External Combustion
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2007
- Messages
- 608
I know it has been a while since I posted last and none of you have been able to meet me on the lakes here in the Nations for the last four months.
I did the chemotherapy thing to reduce the size of a tumor in my chest that had crushed the left lung and was crushing the right lung and heart. It didn't work as the tumor grew larger and my body grew weaker. I went to surgery on 18 September. When I got there I had but a few hours to live as the tumor was growing at an alarming rate and I could only breathe less than 200 cc's at a time and I was just plain exhausted breathing. I had got to the point that I just barely cared to live. Imagine having your spouse sit on your chest while you try to breathe that way for weeks on end and you can see why I felt that way.
The surgeon had only thought that I had a 30% chance of making it through the surgery and that it would take weeks in ICU and up to a month in Intermediate Care before I could be released to go home on oxygen. I would then be heavily restricted for months until I could make the best recovery possible.
It seems God had a different plan. When they opened me up, they found a 268 cubic inch tumor (think of it being larger than a gallon milk jug or the size of a football). It was attached to the lower left lobe of my left lung and had started folding itself around my heart. The surgeon managed to get the tumor out and explore the rest of my innards to find there was no sign of malignancy anywhere. They had to take a bit of the lower left lobe, but managed to inflate the left lung and get it working again.
I have healed so fast that I was out of ICU in four days and was ready to release from the hospital in another week except the lung took a bit longer to seal off. I was off of oxygen in five days and walking up to three miles a day in the hospital track in a week. 18 days after I have been released, I am now blowing as much air through my lungs as an average, in shape individual (4 liters) with the chance it may go back to my old maximum of 5 liters. In another month I will be turned loose as a free man! They will stop giving me Cumadin (Warfarin) at the first of the year and so that merry go round will stop.
I will be able to get the gas rig out next week and get some fishing done before the season closes completely. After that then I will be able to winterize all of my boats myself, including pulling the steam engine and boiler from the launch and replacing the cold steel pan under them with a stainless steel pan.
I had dropped from 190 pounds to 135 in two months and I am now putting weight back on. I am to the point that I must now slow down my intake and rev up my exercise to put muscle back on instead of fat. The only problem I see is that there is now a scar on this otherwise perfect body!
It is good to be alive and every morning I thank God for the privilege of seeing the sun break over the horizon. Each night I thank Him for the good day that I have been allowed to live and for the promises He keeps.
Maybe we will get to do the Mississippi trip next fall. The wood has been cut, split and parceled out, all we will have to do is load the Miracle Man on board and shove off. I guess I will be more antsy than usual as I only had the launch out two times this year and the MFG Gypsy out two times, I was physically unable to launch and retrieve any more.
Thank you guys for all of your prayers. It does make a difference. My surgeon said, "I have been doing this for 35 years and this Keith, was my finest work, but I want you to know that you are a miracle of God, for there is no logical reason that you should be alive. Make it count for something great!" Every other specialist that came by to visit and ask questions bolstered this opinion and there were many that came to my room. I believe the wind and water will be sweeter from now on.
In the final analysis; I'm BACK!
Keith Weaver, External Combustion
I did the chemotherapy thing to reduce the size of a tumor in my chest that had crushed the left lung and was crushing the right lung and heart. It didn't work as the tumor grew larger and my body grew weaker. I went to surgery on 18 September. When I got there I had but a few hours to live as the tumor was growing at an alarming rate and I could only breathe less than 200 cc's at a time and I was just plain exhausted breathing. I had got to the point that I just barely cared to live. Imagine having your spouse sit on your chest while you try to breathe that way for weeks on end and you can see why I felt that way.
The surgeon had only thought that I had a 30% chance of making it through the surgery and that it would take weeks in ICU and up to a month in Intermediate Care before I could be released to go home on oxygen. I would then be heavily restricted for months until I could make the best recovery possible.
It seems God had a different plan. When they opened me up, they found a 268 cubic inch tumor (think of it being larger than a gallon milk jug or the size of a football). It was attached to the lower left lobe of my left lung and had started folding itself around my heart. The surgeon managed to get the tumor out and explore the rest of my innards to find there was no sign of malignancy anywhere. They had to take a bit of the lower left lobe, but managed to inflate the left lung and get it working again.
I have healed so fast that I was out of ICU in four days and was ready to release from the hospital in another week except the lung took a bit longer to seal off. I was off of oxygen in five days and walking up to three miles a day in the hospital track in a week. 18 days after I have been released, I am now blowing as much air through my lungs as an average, in shape individual (4 liters) with the chance it may go back to my old maximum of 5 liters. In another month I will be turned loose as a free man! They will stop giving me Cumadin (Warfarin) at the first of the year and so that merry go round will stop.
I will be able to get the gas rig out next week and get some fishing done before the season closes completely. After that then I will be able to winterize all of my boats myself, including pulling the steam engine and boiler from the launch and replacing the cold steel pan under them with a stainless steel pan.
I had dropped from 190 pounds to 135 in two months and I am now putting weight back on. I am to the point that I must now slow down my intake and rev up my exercise to put muscle back on instead of fat. The only problem I see is that there is now a scar on this otherwise perfect body!
It is good to be alive and every morning I thank God for the privilege of seeing the sun break over the horizon. Each night I thank Him for the good day that I have been allowed to live and for the promises He keeps.
Maybe we will get to do the Mississippi trip next fall. The wood has been cut, split and parceled out, all we will have to do is load the Miracle Man on board and shove off. I guess I will be more antsy than usual as I only had the launch out two times this year and the MFG Gypsy out two times, I was physically unable to launch and retrieve any more.
Thank you guys for all of your prayers. It does make a difference. My surgeon said, "I have been doing this for 35 years and this Keith, was my finest work, but I want you to know that you are a miracle of God, for there is no logical reason that you should be alive. Make it count for something great!" Every other specialist that came by to visit and ask questions bolstered this opinion and there were many that came to my room. I believe the wind and water will be sweeter from now on.
In the final analysis; I'm BACK!
Keith Weaver, External Combustion
