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I miss all you guys ..... it is like I dropped out of site for a while ... which is true but my whole life has been pretty much on hold for the past 5-6 years.

I was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2012 .... doctor said I had it for at least 6 years (slow moving cancer) .... all I knew was I was fatigued and had to piss more often and I figured that was normal for old guys like me. Doc said they do not know for sure what causes it , but there are there are 3 indicators in bladder cancer patients
1. long term exposure to industrial dyes and paints
2. long term exposure to farm chemical sprays
3. cigarette smoking

And I have done all three to the max .... painted my first car in 1973 and was in the Auto-body business for 25 years .... and of course I only used the best paints available including DuPont IMRON on custom cars and aircraft , and of course those paints are deadly strong and full of Isocyanates .... and of course in those early days we did not have proper respirator-masks , and when I did have them , the charcoal filters would be plugged but I would paint anyway. I remember painting a white Cessna 172 in IMRON and I was coughing up white stuff for days afterward .... the foolish things a guy like me did to make a buck and meet a deadline.

In the 1990's I sold my business to my younger brother and I semi-retired to my old cottage (shack) next to our family farm ... it had running water , 60 amp fuse panel , and a wood stove for heat ..... and I absolutely loved it .... I was raised on a farm so I was "right at home"

Had a few bucks but not enough to full retire .... I gave my young brother a good deal because I wanted him to succeed and he did really well and recently he also sold out and retired .... the business was recently purchased by one our long term employees and he is also doing very well and the other 5 employees remained as well .... It has been very rewarding to see my original business continue under my name and it remains one of the highest rated shops in Manitoba.

So needing a bit of income I would crop-spray all summer in a 90 wide foot high-boy RoGator crop sprayer ..... all the while wishing I was spraying from a helicopter hehe .... I would spray 20,000 to 30,000 acres per summer ...... the equivalent of what a small farmer would do in a lifetime ... but I loved that job and loved being in the farming community and even though the hours were from 6 AM to 9 PM time flew by ..... could earn over $6k a month and then take 7 months off in the winter.

Anyway , point is I have had plenty of exposure to farm chemicals to cause bladder cancer.
Here is a short video of a RoGator if anyone wants to see one (I have lots of my own pictures but (like Stan) they will not post for some reason


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And cigarette smoking , pipes and cigars , you name it I did it (but never smoked weed haaaa sorry Jake ) I was (am) a confirmed smoker ..... 2 paks a day for 48 years (I am 68 now) .... and I am talking Canadian packages of 25 each. No wonder I got bladder cancer ....haaaa ... I always expected I Would get lung cancer.

More in a minute in the next post.

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So in early 2013 I had about 5 hours of surgery ...... it was 80% of the lining of the bladder , which is good because it was not in the bladder muscle itself and there is a 67% success rate from that type of surgery after chemotherapy.

Should mention the state of the art equipment used , I dont have a cut or scar anywhere .... they send a man and a camera and a flashlight and a knife up my pekker and do it all by remote control and the surgeon watches it on a monitor (I am anesthetized thru it all of course)

As a side note it is a "mild" form of chemo .... I did not loose my hair and turn into a skeleton like some cancer patients. My heart breaks for those folks.

I also found it interesting that in 1956 some underpaid lab technician accidentally discovered that a live Tuberculosis Bacterium will go inside a cancer cell ..... so here is what they do .... the lining of the bladder is like skin , even looks like skin , and it constantly renews itself like skin .... so my chemo involved putting a liquid solution of live TB bacterium in my bladder , I have to wait for 2 hours and pee it out into pure Javex to kill the solution

So now my immune system thinks it has a massive invasion of Tuberculosis and goes to work casting out the TB and it takes the cancer cells with it. Just that simple. Cant get TD thru the bladder .... you have to breathe in the spores and they settle in the lungs. But my immune system made me as sick as if I had full blown TB , tired and useless for 4 years , but no pain or distress and dont need any sympathy. Had to go back for one more surgery in 2014 to remove some remaining cancer they missed the first time.

Now for something funny , like I said My hair did not fall out during chemo .... it grew like crazy ... like something out of a werewolf movie .... no kidding .... I have never had hairy arms or legs but the hair grew over 6 inches long .... I looked like a Sasquatch or a monkey or something ..... it was hilarious .... I took some hair clippers and shaved most of it off , some folks didn't believe me so I left one 5 inch hair on my left arm and show them the proof.... haaa.

more in a minute

Thanks for sharing Arnie...

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So jumping ahead to 2017 , I had quit chemo , doctors didn't want me to , I had been going back every few months , they would send a camera into my bladder , looked great , no sign of cancer , but there was a small red spot that should not be there , was not cancerous , but would not go away , but that is where the doctors figured it started in the first place.

But the chemo made me so useless I made the decision to stop. Started to feel much better and all of a sudden in Dec. 2017 lost a bunch of weight , went down to 90 pounds and looked like a skeleton with skin on too tight .... haaa.

They sent me in for a cat-scan and the cancer had returned , and moved up to my left shoulder for some reason (had an old injury there years ago) and it moved down to my left lung.

They wanted me to go thru a bunch more surgery , pry my ribs open to get to my chest , all WITHOUT anesthesia ...... I said no thanks !!!! Because my lungs are in such rough shape they were afraid to anesthetize me in case I could not come out of it (it has something to do with lungs taking in oxygen)

In cases like that they do something in your spine that "paralyzes" you from the neck down , absolutely painless they say , but to be awake thru all that I said I would rather die !!!!! haaaa

I declined any more surgery and decided to let nature take its course.

It was the right decision , I have had a couple of reasonably good years physically but it is like my mind was losing interest in anything , like a dark curtain descended over my mind , it was not clinical depression , discouragement or doom and gloom thinking , I have always been a positive type guy and it was puzzling .

I did not become anti-social , yet didn't even want to go for coffee with friends or family , its like I just lost interest in everything I was interested in. Yet I was content , mostly stayed at home , eating good healthy food and for some reason gained most of my weight back , up to my normal 150 pounds or so ..... hell I look almost as good as JAKE!!!

More in a minute , the news gets better

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I knew I would end up on supplemental oxygen some day , but of course stubborn independent me put it off as long as possible.

Then on December 3rd 2019 I turned 68 ...... unbelievable ...... even in my young healthy days did I expect to even reach 60 after abusing my body for all those years. I used to get going on a car project , loved it so much I would work for 3 days and 2 nights without stopping to sleep or even eat properly .... I would run on coffee cigarettes and Adrenalin and just keep going. Of course I would then crash and sleep for two days but the paint job would be darn near perfect and I was happy.

Even when I made 65 I was surprised ..... and now 68 , like I said unbelievable. Sadly all my non-smoking healthy living friends were gone by 60 , I think life can be unfair sometimes .

So early December I caught a cold or a flue or a touch of pneumonia .... kinda strange because I am not a germ-a-phobe but act like one , I dont go in public much , I avoid anyone with a cold , and if I have been out shopping or something I carry in my car some disposable sanitizer bacteria killing cloths and use them scrupulously . ... yet I still caught something.

By Dec 3rd my lungs were badly congested and I knew I was in trouble ..... All the city ambulances are dispatched a couple of blocks from me , I have nieghbors and family who could drive me to the hospital , but stubborn independent wolverine that I am I drove myself (safely) to the hospital "admitted" myself to the emergency ward , told the nurse at the counter I needed oxygen RIGHT NOW !!!! I could barely speak at that point , and knowing that in advance I had hand written a note that said I need emergency oxygen so I waved the note at her until she summoned a doctor , flashed the note at him , and instead of putting me on oxygen he decided to first test my blood oxygen levels.

Funny as hell what happened next ..... he must have figured out I am as good looking as JAKE!!! and didn't really need oxygen ...... until he tested me ..... I have never heard a doctor swear before but he said HOLY CRAP your oxygen level is 62 % ...... and he said ... "you are still alive" .... "and drove yourself here" ????? ...... man you must be a tough cookie ..... after a few deep breaths of oxygen I removed the mask and said I am not all that tough ..... I am a wolverine , a rather strange species and I know a great group of guys who are just the same ..... it got the HOLY CRAP speaking doctor to smile .....

Fool that I am , I figured they would put me on oxygen for a couple of hours and then let me go home with a portable tank or something. But they made me stay overnight which was fine with me .

Next morning my actual personal doctor came ..... you guys would like him , another day I will tell some cool stories about him ..... he looks like a 300 pound sumo wrestler , has about size 15 feet , he is South Korean I think , and boy can he sing. .... more about him another day.

Next post has the real good news .

Back in a minute

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Turns out they kept me in the hospital for 12 DAYS !!!! And normally I hate hospitals. Strong antibiotics to solve the lung-pneumonia issues , full time oxygen until I got up to 92-94% which is normal ..... anything under 90% is a concern ...... 88% is serious ...... and 80 is an emergency situation ..... yet I was operating at 62% ..... unbelievable.

However it was also very beneficial because the Portage Hospital has decent food , quite tasty , great nurses , I know most of them , they were customers of mine in years gone by , we always did good repairs and it sure paid off at times like this.

Now this is for Stan , it is going to be rough on him but I figure he can handle it ....... for the past couple of years , like I said , I have been eating healthy but smaller and smaller portions , until I got to the hospital and on those strong antibiotics.

I must have had an underlying abominable or intestinal infection , my abdomen was a bit bloated , but my dad got a bit of a pot belly as he aged so I figured It was the same thing for me.

All I know is the antibiotics for my lungs also fixed whatever infection in my digestive system because after 3 days I was as hungry as a starving man. So the nurses put me on double portions I just devoured them in 2 minutes , ate every morsel , then they would make me a couple of sandwiches for a midnight snack and even that was barely enough. Even at home now I still eating like a starving man ..... and right at this moment I am confident that I could beat Stan in that rib-eating contest we have been sparring at for years.

In other words if you guys are laying bets PUT YOUR MONEY ON ARNIE !!!!! ..... sorry Stan , I just had to warn you Love you my friend.

Still haven got to the rest of the good news .

Back in a minute

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Forgot to mention in the last post was that the 12 days in the hospital were actually enjoyable and I have overcome my dislike of hospitals , and in the future when my life is coming to an end that is the same ward I will be on so that is good .

Like I said earlier , I always expected to be on supplemental oxygen some day , but to me it was for my physical body , nothing to do with my mind or brain .... or so i thought.

Turns out that is actually the most important ..... lack of oxygen in a drowning , or strangulation or heart attack is what kills a person , and within minutes . That is why they immediately put emergency victims immediately on oxygen ... it is in order to keep the "brain from dying" .... the other stuff like getting the heart working again can come afterwards.

In other words in my situation at 62% oxygen levels my brain and mind began to stop functioning properly ..... thus that "dark curtain" that seemed to descend on me a few years ago.

So the fantastic news is my mind and brain is right back , best I have been for years , I have gained back my enthusiasm and all my interests have returned to normal , just like the snap of fingers and ARNIE IS BACK !!!! what an exhilarating experience ,

I feel like a teenager again and have to keep the brakes on and pace myself a bit ... I have been home now for exactly one week and have accomplished more than in the past 4 years or so. Unbelievable.

Just wanted to share that with my Wolverine friends , I have always had a lot of friends but our small group is my favorite. Thanks again everybody , love you all .

Forgot to mention that right at this moment I feel I still have a couple of good years ahead of me , I no longer cough up blood , and no blood in my urine so at least so far it is a bright outlook.

Of course I am on home oxygen for the rest of my life which causes me no distress whatsoever, my biggest concern was my freedom to come and go when I wanted.

And it is better than anything I could even dream for , simply amazing.

I am not a socialist , yet I have begun to praise our "free health care" we have in Canada. They set me up with an in-home oxygen producer , size of a medium size suitcase , it plugs into the 110 outlet on the wall , plus a huge steel oxygen tank as standby in case of a power failure .... good for more than 3 days ..... and if I wanted to go visit family for a week the oxy-producer can be brought along and just plug in to any wall outlet.

The best part is they set me up with 8 portable tanks on wheels I can roll out to my car and go out for a whole day if I want , plus a bunch of mini tanks that last for 3 hours for shopping or coffee shops etc and they fit in a small carry bag or backpack and all that is showing are the small tubes into my nose. Hell , like I said earlier I look so good you would think I was JAKE!!! or something

And none of it cost me a cent.

From my first surgery in January 2013 to today the only cost to me was $49 for a semi-private hospital room. Cant beat that.

Great to read that, Arnie. Best success story all year. Keep it up (so to speak).

And even with quite tasty nurses - yum yum... (did I get that right? LOL)

In Denmark we also have "free" health care. Although through mismanagement it eats up a lot of tax money.

(and that FOX c*nt mouthpiece dared compare us to Venezuela - such lazy stupidity. We really live the american dream here)

Cheers
Erik

On Edit: Second great cancer success story. Sorry Jake...

Good onya Narnie... glad all is coming good for you (as good as it can)

You should ask them for a couple of bottles of nitros oxide.... for when you are in a hurry

Have an awesome Christmas Narnie... and all of the other ....





Don't forget to drink a toast to Farmer Jim this Christmas

Arnie....I had no idea you had gone through so much. You are a tough cookie. Hey, I bet you could out eat me on a pile of ribs also! I dont eat as much as I used to. Instead of a 20 ounce rib eye, a 12 ounce is plenty. Years ago Barbara and I would eat a whole pound of fried bacon for breakfast.....but....a pound is typically 18-20 slices . She only would eat 3 slices , 4 at the very most. Now we only eat about 1/2 a pound....she eats 3 slices at the most...and myself just 6-7.

Back in my rib eating prime, we will never know who could eat the most ribs....but if you and I ever got into a rib eating contest, there would be several hogs with a filet-o-hog cavity in them!

Hey, you remember that eagle story that I had shared with you intimately over the phone. That motivation drove me to carve that eagle in front of my stair shop. You may not have read that thread. Anyway, my Amish buddy that wrote that Isaiah 40:31 scripture in my card he gave me at my dads funeral has another eagle chapter to it.

Howard and I were driving down the interstate 100 miles the other day as he was reading a contract between him and I regarding my stair company. I quickly pointed to something sitting on an interstate sign as he looked up from his intent reading. It was the most beautiful bald eagle looking at us. They are very rare in my area and this is the very first time I have seen one sitting alongside a road. I know they are common in many states, but not here. Also, there are now 3-4 bald eagles that live nearby my stair shop now that I carved that eagle. A professor at the University of Illinois lives just next to my shop and he swears that eagle carving is like a decoy attracting them. I get pictures of them occasionally now....instead of only one sighting in 60 years like I was at!

Much more I could share, but you all would think I had a tinfoil hat on now! Ha

I love life more the older I get, because we edge closer and closer to our real eternal life.

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Thanks Erik .... you read my mind .... I think the nurses were worried I might devour them also .... so they put me on double meal portions .... haaaa

Would also like you to know that I have been following your gyro exploits even though I did not post any replies at the time.

I see you have encountered a few snags here and there and are solving them .... way to go !!!! ..... I cant imagine the frustration of trying to source American parts from your "exclusive island" in Denmark ... you handle it very well and you have a great attitude , thanks

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Thanks Madmuz ..... merry christmas to you too .... speaking of nitros oxide my young brother Pete has witnessed how much I have improved during the past 2 weeks and at the coffee shop the other day he was telling everybody that the oxy tank I was using was actually ROCKET FUEL ..... haaaa .... so we are going to make a fake label for the tank that says rocket fuel which should look great because the portable tank is about 3 feet tall , 6 inch dia and is shaped like an actual rocket.

I do not play the disability card and hate to look like an invalid so the rocket fuel sign will solve that. I will post some pictures or post a video some day .... I have the video camera and everything .... just dont know how to upload to YouTube so I will have to figure it out. I will also try to post some videos of me .... of course I want to show off my good looks too ..... even at 68 I have no gray hair or anything.

ps: Just like you Muz .... I also still miss Farmer Jim very much ..... kind of a neat feeling how a man like him can leave great lasting memories . I dont drink much any more but yes !!!! I will drink a toast to Jim .... Original New Orleans "SOUTHERN COMFORT" sipping whiskey .... I keep a bottle nearby for medicinal purposes ..... true story.

We all know that Listerine mouthwash kills bacteria and cold germs but you cannot swallow it because the alcohol is the poisonous type ..... so whenever I feel a cold or sore throat coming on I use Southern Comfort and swill it around just like mouthwash and then swallow it to kill any germs down in my throat. Has a great fruit taste too , try some if it is available in Aus.

Information you didn't ask for but I told you anyway .. haaaa

Stan ..... I still remember all those Eagle sightings you had when your dad headed for heaven .... it is like there was a message there for you that everything is OK. That could not have been mere coincidence . It was pretty amazing .

Speaking of bacon here is what I do (I love bacon) .... At the grocery meat counter I pick up a pound of fresh sliced pork belly ..... sliced about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick ... carefull sprinkle just the right amount of salt on both sides and then fry it until crispy ..... I often do it in my oven in a cast iron frying pan and use the top broil element ..... but it spatters quite a bit but I dont care because I never do any fancy baking like cakes or cookies. I hire a housekeeper every 6 months to come with a hammer and chisel to clean my stove .... haaa

Back when I had a wife she called it "Heart attack on a Plate" .... but I pointed out it was actually low fat because 90% of the fat remain in the frypan and the resulting dry crispy bacon is light as a feather.

I like it in combination with a heaping plate of boiled Burbank Russet potatoes

Sorry for your turmoil.
Glad your pulling through and feeling better.
Nothing worse than dying and feeling like shit !!
Seems as though we are the lucky ones, we get to see it coming !!
There is no good cancer and most are a death sentence.
Happy Holidays, feel good and hit it head on

Thank you for the nice reply, Arnie.

I'm also lazy and often feel a bit down, so it's slow going. But in April I won't need to work anymore.

That ought to help. Less money and more time for myself and the mrs. But I do have several hobbies,

so I'll still need to prioritize. Fortunately I have bought nearly all the "stuff" I need.

Hang in there and a Merry Christmas to you. Plus a lot of happy New Years...

Cheers
Erik

Hi Arnie,
We have never met, but thanks for the story. Hope 2020 is a great year for you. On the national health thing, believe it or not, as a doctor and someone who is now on Medicare in the US (our national health for those over 65), I personally believe we should have a national health system with a private ' add-on' option for those who want and can afford it. To me that would be humane, and still preserve the American way. The most logical approach is a progressive expansion of a system we already have that works reasonably well - called Medicare.
My concern with those in the US who promote all manner of health care systems is that THEY ALL LIE.

On the right you have those who vehemently] oppose any kind of national health system or compulsory insurance, yet they are still pissed off when they don't get care when they need it, or they are pissed when the hospitals take everything they own when they can't pay the bill. Then on the left you have those who make all kinds of claims and promises about national health care - you can choose your doctor, you can get your care when you want it (no waiting), you can get any type of care you want including your sex change operation and maybe even non approved experimental drugs - AND of course it can be done without any increase in taxes on anybody except the wealthy. And the biggest issue is the scam of the not-for-profit healthcare systems in our country, that rape the system with massive costs, and pay no taxes. Same system as our churches by the way. And not to even talk about the insurance companies. So we have many impediments to getting to a cost effective, fair and well functioning medical system, and it would take a sea change in many aspects of how this country operates to achieve it. But first every politician right and left has to stop lying to their bases, and Americans themselves need to get real about the fact that you can't have it all, when you want and how you want without paying for it. And sadly none of that is ever going to happen.

I am so glad Arnie that you are doing well.
The simple fact that you have typed up all that is proof of your well being.
Your humor has always been very entertaining and I always felt we were lucky to know you, my friend.
I am also very happy that you live in an area that is still small-town style.
Even though Winnipeg isn't exactly a small town.
Which is why the health system worked.
Big overpopulated places do suck when it comes to medical needs do to the wait times..... that's how I lost my sister in law.
Your success story is proof of the power of the combination of strong will and science working together.
Glad you are doing well my friend.