2 weeks out from surgery yesterday, and I have lost 29.26 lbs!

Staples were removed from the incision sites this morning. Thank God! Those things were more than a little annoying. Now just steristrips holding me together. Not really, but that sounded funny anyway.

The Dr. I saw today said he was on the night watch the night I had surgery. Said I was sleeping every time he looked in on me. I guess that's ok. He seemed nice, and even gave me a new prescription for something called Ursodiol, aka Actigall. 300 mg 3 times a day. These things are HUGE. And expensive! $1223.99 for 90 pills, a months supply! Thank goodness for my ACA insurance, I have a $12/month max for meds. But still, wow.

Feeling better, though I think I overdid my yummy breakfast of meds and orange jello as I was feeling very bloated and gassy earlier. That has passed now, literally.

I had the Roux-en-Y bypass surgery done Thursday morning at the Mayo Clinic hospital here in Rocheser, MN where I live. It went better than they had hoped for as I have a severly fatty infitrated liver and they thought it may be in the way to do the laprosocopic surgery but it turned out to not be as enlarged as the MRI showed. Got to come home Friday night. Spent most of today either going to pee or trying to poop, but only had gassssssssssss a lot. And PAIN, lots of PAIN. Oxycodone is my friend. I'm going to bed now, how I feel better tomorrow.

My bariatric surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Feb. 17. Not sure what time yet. I'm so ready for this!

In order to make things easier, and to hopefully avoid conflicts or misleading information, I shall herein combine the various info pages into one.

Well, I hate to do this, but I'm at the point I really need some help it seems. As most of you know, I've been off work since December 2013, when I fell at home twice and messed up my back and right leg and hip. Little did I know at the time that this would become a life changing challenge as it has done. You see, I found out after seeking medical care that I had several other severe medical problems too. I had to file for Disability. I've been denied twice, and now have a lawyer on the case to try to help me when we go before the disability judge. However this could take anywhere up to 14 months I was told. I've been relying on my roommate and dear friend Fyremane/Jade Foxx to get me around town and to and from Dr. appts and other appts. but at times it is too much for her. She has to also give rides to Spectra, and the other two roommates in our house. Now, when Spectra and I moved back to Minnesota in 2012, we sold my old worn out and rusted out minivan for scrap and did never purchase a replacement vehical here. I've been wanting and quite honestly needing a pickup truck since we got here. Not just for transport of myself but for those times when we need to go get items that are too big to fit into Jade's minivan. Now, I'm not looking for anything new to say the least. Ideally, I'm looking for a mid to late 70's or early 80's half ton pickup that I know how to work on and repair if needed. I'm a very good mechanic so that stuff don't phase me at all. I just have had no income since I had to quit working, and it seems I won't for a long time to come. Spectra has been covering most of the household bills for us but I also owe the house head roommate over $2500 in bills he paid for me. We need this truck to help get around town and such, and to spread the burden off of Jade, who honestly does more for myself and Spectra at times than for herself. If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

It has been brought to my attention that there are those who do not want to use GoFundMe because of various issues to donate to other causes, and that I should post my paypal address for any possible donation. So, here it is, in a bit of a coded format that is pretty easy to figure out but yet, I hope, keeps bots from grabbing it. Damn bots.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

My Paypal is: cal dot foxx at gmail dot com

Please take a minute and read my last 3 journals, and if you can, please help us out. If you cannot, please share this around if you can. We really need a vehical to get around with, relying on our roommate is causing tensions. Thanks.

In order to make things easier, and to hopefully avoid conflicts or misleading information, I shall herein combine the various info pages into one.

Well, I hate to do this, but I'm at the point I really need some help it seems. As most of you know, I've been off work since December 2013, when I fell at home twice and messed up my back and right leg and hip. Little did I know at the time that this would become a life changing challenge as it has done. You see, I found out after seeking medical care that I had several other severe medical problems too. I had to file for Disability. I've been denied twice, and now have a lawyer on the case to try to help me when we go before the disability judge. However this could take anywhere up to 14 months I was told. I've been relying on my roommate and dear friend Fyremane/Jade Foxx to get me around town and to and from Dr. appts and other appts. but at times it is too much for her. She has to also give rides to Spectra, and the other two roommates in our house. Now, when Spectra and I moved back to Minnesota in 2012, we sold my old worn out and rusted out minivan for scrap and did never purchase a replacement vehical here. I've been wanting and quite honestly needing a pickup truck since we got here. Not just for transport of myself but for those times when we need to go get items that are too big to fit into Jade's minivan. Now, I'm not looking for anything new to say the least. Ideally, I'm looking for a mid to late 70's or early 80's half ton pickup that I know how to work on and repair if needed. I'm a very good mechanic so that stuff don't phase me at all. I just have had no income since I had to quit working, and it seems I won't for a long time to come. Spectra has been covering most of the household bills for us but I also owe the house head roommate over $2500 in bills he paid for me. We need this truck to help get around town and such, and to spread the burden off of Jade, who honestly does more for myself and Spectra at times than for herself. If anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

It has been brought to my attention that there are those who do not want to use GoFundMe because of various issues to donate to other causes, and that I should post my paypal address for any possible donation. So, here it is, in a bit of a coded format that is pretty easy to figure out but yet, I hope, keeps bots from grabbing it. Damn bots.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

My Paypal is: cal dot foxx at gmail dot com

It has been brought to my attention that there are those who do not want to use GoFundMe because of various issues to donate to other causes, and that I should post my paypal address for any possible donation. So, here it is, in a bit of a coded format that is pretty easy to figure out but yet, I hope, keeps bots from grabbing it. Damn bots.'

Thanks for your time and consideration.

My Paypal is: cal dot foxx at gmail dot com

http://www.gofundme.com/j6znzc

Thanks for your consideration.

Me!

I am or will be 49 today.

Oh what fun we had early this morning here at MFF too.

I'm here. Room 778. Or call or text or IM or whatever you got if you wanna find me. Or just yell out, "Hey, Jackass Foxx!"

BTW, my conbadge says it all. I'm Crabulous!

Comment with a heart below and I'll tell you what your profile tells me about you!

I will:

1. Tell you what animal/creature you remind me of.
2. Tell you what color I think fits you.
3. Tell you how I feel about you.
4. Insult you.
5. Tell you my favorite OC of yours. (If you have one...)
6. Tell you what season you remind me of.
7. Tell you what food you smell like in my head.
8. Think of a random nickname for you.
9. Order you to put this in your journal without using the words 'tag' or 'dare'.

Well, I'm now something I never thought I'd be, though now that I think about it, it doesn't honestly surprise me that this has happened to me. I'm a cancer survivor.

Last week, I went to see a Dermatology Surgeon to find out about the possibility of surgical intervention of the hidradenitis sores that plague me. In the exam, he found a discolored and oddly shaped mole among the many moles on my back. It was taken off with a shave biopsy and turns out to be a malignant melanoma of the spreading superficial type, and was given a stage 1 diagnoses on the scale that is used for these things. Yesterday, I went back in and they surgically excised the entire area of skin down to the fatty layer beneath. Not a pleasant thing to undergo at all. Today it is VERY sore and painful, but at least they are sure they got it all off. Of course, I have to wait a few days to find out if there is any more melanoma cancer in the area they removed, but hopefully they got it all with the biopsy as they hoped to do.

Like I said, it really doesn't surprise me that this happened to me. I did have a pre-melanoma on my left arm removed about 7 years ago or so, and since I have a long history of full sun exposure due to my years of farming and working in the recycling/scrap metal field in the past, plus all the nasty farm chemicals I was exposed to years ago, I figured this could happen sometime. My Dad had had 3 or 4 of these similar melanomas before he passed on. So yeah.

They caught it as early as one could hope too, so all should be well. I now get to go in every 6 months and have mole checks done to catch any future incidents early too.

Link to photo of the surgery site below.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/15056975/

My birthday is Dec. 7th, and I'll be at MFF too this year, so maybe someone will throw me a party or something? Who knows.

MFM is coming up in about a month, and I was wondering who else will be coming down to have fun at the best con ever?

I'm totally not stealing this from someone who stole it from someone else because I want to join bandwagons.

Reply below with some (any) random thing you assume about me, my beliefs, my education, my abilities, my background, age, sexuality, opinions, whatever!

And I'll reply with your accuracy.


Let's see how well you all know me!

Had a consult for back surgery today. As predicted was told to loose weight first. Fun. See my spine doc next week. Will probably try another cortisone injection also. At least I did quit smoking last week. Oh yeah... echo heart test was mostly normal but pulmonary test shows only 70% capacity in exhaling due to COPS/Emphysema in lungs and on Sergeant now to try to improve that. Did a blood test yesterday to see if it showed elevated fluid. Came back low end of normal.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12853262/

Please take a look and help her out if you can. She is a dearheart and deserves better than this damn cancer crap.

Running the snowblower with a bad back was probably not the smartest thing I've ever done. But it needed doing as the city plow left a 3 foot high pile at the end of the driveway and Jade and Snow are out on a grocery run. Plow came through after they left. I go cry now and die.

I had to resign from JB Hunt because of my medical issues today At least until I get medically cleared. Not sure I want to lease another truck anyway. Waiting on a call from Surgeon now.

Dr. says at least another month off work at this point, depends on when/if my spine heals. I had a pinched disk already from years ago, the fall aggravated it to the point that standing is almost impossible without shooting pains, and I have to use a cane to walk very far, and have balance issues too on top of it

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, the head gasket on my truck went out catastrophically after we started it up after sitting for 4 days.

Waiting to see if they are going to fix my old truck or if I have to start a new lease on a 2010 Cascadia and figure out how to get to Lowell AR if I do to pick it up.

They are not going to fix my old truck. Too much money for what it's worth they say. But they offered me a 2010 Cascadia with an APU and sideboxes for $40, 000 and a credit of $20, 000 off that for what I had in the old truck. So $220 / week for 2 years. Of course now I have to get to Lowell, AR to get it come Monday.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate winter and snow? Well, I do. I just fell down the outside stairs on our back porch, landing on my right hip, which already hurts like hell, twisting my neck and right shoulder, and banging my left elbow apparently too. And I still have to go back outside later to find more of my truck stuff in the garage before tomorrow when I'm supposed to be taking a fucking bus to Lowell, AR, which may not happen now because of the snow coming down and will probably delay me even more getting back to work. I already packed clothes and find I need a second bag just to carry the neccessary other crap I'll need until I can get home again, and that includes none of the food I usually take on the road with me.

I managed to fall again about an hour ago. My right hip and butt is so swollen I'm afraid the skin is going to explode, and it hurts so bad I can barely sit. I can't get comfortable and I don't know what to do.

At ER now. Intense pain. Feels like my hip will explode

Fyremane Foxx postibg fir cal. He'd judt been taken in to xray.

Xrays show possible fracture or chip under the head of the hipbone. CT scan coming up. Morphine is not working too good for pain either. Feels like liquid fire in my hip and butt

Well having a CT scan done was almost as bad as the Xrays earlier. But much faster.

Nothing broken

Can't sleep. Several patches of skin have turned into what I would call blood blisters. Going to not be a fun day today.

Pic of my hip, in my scraps, because I don't know if FA will take it down or not. It's pretty ugly to see.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12257344/

Simply, I won't be there again this year. No money, no time off, no real desire to go other than to see some friends, which sucks but I can't afford to go, and I can't get time off and still go home for Thanksgiving. So, MFM will have been my only con this year, and that's ok.

MFM was this past weekend in Olive Branch, MS, and let me tell you, it was a blast! I got there on Wednesday evening, saw a couple of folks, and basically got my room, and a pizza delivered and a much needed shower. The next day a lot of friends showed up including my wife and roommates. It was a great con overall! Yeah, attendance was down from last year, but I kinda figured it would be as I knew several of the regulars couldn't come for one reason or another, and we lost one long time attendee shortly after MFM last year, which was sad, so very sad. Though seeing the balloons and plush pandas and the remembrance book in HIS chair really touched me, and brought more than one tear to my eye. I'll never forget you, PandaGuy.

It's never a con without some sort of drama, even though Tyger said it was to all stay in Tennessee and not cross the state line. *grins* I saw two people that really were "Wackadoodles", one constantly blathering about this girl he was going to take home and breed and have 14 babies, some bunnies, some tigers, some crossbreeds. Turns out the "girl" in question was a young dude who crossdresses on his badges at least, and had told me the guy in question was fucking nuts. Go figure eh? The other psycho seemed to be constantly stoned and literally was vibrating the whole time.

My dance went well, but like all the dances, I had a low turnout. Just too many other things to do I think. Though for some reason, I cleared the floor when I tried to play "YMCA". That usually goes over well. Maybe, as a friend said at the time, "It's too gay for people anymore?" Hmmm, could be.

Both of my panels went well. "Trucker Furs" was a new idea, and we had a blast, and "TransFurs" seemed to help out a couple of girls, so I was happy, though I spazzed and forgot the starting time and had to be reminded by a phone call from Fyre.

The hotel having that awesome continental breakfast this year was AWESOME! And the buffets at night were really good too, if a bit overpriced, but that's hotel food for ya. We only went out to eat once that I remember the whole weekend.

Of course, Monday sucked. Had a hard time finding an empty trailer to go pick up my load with, then once I did get there and do a drop and hook with the load, I only got 10 miles away when I had a catastrophic trailer tire blowout. I've never seen one explode that bad before. I ended up walking back 1/2 mile and kicking all the gators and schrapnel off the roadway, as it was on a 2 lane road just past the crest of a hill and I didn't want anyone to hit something and crash.

Back to the everyday drag of my life now til MFF in November.

I use Firefox as my only web browser. I was having problems with it crashing at startup the last 2 days, so I downloaded the new version, 19.whatever. And now it works fine, except it includes some sort of yahoo toolbar and adds a bunch of stuff under a menu bar listing of yahoo. Anyone know how to turn this off or get a version without yahoo crap installed? Thanks.

EDIT: I got it fixed with help from several online. Not sure why 18 was crashing but it all seems ok now. Thanks!