EDIT (08/29/21): I published this a few days ago but I am going to update it due to a comment I got from Rebecca (see below.) I think not calling it the BIG C and referring to it as the little c would be much more appropriate. I can’t change the title because it would mess up the original URL of the post, but I am going to change it in the body of the text. Thanks Rebecca!

I’ve written 54 posts since the last time I wrote one about my health. That was a good run, but it’s time to do it again. Years ago I used to battle the BIG D, what I called the Dick of Depression. With the help of family, good friends, medication, and a lifestyle change, I pretty much won that battle. Not that I don’t have to participate in a skirmish from time to time with BIG D, but I always prevail.

Now, I’ll be fighting another capital a small letter, the BIG C little c. Let’s not pussy foot around with it. It’s cancer. More specifically liver cancer. If you’ve been following me for any length of time you already know I have a liver disease. This disease can sometimes develop into cancer and that’s what happened. My most recent MRI indicated I have two malignant lesions in my liver. The LeeLander was landed in Massachusetts when I got the news. It was the first time we had been in New England and we were loving it! The beauty, the old architecture, and yes, the cooler temps! We actually only really got to enjoy those things for exactly one day. The first two days we were stuck in the rig because we arrived just in time for tropical storm Henri. The third day we explored as much as we could, including a little stroll along the Appalachian Trail, and a visit to the summit of Mount Greylock, the highest point in MA. On the fourth day, we left, heading back to VA and a plethora of waiting tests and doctor appointments.

Let me go off on a tangent here for a minute. On the subject of tropical storms. We live in an RV. An RV is a most useful abode for avoiding tropical storms. That is, if you actually don’t drive into them. Which we did. More than once. In July we had to go back to VA to take care of some business. Tropical storm Elsa gave us some of her business in the form a of a tornado that went right by us. Luckily it missed our position but it was too close for comfort. Then we went down to FL for my son’s wedding just in time for tropical storm Fred, who dumped copious amounts of rain on us but luckily cleared out just before the wedding day. We were so happy to leave and go up to New England where they hadn’t had a direct tropical storm strike in 30 years. Then the aforementioned Henri follows us. I mentioned this to some of the New Englanders and they threatened to kick us out. They didn’t have to. The BIG C little c did it for them.

I was not a happy camper, to say the least, about leaving New England. We had big plans for stays in MA, VT, NH, and ME. I was excited about a possible meet up with a fellow blogger and author. After that we had plans to go on into Canada and spend the rest of the year making our way west in the Great White North, visiting family along the way and ending up spending Christmas with our son and daughter in Vancouver. All of that is out the window now. As of today I am sitting here in VA waiting to do another MRI on Monday. It’s not all bad though. We didn’t land back in Virginia Beach, we decided to stay up near Charlottesville. It’s a bit of a drive down to do the medical stuff but we are just a hop, skip, and a jump from my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains. I think I’ll need them for medicinal purposes.

You know what? I’m not scared of dying. I’m scared of living. To be more specific, I’m scared of living in a such a reduced quality of life that I can’t get out and do all that I’ve become accustomed to. Hopefully that won’t happen. There actually may be a silver lining to this turn of events. If the cancer hasn’t spread outside my liver it could possibly bump me up on the transplant list. So, here’s hoping those little malignant bastards have stayed in the confines of my traitorous liver!

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