Investments

2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 Off-Road 5.9 liter V8

1998 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 5.2 liter V8

The 1998 Ram was traded for a 2003 Honda 

1994 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 5.2 liter V8

1999 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9 liter V8

Haynes Repair Manual 1994-2001 Dodge Pick-ups

2018 KIA Soul 1.6 liter 4 speed

Werowocomoco

 Head, Heart, Hands and Health. 

As a member of the Glen Allen 4-H club when I was 10 years old I spent one summer at the Jamestown 4-H Education Center campground. It was my first experience learning of the Virginia Indians. The camp was divided into groups that were named for various tribes. I was a Paspahegh. Others were Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Chickahominy, Rappahannock, Nansemond and Monacan. The camp was and still is immediately adjacent to the Jamestown Colony on the James River. We could see the three ships moored at the dock. 

I learned to swim in the river just west of the replicas of the Susan Constant, Discovery, and Godspeed.

Today I searched the National Park Service website for parks near my home. I was aware of the Shanandoah but wondered what other parks might be nearby. Here I discovered Werowocomoco. More than 400 years before English settlers established Jamestown, Werowocomoco had been an important Powhatan Indian town. Werowocomoco, translated from the Virginia Algonquian language, means “place of leadership”. As an archaeological site, Werowocomoco was confirmed in 2002, nearly 400 years after the Indian leader paramount chief Powhatan and his people interacted with Jamestown settlers here and at Jamestown. Werowocomoco remains closed to the public as planning efforts are ongoing.

https://www.nps.gov/cajo/planyourvisit/werowocomoco.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werowocomoco

Historical documents describe an embarrassing treatment of the indigenous people Europeans found on this continent. Obvious discrimination of what was perceived to be a backward primitive folk doomed their civilization. In just 100 years European disease and war with the Indians killed millions that thrived before the invasion. 

 

Cousin Stephen

 

Stephen E Brittain

I thought maybe it was time to let my friends know,

"the rest of the story"

as Paul Harvey would say.

In early July I began experiencing back pain that felt like I had leaned over and pulled two muscles in my back. For an old guy this is not so unusual and after a day or so I realized that the back pain was not getting any better. So I began home remedies to see if I could determine why I was having this discomfort. I started with getting some muscle relaxers and later I saw a licensed massage therapist who was able to get me a little more vertical. During this time I had to walk along next to my bed keeping my hands on the bed like a chimpanzee in order to move around the room.

When the pain didn't get any better I called a gastroenterologist and had an appointment for a CAT scan and all sincerity I thought I had some sort of bowel blockage because the pain wrapped around my side into the back.

My friends Joel and Pam Jancko we're on vacation in Canada. Joel is a cardiologist but more important than that he's a best friend. And when I say best friend I mean so in the truest sense of the word. Joel has access to my medical records electronically and once the scan was posted on the medical record profile he took a peek at it.

I got a call on Monday August 28th from him. Very calmly he told me that there is a spot on my right kidney and then I was to get dressed and go to the emergency room immediately. I followed his instructions and at 1:00 in the morning in the Gulf Coast Hospital emergency room the doctor came into the triage room and told me that there was a 4-inch long cancerous lesion on my right kidney they were sure it was cancer and it had to be removed. Let me tell you that sentence is a complete slap in the face of reality.

I was transferred after a day or so from Gulf Coast Hospital to Health Park. Where Dr Joseph Klink perform surgery on September 1st. He was an amazing surgeon very compassionate and evidently very good at what he did. I got to go home on Labor Day. And thus began the recovery from my nephrectomy which is a fancy word for we're going to rip your kidney out.

What followed was 10 treatments of radiation because, in my case, the cancer is stage 4 because it moved to two of my vertebrae and evidently ate them lol. As the radiation continued pain began to sit in because I ended up with basically nerves that were pinched and the radiation had destroyed the tumor thus allowing those nerves to become inflamed and entangled.

At a follow-up visit at Dr Klink's office he was aware that I was in a lot of pain and using a walker. A simple push of a button on my medical record connected me to Dr Dossani. This doctor saw me in two or three days looked at the MRIS came up with a plan and talked to me about performing a Fusion on my back. Without this I was not going to walk independently again. That's another harsh slap of reality.

So the first of November I went to Gulf Coast Hospital and a surgery was performed starting at 7:15 a.m. and Lasting until I woke up at 3:00 p.m. in the recovery room. I will tell you the pain is unimaginable. I have a vertical scar that is probably 18 inches long or the length of my entire back from my belt line to just below my neckline.

After several days recuperating in Gulf Coast Hospital I was moved to Lee Memorial Hospital's rehab center. I've been told by experts in the business that this is the rehab that you go to if you really want to get back to a high percentage of mobility. Kind of a boot camp.

Today is the 9th so I'm one week and a day from my surgery date. I'm able to get out of bed use a walker go to the bathroom by myself and they bring me lemon Sherbert when I ask for it.

The good news for me, unlike other cancer patients, is that the source of my cancer is gone. No more kidney. So we're dealing with the damage that the cancer did while it was in my body.

I have already begun immunotherapy which can quickly be described as a miracle. They basically use DNA from my now missing kidney, a vaccine is created using some of this tissue and injected back into my body as a vaccine. The vaccine knows what the cancer looks like and goes and finds the cells and encourages my T cells to get rid of the cells that have cancer. It's a relatively new procedure. I'm told that chemo and radiation doesn't work on the kind of clear cell cancer that I have. The treatments are every 21 days it's an IV injection that lasts about an hour. The best news is that the side effects are almost non-existent. The side effects are usually fatigue and you have to be careful about inflammation of other body parts. Dr Mann is my oncologist.

It's about this point in my story that I have to tell you how blessed I am to have some wonderful friends Barry Bolinger and Steve Novell sprung into action as soon as they knew I had problems. They supplied a walker, a shower chair, an extended mechanical device to grab things when you drop them on the floor and emotional support. They were able to transport me to several of my appointments at the radiation clinic and for lab work at the oncologist and for follow-up visits with Dr Klink. They did things for me but no one else could do including bringing some meals and blowing the debris off the driveway that the trees drop. Barry came over every Saturday and put clean sheets on my bed. I did a very good job of picking two amazing best friends.

Dale Koehn came by nightly and prepared meals took me to other appointments and basically kept the house running while I was flat on my back during the recovery after the kidney was removed. I think he will always be my knight in shining armor.

The outpouring of concern spend something I've never experienced. Starting with my sisters Susan Brittain Amari and Joani Albert who checked on me daily and in some cases Susan spent the day at the hospital during the surgeries. My longtime friend John Anderson has been a godsend. He came to my house one day when I dropped a bottle of pain medicine that rolled under the bed and he came over at 7:30 in the morning to retrieve it for me. All I could think about is how much dust was under the bed LOL

I was transferred after a day or so from Gulf Coast Hospital to Health Park. Where Dr Joseph Klink performed surgery on September 1st. He was an amazing surgeon very compassionate and evidently very good at what he did. I got to go home on Labor Day. And thus began the recovery from my nephrectomy which is a fancy word for we're going to rip your kidney out.

What followed was 10 treatments of radiation because, in my case, the cancer is stage 4 because it moved to two of my vertebrae and evidently ate them lol. As the radiation continued pain began to sit in because I ended up with basically nerves that were pinched and the radiation had destroyed the tumor thus allowing those nerves to become inflamed and entangled.

At a follow-up visit at Dr Klink's office he was aware that I was in a lot of pain and using a walker. A simple push of a button on my medical record connected me to Dr Dossani. This doctor saw me in two or three days looked at the MRIS came up with a plan and talked to me about performing a Fusion on my back. Without this I was not going to walk independently again. That's another harsh slap of reality.

I started hearing from Friends some of which I had fallen out of contact with for 40 years. My friend Tim and Debbie, I had known him since 4th grade. I heard from friends like Charles Kessler and Dave Gould who I went to kindergarten with. I heard from my friend Bill Berdnik who had been a buddy since around 5th grade. Emails and phone calls of encouragement came almost daily. Friends like Frank N Grace Meneses and Alena and Christine Burnley checking with me every couple of days. My friends out of state like Beth Vecchio and Gwen Crandall Gregory also kept a close eye on my progress. Jill Price Gould and Cary Gould checked in on me often too. Nola Schneider and Cindy Cutright checked with me too.

This past Wednesday I slept almost 10 hours un interrupted. This was due in part to some pain medication they gave me and the fact that my back was not causing pretty much constant pain. I was almost giddy with excitement when I woke up and realized I had had a good night's rest.

Physical and occupational therapists here think that I will be discharged sometime prior to next Wednesday. That doesn't mean that the hard work is over but it means that I can operate and take care of myself at a very low level at home.

Scarlett O'Hara once said I have depended upon the kindness of strangers

My conservative estimate is that I have had 70 different things stuck in my arms. Ivs, blood draws, and other things related to having surgery. I fully expect that my veins will be dry before this is all over lol.

When all this started I promised myself that I would not complain I would do what I was told and work to get back as much of my life and Mobility as it's possible. Seeing other people here in the rehab center just reinforces the fact that I am very fortunate. There are folks here that will never walk again and whose life expectancy is short.

I sure hope I haven't forgotten anyone in my litany of names here. Please rest assured that your kindness will never be forgotten.

Best part is I have dropped lots of weight and right now and 221lbs.

Now I'm just concentrating I'm getting to my discharge date and getting home. Thanks for all your notes and comments and encouragement.