In all that has happened over the last couple of weeks, we forgot to congratulate Richard and Rose on their having tied the knot this last weekend. "For they are jolly good feeeeeeeeeh-llows..."

Over the past week-and-a-bit, life has taken quite a turn. To say that it has completely changed seems like it may be quite an understatement.

On the morning of Thursday September 16th, while driving to work, I started coughing up blood. An ordinary alarming event made worse by the gurgling I heard in my chest. It didn't take much time for me to decide to make a turn and drive to a nearby emergency room and get myself checked out. Before long I was in the back of an Ambulance heading to Arlington Heights Northwest Community Hospital.

Inna met up with me shortly after I got out of x-ray and together we endured a day of test after test after test. By afternoon, I had seen a pulmonary specialist and was readied for a biopsy the next day but more coughing up blood changed our plans. I was admitted to critical care and readied for emergency surgery if necessary. If however I remained stable, the next day I was going to have my left lung removed. A large tumor like growth had made its presence known and this appeared the very likely candidate for my coughing up blood. The amount of blood was enough that the removal of my largely non-functional left lung was highly recommended. Unfortunately, at this point nobody knew exactly what was wrong and there was a fear that trying to run important tests would make a bad situation worse.

Friday came quickly after a restful night's sleep thanks to some strong medication. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled into surgery and then just as suddenly, being woken up to commands to breathe. The surgery was over, I had made it and yet what sticks in my mind was how difficult it was to breathe. It wasn't long before I was reunited to my family and it certainly didn't seem to take too long before the doctor came in to inform me what they had found. I was told that I had Cancer.

The rest of my hospital stay is a blur. My family flew out from their respective parts of the world to be with me and this may have helped the days fly by. There was always somebody there to make my stay as comfortable as possible. Surprisingly enough I was discharged on Wednesday afternoon, just like the doctor promised and now I'm making a fast recovery from the surgery at home. My mom and brother are still here keeping me entertained and ensuring that I'm well fed (note: no complaints from my side). Inna has been such a rock and I feel that I can rest in her capable hands. Family and friends have been just incredible - I really cannot express how grateful I am at all the support I've received from you all. The phone calls, flowers, emails, letters, prayers, driving round the country-side, it all means so much. Thank you.

Now, we prepare for the next step. Exactly what that step is is uncertain at this point, although it will more than likely involve some chemotherapy. The rest of this week will be spent in doctor's offices and hopefully acquiring some direction.

Hello, everyone! Markie asked me not to right anythign here, especially something like: "Nick was here". So here we go: NICK WAS HERE!!!! Nick - bro-in-law :-)

Completed my pre-solo phase check today. This is where I got to prove to the flying club's chief pilot that I can fly a plane well enough to do it on my own (as a student). Just my luck, the winds picked up a little in time for my lesson. I have enjoyed only a few hours of training in windy conditions so far, so this made me even more nervous than I was expecting. The flight ended up being pretty good except that I noticed I wasn't flying as well as I could have been (putting this down to nerves). My approach was little too fast and my flare itself a little off, but I saved the day with a soft cross-wind landing and then it was back to the club. I should be flying solo the next time I go up. Blimey, hard to believe.

On a whim last night, we ventured to a restaurant that we had passed many times with a very peculiar name - "Rokbonki". We love sushi and thought that we would try yet another sushi restaurant in the area to find out how it compared. Didn't realize until we were being seated that sushi played a minor role on the menu here. Not sure what you call these restaurants, but this is the kind of place where you sit down at the grill with a party of people you've never met to be entertained by the chef who cooks your entire meal for you (unless of course, you order sushi). We enjoyed one of the most entertaining evenings out at a restaurant in a long time and "George", our chef, cooked the most exquisite teriyaki steak I've ever had!

We found ourselves this past weekend in the lovely position of having friends not only visit us, but also do the cooking :)

A terrific party was also held for Inna's Mom's half-century celebration. Pictures of that event will follow shortly.

Very close to soloing now.

Mark's Place Archive

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