eric byrne
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Posts posted by eric byrne
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Congratulations Mike on the clear scan results,great Christmas pezzie.Wishing you and yours a wonderful festive season,may 2013 be a vintage one .
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Good Evening Everyone,
Tuesdays indoor bowls league finished until January,quite happy to be in my warm and snug home tonight,without having to go back out.Its been below freezing in Scotland for several days now,its been all sunny blue skies though,no rain or snow,just super for walking in all wrapped up,the overnight frost dos'nt thaw during the day its that cold,so everywhere is coated white with the frost,its just so beautiful.
Sunday,I gave my reading at the Carol Memorial Service in the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum,we were supported with a Salvation Army Band,a choir from Steppes,also a childrens choir from a local School,it was such a beautiful occassion,there was'nt a spare seat to be had for the service,it was so well attended by the public.The interior of the refurbished Victorian building is just a magnificiant setting,its really nice that the museum gifts its facilities to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation every year for this carol service absolutely free of charge.
I returned to my Docs today about my cough and runny nose,which still remains with me despite a course of anti-biotics the Doc prescribed for my "congested lungs",I finished the pills last Wednesday.Good news the Doc pronounced both my lungs clear,that my cough can be treated using vic in a basin of boiling water and me inhaling the vapours with the towel over my head.My daughter not happy,she wanted me to be referred for an x-Ray?,since this is similar to my situation 4 years ago,just prior to my dx,I do think though its just a cold this time though,oh daughters?.
Still doing my front of house Pantos,enjoying the primary school kids interaction with the cast,such noise they can create,cheering the goodies and booing the baddies,scene at the end,the baddy has lost the sword fight with Aladdin,with sword to his neck,the kids are asked, will we set the baddy free? Noooo cries a few hundred kiddy voices,shall we kill him then? Yesssss is screamed by these same few hundred voices,what a bloodthirsty lot Scottish kids are.
Dinner time,got to go,enjoy the rest of your day everyone,bye.
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Hi Mike,
What a nice post,good to hear from you.I agree with you,its the simple things in life you cannot buy,that are the most important.Please pass onto your wife my best wishes,hope you both have a wonderful festive season and may 2013 be a vintage year for you both.
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Good Morning Everyone,
Its actually 4.20am here in Bonnie Scotland,I know, I should be in bed sleeping at this moment in time.Friday at 8.00pm I was in the SECC in Glasgow with 8000 of my fellow Scots watching a concert of Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra,it was their first visit to Scotland and I bet not their last time given the reception they received.I just love their music,such a joy to listen to,I did get home by midnight so what did I do on returning home?why play a DVD of a concert they gave recently in Italy,Lake Constantine,on the Island of Flowers,absolutely brilliant,if heaven has such an orchestra,take me there.
Hi Lillian,sorry about your daughters marital problems,its just a shame if life dos'nt turn out the way we expect,or hope for,my marriage is a prime example.I may not have a marriage to speak of,but I do still have a joyful and fullfilling life,you mention Christmas habits,for many,many years,my wifes parents,Betty and George would receive Sally and I at their homes on Christmas Eve,we would attend the midnight carol service and return to their home to share a hot mug of home made Scottish Broth,then we would open our respective presents in turn,shortly afterwards off to bed,Christmas Day,just wonderful,relaxed conversations,watch the favourite TV progs eg the Morecamme and Wise Christmas Special,skip the Queens Speech to the Nation(sorry)and have the most wonderful Christmas Dinner.Sadly Betty and George have passed on,what would I give, just to share one more Christmas with them,but I have to be so grateful for the times I did get to share that special occassion with them.This year,my daughter Jennifer and boyfriend Chris will come to us for Christmas Dinner,I will be blessed if they can enjoy the pleasures that I experienced in sharing Betty and Georges company.
Time for bed,goodnight everyone,may this Christmas be your best ever.
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Celebrating!
in HOPE
Congratulations Donna on your 15 years survivorship,you really are such a beacon of hope for everyone here.My best wishes to your husband as his treatments progress.Wishing you both a very Happy Christmas,and a great 2013.
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Sorry Judy KW,my apologies to JudyMI for my error.
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Good Evening Everyone,
Just having a quiet night to myself after the hurly burly of these past few days,I am so busy of late,gymming,bowling,front of house theatre,great to have some time just to relax and "talk" to my friends here.Looking out my study window to the darkness illuminated by street lighting,the first of our winter snow is falling,its a lovely peaceful scene,a winter wonderland as I can best describe it.
I have had a cold these last two weeks I cannot shake,its got into my chest,so I had an appointment with my doc yesterday,who confirmed my lungs are congested,she prescribed a course of anti-biotics to take for a week or so,so hopefully this will clear away the infection.
Busy week ahead,plenty of Panto to look forward to,Andre Reiu Concert on Friday Eve,thinking of putting on my kilt ensemble for the occassion,well, he and his orchestra put in such an effort dressing up for these performances,the girls in the orchestra wear 18th Century crinoline dresses,the guys in tuxedos,so I just have to join in the spirit of the occassion,I think this is Andres first visit to Scotland,most of his concerts are filmed,so maybe I will get my visage on film, LOL.Saturday, going to see my friends the Morgan Lee Band perform in the Clutha Bar in Glasgow.Sunday ABC in the morning, then on to the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum for a Christmas Carol Service sponsored by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation,its called Celebrate A Life at Christmas,its a lovely service dedicated to the memory of everyone who has passed away to Lung Cancer,they have a sixty size choir with a Salvation Army Band,an audience of approx 500,my reading is an extract from Charles Dickens Pickwick Papers,just thought I would share it with you here.
"I read these words now,many miles distant from the spot at which,year after year,we met on that day,a merry and joyous circle.
Many of the hearts that throbbed so happily then,have ceased to beat;many of the looks that shone so brightly then,have ceased to glow;the hands we grasped,have grown cold;the eyes we sought,have hid their lustre in the grave;and yet the old house,the room,the merry voices and smiling faces,the jest,the laugh,the most minute and trivial circumstances connected with those happy meetings,crowd upon our mind at each recurrance of the season,as if our last meeting had been but yesterday!
Happy,happy Christmas,that can win us back to our childish days;that can recall the pleasures of youth;that can transport the sailor and the traveller,thousands of miles away,back to his own fireside and his quiet home!"
It, to me is dedicated to my memories of departed friends,who live on in my heart,JudyMI,Stephanie,Ned,Dawn,Susan and my dear sister Linda.
Goodnight all,wishing you a super next week.
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Good Morning Everyone,
Its just gone midnight,so I am comfortable in opening an new air.Let me first say,Janet its so good to hear from you,such a welcome post to read following such trying times recently you have come through,to feel you are so full of the "Oh be joyfuls" as we say in the the UK.Sorry I have plumb forgot when exactly Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA,but I do wish you a super family day together.
Katie please accept my deepest sympathy for the loss of Rickys father,such sad times we all have accept as part of life.
My youngest sisters funeral service, Friday last,brought such comfort to me,in that the church was absolutely full and overflowing with people who wanted to pay their last respects to Linda,it was remarked the church in all its almost 200 year history had never seen such an attendance,such was the love and respect Linda had gained with everyone who had known her.It was such a consolation for me to discover that so many people really loved her for her friendship and selfless devotion to them.I just wish God had granted her many more years to share with us all.
My recent days had been filled with visits to my family members and working at the Motherwell and Airdrie Theatres,its Pantomime Season-Aladdin- to be precise,seems from what I understand this is a cultural event that the USA has missed out on,come to think of it the rest of the world also,I just love it,it has been part of my life since I was knee high to a grasshopper,the shows I have been covering,are attended by primary school children,to see it again through their eyes,as they show their reactions to the characters on stage,goodies and the baddies,just takes me back to my childhood,these shows are just the perfect run up to Christmas,hope one day you can visit the UK to take in a "Panto" to understand what I mean.
Time for bed,another day tomorrow to cover a further two performances of Aladdin,this runs until the 5th of January,bettcha by then I wont want to see another Panto as long as I live,as the children use the rejoinder "Oh yes you will" "Oh no I wont" I reply,you got to see one to know what I am talking about.Goodnight everyone,bye.
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Good Evening Everyone,
What can I say?,you really are such special friends to me,thank you so much for your support,I am overwhelmed.
Linda and Gordon had no church affilations so I suggested to Gordon,if he agreed, I would approach my young Minister,Ross to provide a service for LInda,he readily agreed,I phoned Ross,he asked when the service is required,I said,first Ross I wanted to check with you,when was in your diary,his reply?,Eric whatever is there, will take second place to meeting your needs,thats so typical of the guy.Well I offered to drive him to Gordons house last night,all the family were there,Ross really rose to the occassion,he was so supportive and eloquent I think he really impressed everyone,we arranged the running order of the service,I got to choose my favourite hymns for inclusion.Ross concluded the meeting with a prayer that just met prefectly for the occassion.So the service will be held in the Airdrie Baptist Church on Friday at 12.30pm then on to Daldowie Crematorium at 1.45pm.There will be lunch at the Crowwood in Stepps.An offering will be made to the National Blood Transfusion Service (Linda had received approx 30 pints of blood during her ordeal) UK citizens volunteer donations of blood without payment to this service.A further stipulation for the service,is everyone has to wear something red,since red was Lindas favourite colour,I suggested wearing my red clowns nose I got with my Halloween costume,it got a laugh from everyone but suprisingly they turned the idea down,Linda would have loved the idea.
Bye for now everyone.
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Hi Everyone,
I arrived at Monklands Hospital tonight with my wife,daughter and her boyfriend,all the family and friends were in the adjacent waiting room to Lindas ICU ward,I went to her bedside with my my sister Irene,I held Lindas hand and talked to her,she remained unresponsive,her nurse approached us to tell us her liver and her kidneys had ceased to function,although she was breathing independantly of the ventilator,it was still giving her a piggy back ride,it had been previously decided with the medical team and her husband Gordon ,that after Lindas children visited,Garry,Scott and Lindsey had some time alone with her,they would turn off all life supporting systems,they had previously stopped her sedation,which should have allowed her to regain conciousness,but she remained in her unconscious state.The nurse was unable to give any indication on how long she would survive,two hours up to some days?.We left leaving Irene and some of the family behind,after some hours,just about midnight Irene phoned me to tell me Linda had passed away some five minutes ago.My heart is broken,she was such a lovely person and will be so missed by all of her family and friends.Thank you for all the support you have given me and my family.
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Hi Everyone,
Thank you Randy,Katie and many others, for the wonderful support you have given me and Linda for her recovery.I was phoned tonight by her husband Gordon,to request me to visit Linda in Monklands Hospital,where Linda had been returned to following her emergency surgery in Edinburghs Royal Infirmary.When I arrived at the ICU,I was intercepted by a nurse who asked me what my relationship to Linda was,when I said brother, she went on at great length to explain Lindas current status,long story short,her liver and kidneys are failing beyond the hope of recovery,I asked about the possibilities of a liver transplant,Dyalisis? anything that could change her situation,the nurse said there is nothing more they could do for her,I further asked,how long could she continue in this state,days?,the nurses reply, I dont think she has days left.Shortly afterwards all the family arrived,they were stunned to see how much she had deteriorated since their afternoon visit,her skin palour, particularly her face had yellowed so much,the sedation had left her unconscious,however,when Irene had told her son Craig was amongst her visitors she opened her eyes and gave a broad smile,before drifting away again.
Linda, ten years my junior,its just so unfair that such a beautiful and loving person should be leaving us so prematurely,she will leave such a gap in so many peoples lives.Its been such a sad week or two following the loss of Susan and Sara too,please god no more.
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Good Evening Everyone,
What a busy week so far,I was up the wee small hours this morning watching the election results coming in,I am not even an American voter,but I cannot resist all the excitement,enough for me to say I think the best man won.
I have not been at the gym in over a week,the theatre has me and Coleen (our Philadelphia immigrant) doing a mail run,stuffing 27,000 letters into envelopes,its mind numbing,but I do enjoy sharing conversation with Coleen with our respective lives at home and abroad,besides helps me gather some money for my Christmas Gifts Fund.
Thanks Katie for mentioning Susans contribution to LCSC,despite the relatively short time she spent with us, she made such an extraordinary contribution towards its well being.We have had such trying times recently,with the loss of so many of our friends,all of whom have made such a positive impact on the lives of many readers who have visited this site,in many ways we shall never be able to measure.As one who has benefitted greatly from the support of my friends of LCSC over the years,I consider it a priviledge to be a participating member of these forums,and will continue do to so for the many years I have left ahead.
If you are a regular reader but a non participating postee to this site,may I invite you to get your quills and ink pots out and drop us a line or two,you know responding to posts becomes easier with the greater the number of participants,I have such an unquenchionable thirst and curiosity about everyones daily lives,particularly friends from different countries and backgrounds.Allow me to try and illustrate what I mean,last year on my first visit to the USA I was able to visit a Pow Wow,it was just mind blowing to me,particularly with my interest in photography,about 600 Blackfeet Indians in full national costumes dancing around in front of me,the colours were just stunning,its a scene I will remember all my life,in telling some American friends about my experience,it was obvious that such occassions were so well visited by them in their lives it has almost become -yawn.So that garden fete you are attending next week or visit to a museum or meeting up with friends lets hear about it,there are so many people here who will enjoy reading about your exploits and be stimulated into responding themselves.Bye for now.
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Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much for the support you have given for my sisters recovery.I visited her yesterday,her doctors have reduced her sedation so she is now aware of our presence,although due to all the life support systems attached to her body, ventilators and monitors etc,she is unable to communicate with us verbally,she can however, maintain eye-contact with us,share a smile and having passed on your well wishes from everyone at LCSC,she shed a tear or two.Its so sad to see her like this,but I have confidence that with the aid of an excellent medical team supporting her recovery,she will survive this ordeal.
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Good Evening Everyone,
I thought I would share my sister Lindas update with you on a separate string,from Susans,it seemed a bit disrespectful to continue posting there.
Linda went through an operation today to have a stent placed in her liver,I am not familiar with this procedure,apparently this is done to stem blood loss and reduce the pressure on her liver,which is currently enlarged and causing problems to other organs in that area.The operation was successful,she is however unconscious and on life support,this is expected to continue for several days.
My other sister Irene visited the hospital today and had an interview with one of the liver consultants,he regretted to inform Irene that in his opinion Linda will not survive this ordeal that there is too much damage in both her liver and kidneys to make a full recovery,however Irene raised this with another doctor who said to her,lets not go there just yet,we have all the skills here in place and excellent facilities to cope with anything that arises.As you may guess I much prefer the second Doctors appraisal,we are all hoping and praying that Linda can make a full recovery.Thanks to all my friends here at LCSC for the support and prayers you have expressed for Linda,it will be my pleasure to pass these onto Linda personally when she wakes up from this terrible nightmare.
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Hi Everyone,
I had a very enjoyable evening out on Saturday with my family and friends at a Halloween Party,I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the pics I took,my daughter and her boyfriend Chris were there,they are the young couple sharing a kiss,I really thought their costumes and make up were brill,you might even spot me in there somewhere.
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Good Evening Everyone,
First things first,Susan, if you are about,I wish you a full and speedy recovery,we really miss your posts here, so do expedite the digit and get back "On Air".
Just about the end of a very busy week,gymming and swimming supplemented with a buffet lunch on Tuesday at Anniesland College,its held once a year, all retired members of staff are invited, so it was great meeting up with all my former colleagues again,Motherwell Theatre on Wed,Airdrie Theatre on Friday.Tonight,I have been invited by a lovely young lady to her birthday party,she is 23,relative of my young sister Irene,you wont believe it,but everyone is to come in fancy dress,well my daughter and her boyfriend are going as Alice and the Mad Hatter,respectively, of course,I visited the fancy dress shop in Glasgow,initially considering going as the white rabbit,I tried the costume on,blooming heck, it would have been stiffling to wear,so I have opted for a clowns costume,it looks really good,I will post in pics of the party.
This afternoon,I was on a stall for the Airdrie Community Health Forum,giving out information packs to the public about lung cancer,all the other major cancer charities were there,I was the sole rep,but I did have a big plus for our charity,a 20ft pair of inflatable lungs,they are of an open design to allow the public to walk inside the human lungs,great idea.I was late in getting to the venue,having been given the wrong location,Scotlands Minister of Health had just left by the time I arrived,I would have loved to have met him,perhaps do a wee bit of lobbying for lung cancer?,however,I did meet up with Dr John Reilly,who operates the Airdrie Health Community Centre,he was delighted to meet me,he did know of me and my work as an advocate but was unaware that I was also an Airdrie resident,he has plans to use me as a LC advocate in his organisation,I also got to meet his support team,they are so up for promoting health awareness to defeat all type of cancer,by early detection.
Tomorrow,is my younger brother Stewarts 60th birthday,his son emailed me to go over to his house collect the house key hidden in the garage,to allow everyone of relatives and friends to get into the house,meanwhile Stewart jnr has his Mum and Dad out to lunch,so when they arrive home,we will all make our surprise appearance,sounds like another day of fun.
Time to don my clown costume,and head for the party,methinks I will be getting strange looks from the taxi driver,think I will leave my big red nose off and purple wig off until I get there LOL.Have a great weekend everyone.
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Thank you Sue,
I really I cannot take any credit,God put the scenery in front of me,all I did was click the shutter release,in fact, the camera dos'nt really capture the full majesty of Scotlands scenery,you really have to visit to see for yourself.I can really promise you, much of Scotland is so beautiful its like living on a film set.
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Hi Katie,
Scotland has an open door,so pack teddy,and come, it will be my pleasure to show you around my favourite spots.This invitation is also is also open to all my friends here.
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Hi Mike,
Welcome to LCSC,it will be my pleasure in getting to know you,the natives here are extremely friendly,positive and supportive,since I live in Scotland they have even forgiven me for the American Wars of Independance,mind you there were probably a lot of Scots who fought on the American side?.
Anyway where was I?,sorry to hear about your wifes dx,I know a lot of stage 4 survivors who are doing really well,my buddy Robert for example, was dxd in 1993 with SCLC,given only 2 months to live by his doctors,asks for the strongest available chemo,to give him the best chance of survival,he is hospitalised for his chemo,he was so unwell in receiving his treatments his family were called to his bedside on more than one occassion,since his docs did'nt think he would see the next day,well to the amazement of everyone Robert makes a full recovery,lives on,then in 2007 he is now dxd with NSCLC,has surgery and chemo,makes a full recovery,today at 72 years young,has the energy and lust for life of people half his age.
In my own case,following my treatments of chemo and surgery,I went back to my GP to ask his permission to be signed fit to return to work,he refused,saying,it would be better for you to get in some quality time with your wife since you only have a maximum of two years left,we went on further to say,quote "I once had a patient who survived 5 years with lung cancer,what a character-but,you are not him".Well that was 4 years ago.I shared his comments with my oncologist,he was astounded by my GPs remarks,telling me he sometimes despaired for his medical colleagues,did I really think he had put me through all these treatments to give me a couple of years?, no,I am fighting to give you 15 to 20 years if not a complete cure.
Well after 4 years I am still here,just to spite my GP,I intent to continue to do so for years to come.I have this ambition to send my GP a five year anniversary survivor card to him next October the 14th.This card will include his comments to me,along with a couple of quotes I have found, which I think appropriate,
"Hope is both the earliest indispensible virtue in the state of being alive.If life is to be sustained,hope must remain even where confidence is wounded trust impaired."
Erik Erikson (1902-1994).
"Hope sees the invisible feels the intangible and achieves the impossible".
Please pass onto your wife my very best wishes for a complete recovery ,I do hope your wife as with yourself, you will develope new friendships with all the wonderful buddies who inhabit LCSC,please find the forum "Just for Fun" which everyone can post in their daily reflections on whats happening currently in their back yards,I have learned so much of American culture by just being here.Oh if you can find some spare time,why not look up the members photo album,I have posted many blocks of pics of my backyard called Scotland,also many of my trips around the USA.
One more quote to close with I found some time ago,which helped me a lot "Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair,it gives you something to do,but it dos'nt get you anywhere".Bye for now Mike hope to hear again from you.
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Hi Everyone,
Been a wee while since I have posted in some pics,thought I would share these with you,beautiful day in Scotland,ideal for a drive to the countryside,hope you enjoy seeing these.
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Good Evening Everyone,
Lovely Autumnal day today,its now about 6.30pm and already getting dark,in couple of weeks out clocks go back one hour,getting ready for the winter to set in,I do hope for a mild one for a change,with little or no snow.
I put my car in for its service on Friday,£164,just add to my pain the the guy tell me I need to replace my front nearside tyre,since it has a deep cut in it,sure enough on checking there was one,I do have a careless habit of hitting the kerb, parking sometimes,so that was an unexpected additional £100 on the bill,thank goodness I have my new part time job to refill my coffers.
Saturday afternoon spent outdoor bowling,last game of of the season,its all indoor now until the spring,we had a singles competition,I won two games,one draw and four defeats,och well i did'nt find myself in the prizes,well theres always next year.
Saturday Evening,I was on duty at Airdrie Theatre,it was a Woody Guthrie Tribute night,I was'nt really looking forward to this one,since I really did'nt know anything of his music,or so I thought,when I entered the theatre the performers had set up onstage 15 of them with some others offstage ready to join in,what a night,guitars,mandolins,violins,there was even a guy with a accoustic bass guitar,I never knew there was such an instrument,the band played to-gether,then a individual performer would step up front to the mike and sing,each person in turn did a solo slot,everyone was absolutely brilliant,shame was the audience was about 80 strong,this show deserved better,maybe on their return next year word will have spread?.
Finally,since the dinner gong has sounded,today is a special day for me, 14th of October,its four years ago I was diagnosed with lung cancer,one raspberry blown to my GP who predicted only two years for me.Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone,bye for now.
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Hi Deb,
Welcome to LCSC,sorry to read of your dx,I arrived here about three years ago and found the buddies here so friendly and supportive,all my doubts and fears about my cancer dx just seemed to evaporate,with each post I made and the responses I received from everyone.I am really looking forward to getting to know you,can I suggest you visit our "Just for Fun" forum,I just great sharing the daily lives of all the buddies here,I live in Scotland and love to hear about things that are going on in downtown USofA,since joining here I have made two trips to the USA and met a few of my online friends here,you know,I like to say,lung cancer may have rained on my parade,but it sure came with a hugh silver lining,I can promise you that since becoming a lung cancer advocate my life has never been so much fun,it has brought me new friends and experiences I could have never even imagined,being filmed,on the radio and in newspapers,speaking at conferences,gosh its just been a whirlwind these recent years,how I love life,I just dont want the music to stop.If you have a wee bit of spare time,you can find some of my adventures by googling travellingeric/facebook Try to look on your dx as a new beginning,time to be completely selfish with yourself to enjoy every minute of each day,look for new adventures,maybe things you've always wanted to do but never got round to it,I always wanted to visit the USA but it took me until my sixties and my dx to do it, and I did'nt half, a seven week voyage around the States,just going where the wind blew me,no script or plan,I just boarded Amtrak trains to see where they would take me,I had an absolute ball,at the end of my trip,someone remarked to me,you must have been really lonely travelling around by yourself,I replied,lonely? I was never lonely for even a minute,everywhere I went I met up with such open and friendly Americans who spoiled me to a fault.Sorry I do ramble on at times,hope you have'nt fallen asleep?,bye for now.
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Hi Susan,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us,I can learn so much reading from others experiences and feelings,we are all human and it is amazing to me to find so many things in survivors reflections that have crossed my mind.For the life of me,I dont have the puff to run for more than a couple of minutes,I go on the treadmill in the gym,I set it at 3.5mph and a gradient of 3%,and I am off,a couple of minutes into my exercise I am usually flanked on both sides with fit young guys,who set their machines for the four minute mile,and run furiously for about an hour,I used to feel so crestfallen,not any more,I now accept what I can do and be happy with that,who knows maybe one day,I can regain a fitness level that will allow me to run a bit?.
I was sorry to read about your pain,I do hope this will ease to disappear soon as.Dont worry about sharing a good moan whenever you feel the need,we all do from time to time,it was just your turn.Best Wishes.
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Good Afternoon Everyone,
Not long home from my lunch with my gym buddies in Glasgow,any weight lost from gymming and swimming this morning, has been more than replaced.
After some lovely sunny days recently we are back to rain again,I had a lovely two days in Birmingham at the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Conference,meeting up with so many survivors is always a great tonic for the soul,speakers were really good,got to meet at last, Lyn Barrington,like our Sara,fit, young non-smoker,takes the doctors over a year to discover she has stage 4 lung cancer,since her dx just over a year ago,she has made such an impact on raising lung cancer issues on her website "I am the face of Lung Cancer",she also has a tireless energy in encouraging others to support her fund raising schemes for lung cancer,I am in awe at her achievments in such a relatively short space of time,goodness knows what she will have acheived in a year from now?.Our train ride home last night should have deposited us in Glasgow by 9.20pm,however,we were stopped at Carlisle,a town just outside the Scottish border,some thing to do with overhead power lines being down,after a wait of about 30mins,we are informed they have decided to re-route our journey to another line,which can only permit speeds up to 60 mph,this will add two hours onto our journey.Luckily I am in good company and the journey passes without seeming tedious,(a little glass or two of vino collapso also helped).We arrive in Glasgow Central at 11.45pm,my last train had already departed to Airdrie,however Mr Branson has arranged a taxi at his expense to take me home,apparently, in the UK,so a passenger tells me,any train journey that exceeds it stated duration by two hours,the passengers are entitled to receive a full refund on that rail ticket,I have phoned the Roy Castle org to investigate this and accept any refund from my ticket as a donation,this could come to quite a lot of money since the charity paid for quite a few of us on that train,including all their Scottish staff.Gosh,it that were a condition of travel on Amtak,when I used that network,I could have travelled around America for free,for weeks LOL.
Hi Susan,thanks for sharing the wedding pics,please pass on my best wishes to the happy couple,may they have a long,loving and prosperous marriage.I love the little boys expression on his face,is'nt that just like kids,when you want them to behave properly,they take delight in screwing up your plans?.
Just about time to get myself ready for my indoor bowling tonight,enjoy whats left of today,bye everyone.
6 years today!
in HOPE
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Hi Janet,
Congratulations on your six years,gosh,although I have just passed my four years of survivorship in October last I so remember in 2008 being told by my lung nurse and my GP I had only two years to live, max.Its such a pleasure to me to be still here and able to respond to you,may we be all blessed with many more years to continue our "conversations".It was a pleasure to meet you last May at the Hope Summit in WashingtonDC,with luck something we can repeat.
Best Wishes for the Festive Season,may 2013 prove to be a vintage year for all of us.