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Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:42 am
by StefanVonS
Even on a really bad day, your posts make me laugh hysterically.
As for the side-effect in the eye, have you tried a full-face helmet? Gruesome to ride in with high heat, but might be worth it to keep your eye from getting irritated not to mention keeping your chin from being formally introduced to the trunk of the car ahead of you in an accident.
Wish you the best of luck with your remaining treatment and I'm sure you'll be free of Lenny soon.
BTW, please submit that card to Hallmark... it is truly a classic. :lol:

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:16 pm
by Darkmage
Heh. I already ride with a full face helmet. But when traffic forces me under 40 mph or so, I flip the visor up so as not to bake in the sun. I'll take the annoyance over the temperature. Especially considering how often traffic forces me to go slow around here. :(

Hallmark takes submissions? Sweet!

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:27 am
by Darkmage
Well, today was the last day. With a little luck, I'll be able to sleep in tomorrow morning!

My radiation oncologist was at the hospital this morning, to my surprise. We had a quick meeting and I should expect the side effects to get worse over the next week and then the healing begins. He's quite confident that Lenny has gone the way of the dinosaur, and we'll confirm that in six weeks with another trip to the multi-thousand dollar CT machine.

I have goop for the expensive sunburn and the promise of quality drugs if the pain gets too bad. Yep. It's been a good day. :)

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:30 am
by StefanVonS
What was the t-shirt of the day?

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 1:22 pm
by Darkmage
I was saving this one for today.

"I survived cancer and all I got was this LOUSY t-shirt."

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:55 pm
by Darkmage
Okay, this is starting to suck. The "expensive sunburn" has gotten worse. A lot worse. My skin peeled last night and it cracked during work today. I have learned not to wiggle my nose or yawn because it causes my skin to crack and split.

I look like I lost a fight with a tanning bed. My eye feels gooped shut every morning and everything around it is so very tender. There is a low-level pain all the time and it's starting to itch.

Heh. Be warned... the next picture I upload is going to be kind of nasty. :(

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 10:20 pm
by SNM
That sounds painful. :( Have you moved to the quality drugs yet?

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:09 am
by Darkmage
No drugs. Just some ointment to keep the skin somewhat moist. It's really not that much pain. It's just annoying.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 3:42 pm
by Darkmage
ET says "Ouuuuuuuuuuch." :(
Image

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:23 pm
by Vrock
ZOMG, don't touch him! He's radioactive, and we all know that can only hurt you if you touch it!

Did you at least get any cool special powers out of the deal?

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 7:55 pm
by Darkmage
Vrock wrote:
Did you at least get any cool special powers out of the deal?
I now have the power of THE EVIL EYE. With one glance from my radiation-enabled optical organ, I can cause the most stout-hearted Starbucks flunky to cower in fear, going "Ewwwwww!!!!"

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 7:59 pm
by steelcity_ballin
Vrock wrote:
ZOMG, don't touch him! He's radioactive, and we all know that can only hurt you if you touch it!

Did you at least get any cool special powers out of the deal?


I'm doing it. This ol' boy here gon turn me into a hulk.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:42 am
by Darkmage
Well, I think this is going to be the last post on this topic. :)

I had an appointment with my radiation oncologist and he is very satisfied with the results of the treatment. I have one follow-up in December, but it looks like I'm cured. The skin around my eye has healed so it no longer looks like KFC extra crispy. I am missing half of my eyelashes around that eye, but I'm told they will grow back in about a month. So it's pretty much all over except for the loose ends.

It's been a long, strange trip and I really hope I never have to go through with it again. Thanks again to everyone at TR who sent along their thoughts, prayers and goat sacrifices. It meant a lot to me.

=========

Speaking of which, I need to take a moment and recognize the person who helped me out the most as this illness unfolded. My wife has been incredibly patient and supportive of me during these last months. She's been taking time off of work to be with me for every appointment with both oncologists, my initial biopsy at the hospital, all of my find-the-cancer tests, a couple of the radiation therapy sessions and my follow-up with the ophthalmologist. She picks up medicine for my side effects, sends email updates to our friends & families and makes sure I get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up and get my head zapped.

This has been a rough ride, but it would have been a lonely and depressing one without her along for it.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:07 am
by Vrock
Darkmage-1, Grim Reaper-0.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:16 am
by Damage
Congrats, man. I've been watching this thread as the story has unfolded, and I'm really happy to see it's turned out well for you.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:16 am
by lordT
Darkmage wrote:
Well, I think this is going to be the last post on this topic. :)

I had an appointment with my radiation oncologist and he is very satisfied with the results of the treatment.
I am glad for you, man. :D

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:11 pm
by Hoser
Glad everything turned out for the better.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:26 pm
by FireGryphon
Congratulations on the victory! It's great that you beat it. Rock on!

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:15 pm
by idchafee
Poor Lenny. :lol:

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:57 pm
by SNM
Yay for beating cancer!

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:16 pm
by paulWTAMU
yaay!!!! Lenny down by KIO Winner isd rakmage!

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:27 pm
by just brew it!
That is most excellent! Congrats!!!

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:32 pm
by Gerbil Jedidiah
Good news indeed :D

That's one ugly eyeball btw :lol:

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:18 pm
by notfred
Congrats on putting the smack down on Lenny.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:20 pm
by Captain Ned
Lenny now sleeps with the fishes; right next to Squiggy.

Seriously, though, good news. I think I know what your Halloween costume will be for the next few years (assuming you got to keep it). :lol:

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:22 am
by FroBozz_Inc
LOL @ the Captain.

Good show Darkmage! It's been fascinating following this thread. Three cheers for your wife too.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 12:16 pm
by derFunkenstein
SNM wrote:
Yay for beating cancer!

++

Time to drink! To Lenny and the Evil Eye.

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 1:01 pm
by paulWTAMU
are they letting you keep the mask??

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:18 pm
by Darkmage
paulWTAMU wrote:
are they letting you keep the mask??

Oh yeah. It spent a week on my desk at work. Every time I got the urge to slack, it was there... staring at me. Reminding me of how I got the job.

Speaking of which, I should probably explain that. When I found out about the lymphoma, I was being cut loose from my project at the CNC due to the project shrinking. My company maintains a list of people who want to move projects, so my manager placed my name on the list and I started getting calls from the managers of various projects. I had a few good interviews and then I was offered the position in Iraq. I interviewed for the Iraq position and they told me I had the job if I wanted it. I then had the unpleasant task of turning down the other projects who wanted me to come work for them, including a couple really primo development jobs. The Iraq managers tell me I'll ship out in the middle of July, my current project told me I'd be off the project at the end of June, so I was pretty much all set.

In the middle of June I got the diagnosis about the lymphoma. This explains the mad rush to find out what kind of treatment I needed. When it was determined that the treatment was not available in Iraq (not many linear accelerators in a war zone, no matter what you read playing Mechwarrior) I was pretty much disqualified from that position. At this point, it's now June 20th or so and I'm off my project on June 30th. So now I need a job. Fast.

So the word goes out among the managers at my company. "Darkmage needs a project. What do you have?" All the projects I had turned down since May when I accepted the Iraq job had filled those slots. I didn't have time to interview the projects that had openings become available since May. In steps "Steve D." Steve is the contract manager for a particularly large collection of projects with a fascinating client whom I have worked with in the past, specifically on one of those projects. There is usually an extensive process to join one of his projects due to the high-stress/high-importance of the job. Steve is also an Army reservist who a couple years ago spent a year in Iraq, during which time my wife and I sent him care packages full of beef jerky, movies, magazines, handy-wipes, popcorn, etc. (He still gives me flack about sending him Amazon Women on the Moon) Steve had the power to talk to one of his projects who had a recent job opening and say "You: You're getting this guy named Darkmage. He's a little green in Java, but he worked on this project a couple years ago. He's filling one of your open positions." And the people of that project kind of had to go "Umm... okay."

So I sit at my current job, day in and day out, realizing that I am there because a friend bent the rules for me when I was in a tight spot. And I have to prove to my boss that Steve D.'s faith in my abilities were justified. It's quite motivating.

In other news... I'll take a picture of the mask where it currently resides, on the wall in my house. I'm on vacation right now, so it will be a couple of days. The reason I'm on vacation is because my wife had surgery last Friday to replace the VNS implant that controls her epilepsy. She came through the surgery just fine and is recovering nicely in our room at the resort.

Heh. Between the two of us, we're just a mess of medical issues. :)

Re: What's a good website for hypochondriacs?

Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:35 pm
by idchafee
Well, at least you guys hit your deductible for the year