Buckeye Mike

Under normal circumstances the last week or so would have been really good. I saw my family at my brothers on Saturday. I saw more family Sunday when I went to see my Uncle David and Aunt Lora back home. It was a busy week at work, with an escalated workload from a weather pattern that had us dodging lightning and tornadoes all week. Those who do not understand what I do for a living may think I am crazy. Those who do understand or work with me are kicking themselves for not being here. I spent a lot of time with friends, both new and old. I had extra time with the boys, which I will never pass up. And the laugh of the week was when my brother discovered that no matter what options his new Dodge Ram came with, it is in fact NOT a boat. It doesn't float. 15k in damages later, I think he learned a lesson. Honestly though, if I cam along the same stretch of road in the same vehicle, I would have done the same thing. Don't laugh, you would have too. A good week, right? Except tha...

It's been a few days since my last blog. I have been very busy with work, trying to sort out what the next two months are going to be like, and spending time with the boys. But tonight, though its late, I needed to sit down and share a couple things I have seen recently, things that have hit home and made me really stop to think. Ralphie and I have been friends for a long time. He has been there through the birth of all three of my sons, through the loss of my mom, and my divorce. I have watched him go from a very grounded, worry free life through a divorce, and then other curve balls life has thrown at him. One thing I always admired about him was his relationship with his oldest daughter. When she was younger, they were inseparable. She was the apple of his eye, and she was a Daddy's girl. She grew up with John-Michael and Bobbi's daughter Brianna, as we got together often for them to play and for us to catch up. But her Daddy was clearly her best friend. On Saturday ...

Over the last couple of years I have been afforded a tremendous opportunity to travel and see things I have never seen before. Before the inception of this blog I already had been all over, from Seattle to Virginia Beach, Florida to Minnesota, and so many other stops in between. I called myself a traveling man because, like my colleagues around the world, we never know where we might be tomorrow. I have had the fortune recently of meeting someone who has somewhat similar experiences. Only, hers are much more in depth than my few weeks in Chile or few months in Tennessee. She is a true gypsy soul, never being able to stay in one spot very long. A native of Columbus, she has lived in North Carolina, California, Nevada, and more places I am sure I have forgotten. A free spirited guitar player, she told me that when she was a child she told her father that someday she was going to live in Arizona. She had no idea when or even where that state was at the time, but she knew she would go th...

This week started with another doctor's appointment, this time with Dr. O, the ear, nose, and throat specialist. The neuros wanted him to look at my sinuses, since they seem to be in very bad shape. The thought was if I needed to have surgery on them, he could go through the nasal passage to reach the tumor and get a sample for the biopsy. So I went into his office Monday morning with the thought that we were going to look at the films and decide when to schedule surgery. But in what has become the norm recently, things weren't all that easy. When he pulled up the CT scans, he showed me a very tiny spot on the film. There was nothing there. And that was the issue. See, on either side of the area in question was bone. And, he explained, there should be the same in this spot. Essentially, there is a hole in my skull. To further complicate it, this gap is directly adjacent to the tumor. It creates new risks when the surgery is performed. Without going into the medical descriptio...

With patience wearing very thin I began this week wondering when I was going to be able to see a neurosurgeon. With the news my primary care Doctor had given me, I was anxiously awaiting the specialist to whom he was going to refer me to call. As Monday went along with no word from him, Purple was working the phones and her professional relationships to get me into another neuro at OSU medical center. By noon she had a CT scan, MRI, and appointment set up for today with the best in the state. I decided that I would go with this option, since he was quick to schedule and understood the urgency, even if it was only to ease my mind. But by the end of the day the referral from my normal doctor came through, and he wanted to see me the next afternoon. I went to that appointment, and that is where my up and down week started. As I sat in his office on Tuesday afternoon, I hoped Dr. M would tell me that it was all a misunderstanding. Instead, he confirmed my worst fear. There was a re-occur...

Last week was not the greatest week for me. As you know, if you have read, I went from a much needed " workation " in the Pacific Northwest to dealing with a serious health issue that still looming in my immediate future. Already a chronic overthinker , the news left me reeling more than anyone even knew. Possible outcomes and what might happened stuck in my mind all week, and by the end of the day Friday I was ready to not think about anything anymore. Not work, not health, not personal stuff - just let it all go. Fortunately, I was able to do exactly that. I look forward to my time with the boys all the time. Normally, as Friday of my week approaches, I get even more excited, knowing that the weekend is going to be great no matter what we do. Sometimes we spend the whole weekend hibernating in the house, having movie marathons and Wii tournaments. Other days we go out and play, and this weekend fell into that category. Friday night I picked them up at their mom's at ...

For those who read earlier's blog and think I have officially hung up the least interesting man in the world persona, you must not have read the comments after the blog. I expected that since I rarely get comments on the blog itself, they usually come via facebook. But to those who texted or messaged me today, I assure you that post was my attempt at an April Fool's joke. No I am not depressed or throwing in any towel. My health issues are pretty serious, but I am surrounded by positive and upbeat people who try to ease my mind everyday. So just to make sure everyone knows, I will still be here, blogging as often as possible. You can even look for another tonight...........

Recently I have done quite a bit of what I call open heart blogging. Meaning, I sit down and the computer, put my fingers on the keyboard and whatever comes out is what i publish. There is a lot going on in life right now, from the health issues to professional uncertainty to personal battles that seem to be wearing down on me more and more everyday. I have always prided myself on making this blog sometimes serious, sometimes fun, often informative, and always a good read. But my lack of posts recently and the nature of them makes me feel as though I am plowing right now. I have thought recently about making the blog be private. Unpublished posts that I can record my thoughts into and go back and read later, hoping to have learned something from the exercise. I already have many private blogs that often catch my eye as I am visiting my page here, and I am thinking that keeping my journal private may be the best thing for me to do right now. Besides, I hear from people that my words ar...