Cancer free

Since returning from The Gambia last April, I have been struggling with some very serious health issues.

After spending a wonderful month in The Gambia, I am convinced that as soon as I am able, I will split my retirement between Columbia and Banjul. I returned in April and was sideline with a terrible cold and cough. Doctors from the Gambia to Columbia treated me for three different illnesses including pneumonia. The day I returned, I had a cough that had started to generate blood. I spent almost eight hours in the emergency ward that night where I was tactfully informed by a very young doctor that I had a spot on my left lung and should begin as quickly as possible to get my affairs in order.

My next stop was at my family doctor who immediately treated me, correctly, for a sinus infection. The next few months were filled with cat scans, pet scans, etc. Since the little bugger had grown, they concluded that surgery was the immediate option. The growth was removed along with a portion of my lung on February 3rd, two days after my birthday. I realized that I have been blessed to survive three attempts on my life by my body and my questionable choices of an unhealthy life style.

I have since been in recovery for almost a month. For some reason, I now feel compelled to talk about what I have been experiencing. Heart trouble is a bad thing but it never made me want to talk openly about it. It was always something that I could handle. I am blessed with many great friends that helped me to cope. Cancer for me is a different ballgame. It is slow and methodical and unforgiving at its worst.

Declaration: The cancerous cells were completely removed. Limp glands clear. No radiation treatment. Periodic observation only.

Today, I sit here in my studio staring at a drawing that has been left to find its own direction for the last few months. It has been a  struggle to come to terms with the fact that today I am cancer free. I now understand profoundly what it means to be a cancer survivor.