So toward the end of last year I had some pain in my lower back and what I thought was pretty intense sciatica running down my left leg. A couple months ago, after a couple really bad nights (I can deal with pain pretty well, but nerve pain was a different beast) and two trips to the ER, they did another MRI and found an unidentified mass in my lower back next to my spine. Sure enough it's cancer… evidently a pretty rare one too, especially in my age group.
Long story short, after it was identified I spent about a couple weeks in the hospital getting my pain under control and starting the first round of chemo.
Before all this, to say I had a pretty full plate was a bit of an understatement. We were in the middle of working on the house doing renovations, rebuilding my motorcycle, helping a couple friends with their projects, not to mention work and taking care of all of my reefs.
By no means is this a pity party, my family and friends have been great and I know I'll get through and beat this! It's just a BIG unexpected speed bump. One of the most frustrating things is how this came out of nowhere. I went from snowboarding mammoth to laid up in the hospital getting a poison drip within a three-week span.
Now moving forward I’m working on getting all my ducks in a row. Aside from the obvious of dealing with health, I’m gonna be clearing out a lot to try and make some more elbow room. I’ve already gotten some love and support from a couple reefer friends from here. Just know that my free time can be pretty limited and I will have only certain windows to work around. Also if you’re sick and you’re coming by for some gear or some corals please let me know in advance and we can make preparations.
And remember like I said, this isn't a pity party so let's keep it light -I'm not planning on going anywhere anytime soon!
Much luv -D