also medical professionals who volunteered to go along with us) who are just trying to wrangle a shopping trip to NYC, I’m sure.
Goodnight. I’ll post again tomorrow as soon as I can. I also hope I’ll be able to upload some video of the meeting with Dr. D.