Thursday, June 25, 2009

Full Swing Summer

Well summer is here and in full swing. I'm working still. Times are tough in the industry right now and not many companies are buying stuff. I keep plugging along. Yesterday I had to go to Morgantown WV to actually install one of the systems that I sold. I was only 3 hours away vs. sending a tech from California all the way out there. It was good. I used to do that kind of stuff all the time, but now I am focused primarily on the sales side. All went well and the customer was up and running live on the new system when I left.

On the way home I stopped in Cumberland, MD and had dinner at a small restaurant in the blocked off downtown area. It was the best Jambalaya I have ever had, outside of New Orleans. Who would have thought in the middle of nowhere.

Health - I saw my gastroenterologist on Tuesday. All is okay with the tests and results that I've gotten so far. He recommended that I have another colonoscopy in 1 year to monitor one spot that they found. Also, he wants to perform an EUS or endoscopic ultrasound. It's pretty high-tech. They go down through your esophogus and perform some pretty low level investigation of the pancreas and other organs looking for abnormalities. It actually can get detail on the several layers of the tissue down there. If they find something, they can also do a biopsy at the same time. Only 2 places in MD do this right now, Hopkins, and UMD. Frederick hospital is getting the equipment right now and should be up and running on is soon. I could be the 1st one! Oh happy day. More on this later...

And now the crappy stuff. Some of you may already know, but Chris's mother found out a couple weeks ago that her breast cancer has returned. About 8 years ago she fought off early stage and has been doing pretty well. After all the tests and consultations they are confident that it has not spread. She will be undergoing surgery in about a week for a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery. Recovery will certainly take some time after that. Cancer has reared it's ugly head once again.

Keep July 26th on your calendar. That is the date for the Frederick Keys Breast Cancer Awareness night in honor of Chrissy! Drop me a line and let me know if you would like to go.... I will have some tickets available.