Well, I must say, that was fun - NOT !! 5 hrs in surgery and 2 in recovery. They removed all of my lymph nodes, a muscle in my neck, my jugular vein and a few odds and ends to boot. the only side effect so far is I will need physical therapy on my shoulder. some minor nerve damage, I had lost feeling under my chin after my biopsy a couple weeks ago that led to this and now my right ear feels like its full of Novocain that wont wear off. ( if it stays numb I am gonna see if Michael Madsen will cut it off for a viral YouTube video so I can have my 15 minutes of fame,  God bless Mr Blonde).
SO anyhow, my mom wont get the reference so here you go mom - its a scene from Reservoir Dogs (One of Quentin Tarantino's Finest.)

I hurt like hell and cant sleep worth a crap due to the pain and some pretty severe anxiety. I got racing thoughts and just an overall numbness of emotion right now. Worrying a lot about it coming back on the original side and having to do this all over again. They sent out everything they removed for biopsy and I may have to do some chemo again which many of you probably remember doesn't go well for me. I believe I have had my lifetime limit of radiation so that wont be an option this next go round but that is probably good cause I cant take any more trauma to the throat. my salivary glands are fried and I barely make enough saliva to keep my tongue moist so I have to have a bottle of water with me at all times. I think this is going to be a long uphill and sometimes downhill battle for some time.

I did manage to get my cobra insurance extended for 6 months through BC/BS of Texas through my former employer which will help greatly since OHIO wants $1,200.00 a month for the same plan "due to my pre-existing condition"  pretty good that the IRS lady from Cincinnati sits home and collects a few grand a week while pleaing the 5th and I got to beg for donations to pay for my prescriptions. What a great country we live in. Come next January I will either have to be uninsured for 6 months or spend about my whole disability check on insuranse till july when I will finally get Medicare. Anyway thats what is going on with me lately. I truly hope EVERYONE is doing better than me right now - I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

If you have the means to chip in a $5 $10 $20 - everything is really going to help with my physical therapy copays and my myriad of new meds . If you can, Retweet and share on your Facebook page, google + anywhere to get the word out. all those $5's and $10's from new folks that haven't heard my story really help. 

Any way, there is my latest update. I sit here in the hospital with my dilaudid drip so I am at peace right now. if you want to just say Hi or ask any questions about any specifics of my cancer and how it all went down there is a comment section here or email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to help in any way I can.



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surgery is still tomorrow but has changed to 10:30 - 1:30.


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wish me luck and think about me during those hours (if you are up) while I get half my neck removed. Got my Cobra extention today but the cost is going up $25 a month. Keep the donations coming no matter what you can afford. 

Very shortly www.saveshadowpest.com will go live as a legit .com website. I will keep the .weebly.com up for a while during the transition but big changes are coming. Stay Tuned and retweet and share as often as you can. Love you all, hope to have an update after Monday if all goes well. PEACE...


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No matter how many people tell me not to worry or you will pull through this like a champ, I can't stop worrying about this upcoming surgery. I hope that I don't lose the use of anything like my arm or shoulder as a result. I worry that chemo was hard enough to endure the first round and question whether or not I have the fight left in me for another round that I must now go through. My nerves are a wreck and my stomach has acid reflux to beat all. I feel I am getting sicker and sicker with worry as the day of surgery approaches. Had some extra expenses this month getting things in order for the surgery, luckily got a couple donations that covered them. Still won't be able to fill my prescriptions this month that come to about $100.00 but will be in the hospital for at least a few days where I will get them and hopefully get a few donations before I get out.

Remember - NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL --- $5.00 and $10.00 cover a refill and $25.00 covers a Dr Office co-pay. They all add up. If you get this through twitter - please re-tweet and post to your facebook or google + account also. Spread the word like it was a Virus. If you get this through someone you know and don't know me or my story, follow me @shadowpest on Twitter this site automatically posts to Facebook and Twitter every time it is updated in any way. I would like to get enough of a following and a donation base to get a full on .com address instead of the free site (which is working for now) but I want to add other peoples stories of the ups and downs of recovery too and give them a place to reach out for help like I have gotten and remain getting throughout my ordeal of medical and government BS because I contributed instead of sitting around crying about "where's mine?" all my life.

My sleep schedule is all messed up and I don't sleep well when I do. I cannot wait to get the surgery over with and press on with whatever fight I got left in me. Surgery is on the 10th, Wish me luck, send warm thoughts, pray for me, think about me, throw in a "good luck bro" (for my fellow O&A fans) donate at the bottom of the Home Page of this site (if you can, it all helps). Most of all - GET YOURSELF CHECKED REGULARLY - YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT COULD BE YOU