Alien In My Belly

Starting a couple weeks ago, I started having some pain in my back, as well as in my sternum and hip. That was kind of unsettling, and I let myself think I was recurring for a couple of days, but these days I am thinking that my back just hurts because I tried to play and do stuff before fully rehabilitating my atrophied leg. I was mainly worried because the pain was coupled with this odd movement inside my abdomen, just to the left of my belly-button. The movement is still happening randomly throughout the day. I called a nurse at the doctor's office and explained my symptoms: the pain and the "movement" in my stomach. The nurse said that she didn't understand what I was talking about when I said "movement." Then I told her about how it felt to me like there was an alien implanted in my stomach and it was trying to get out. She said that I would have to come in to the office for her to see if it was an alien or not. I am pretty sure she thought I was an idiot.

But I went in to see Kathy and she checked out my abdomen and she said it was not a swollen spleen or baby alien or anything. And we talked about it and there are a lot of reasons why I could have these pains, but I think we are going to get a PET scan to check for sure. So I imagine I will get a PET scan in a week or two, plus I'll have an appointment Dec. 6 with my radiation oncologist. Until then, I am just getting back to working at the hospital and coaching.

Wimpy Cold

I started work last Monday, and then a couple days later developed another one of my typical coughs. I think I need to go to an alergist or something. Whenever I have a cough, they send me home from work, because we have immune-suppressed kids in there (like I used to be) and they worry about my projectile mucus. So, I am back off work today. My attempt at returning to work was short-lived, but I am hoping to be back in a couple of days. It has been really cool working with the kids there, they are all really fascinated by our common tie - that is, the fact that we have all been afflicted with some ridiculous sickness uncommonly early.

My computer is freaking out on me these days. It goes into sleep-mode randomly while I am typing, and it will do it very often so that it ensures that I am very angry. I am pretty sure it is a hardware failure - like the trackpad sensor has a rare lymphoma of the hardware...I'm going to have to give it a bone scan or possibly throw it off my balcony to see what is inside.

Deer Hunt

I had to post this picture of my brother's first deer and of my sister's pet. I can't believe my punk brother got a 12-pointer. I've hunted at our farm many frigid Texas mornings and never even shot at a deer. My brother, Matt, is that funny looking guy on the tailgate. My sister, Jennifer, is the pretty one in the dress. She would never hunt, she loves animals - I am sure many Californians will identify with her. Her pet deer lives around my family's house, and fortunately cannot make the trek to my family's farm down south of San Antonio.



And there's my dad and Matt. Matt is going to visit me in a couple weeks. Rusty is the other brother, but he never visits me because he is a big jerk. Maybe that will motivate him. My dad, mom, and sister all visited me when I was getting diagnosed.



Those pictures make me homesick.

My health continues to improve and I feel great, relatively speaking. My hip still has some lingering pain, and I have started to try to rehab it. I have had way more energy and it feels great to coach again at closer to my normal level. I have tryouts for my City Beach 16's team tomorrow, so the next season of club volleyball is already starting. My Sacred Heart Prep varsity is the #1 seed in the first part of post-season, and we have a chance of going to the state championships if we can execute. My medical leave ended this week, so Monday is my first day back at the Stanford Children's Hospital School. I am excited to return, and I am looking forward to getting back to normal.