Don Bowen Update: 2008-05-08

It’s been FOUR months since my surgery! I have really been blessed during these months and can’t thank all of you enough for your love, support and prayers. I know many of you read up on what I had when you first learned and though I purposely never have, I know it didn’t sound good. But God isn’t limited by the prognosis of the medical profession. He is a God of the impossible and it is NOTHING for Him to heal - completely. Keep praying and believing with me that that is exactly what He has done for me.

Monday I started taking my second cycle of temodar, which came by Fed-Ex. Impressively, they called to confirm I got them within the hour. Maybe this mail order thing won’t be so bad after all.

This new anti-nausea I’m taking, kytril, is so much better. So far I haven’t been sick at all and have a good appetite. I’m actually eating too much and probably need to cut back. Unfortunately the constipation from the kytril and the temodar is amazing. Past funny to painful. I would hate to look at the inside of my “pipes” after all the drugs and stuff I’ve been taking.

Well, I still haven’t driven and won’t until my vision is consistently clear. I have three big reasons not to drive. 1) I don’t need killing someone on my conscience 2) I can’t afford to replace or even fix a vehicle 3) I don’t need anything else to recover from.

When I had my eyes checked last week they found a lesion on my retina and referred me to a specialist. I really didn’t want to go. Partly to avoid spending money, but also because, as I just said, I don’t need something else to recover from. Anyway, I went. I HATE to have my eyes dilated. That was the worst part.

Good news is that my right eye is 20/20 and the left eye is 20/30. Letters are blurry, but I can make them out. The doctor said there is nothing wrong with my eyes and that they are in excellent condition. He also said we will know in the next 6-8 months whether the brain will correct itself so I can see. I should have told him that God doesn’t need that long, but I didn’t

After the eye exam I got to have lunch with Randy, an old friend I met during the strike at Caterpillar back in 1994. What an experience that was and we became fast friends. Randy is an incredible engineer and we improved productivity on the machine we operated for 12 hours a day by over 500%.

We were making 1.1L fuel tips (they looked like Barbie flashlights) and keeping micron tolerances by hand. It was insane. One day I ran the machine by myself and flooded the entire area in over an inch of oil. I missed the office that day. My friends brought in a shirt the next with “Exxon Don” on the back. It wasn’t funny for quite a while. Thanks for lunch, Randy! Let’s do it again soon.

Mike and Wendy came by last night and we got to play some cards for the first time since we went to Duke together. Way too long. Mike and I destroyed them in a game of euchre. Mike had a loner and we set them twice. Then we played Tick, but didn’t finish, so it doesn’t matter who was winning at the end, Wendy.

I hear rumors of people coming over to play cards and “school” me, but it doesn’t seem to materialize. Talk is cheap, guys

Today we got a very pleasant surprise visit from good friends Ken and Joanne, who are missionaries with Project Amazon in Brazil.

Joanne is a 13 year breast cancer survivor and they are prayer warriors for us. Their ministry is fascinating and the passion and commitment by the locals is inspiring. One man rides a bike 6-8 hours one way just to meet with people at least once a week and the roads are so bad he often has to push the bike.

Pain has been very good this entire week, which makes such a huge difference. Eileen bought me some Scholls gel inserts so I’m going to be ‘gellin’ tomorrow when I walk. They are really nice.

Yesterday this passage caught my eye:

“O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked you for life, and you gave it to him - length of days, for ever and ever.” (Psalm 21: 1-4)

Keep asking Him with me for life. I’m confident He is granting it to me and I plan to make sure He gets all the credit and glory.

I need a miracle, God specializes in them, pray BIG!

links for 2008-05-08

• YouTube - W. Oregon Sara Tucholsky first HR - ultimate sportsmanship
  This is a great story
  (tags: Sportsmanship homerun)
• The Works of Flavius Josephus
  War of the Jews
  (tags: Josephus)

links for 2008-05-07

• dallasnews.com
  This is my kind of kid.
  (tags: Favre Jersey)

Don Bowen Update: 2008-05-04

Our big news from yesterday was that Amy was crowned Dunlap High School 2008 Prom Queen. Eileen and I went for the coronation since we knew Amy was one of the five candidates.

We were really happy for her. You can click on the picture below to see the entire set of prom pictures.

Amy and two of her friends came home late and slept in our basement. She’s lucky I didn’t take a picture of them to post

I forgot to mention yesterday that after eating so healthy at Hanssen’s on Friday night I ate terribly. I even succumbed to eating a Krispy Kreme donut. Man was that good!

Hair update. You may remember near the end of my radiation treatment I thought maybe my hair was growing back. It isn’t, but I don’t care. I just have to keep doing my De Niro maintenance so I don’t look like a deranged taxi driver, though you’d think I would have gotten over looking funny a long time ago. Did I mention my pride issue?

My overall shakiness bothered me enough last night that I decided for the first time since my surgery in January to go without taking any kind of sleep aid. I slept in hour to hour and a half intervals and had some of the worst dreams, but I survived. I wasn’t any less shaky this morning, but this evening I’m doing a bit better. Maybe I’ll even start backing off the decadron this week.

It’s hard for me to believe, but before today it has been about five months since I’ve been to a movie. We went to see Iron Man and I worried that it wouldn’t be as good as advertised, but it was. We met our friends Todd and Diane Houseman at the concession stand and got to sit with them. After the movie we invited them back to our house for a quick picture to commemorate the occasion. What are we seeing next, guys?

I know Eileen said I was never normal, but I actually felt as normal as I have in a while when we were sitting in that movie theater. I can tell you this, we will be back to a movie in the very near future.  Possibly for Raiders. Thanks for the tickets, Tamara.

Well, I start my second chemo cycle tomorrow. The temodar should arrive sometime in the morning, but I don’t actually take it until around 9pm. I’m also going to be trying a different anti-nausea medicine called kytril, which hopefully lasts all day. Please pray that it does and that I experience no nausea during this round. God can protect me from side effects.

“The LORD watches over you — the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:5-

I need a miracle, God specializes in them, pray BIG!

Don Bowen Update: 2008-05-03

I got my official MRI results back on Thursday and it is “stable”. There was further shrinkage of the area where the tumor was, so I’m very encouraged.

Thursday night we went to see Amy and Kelly in “Seussical” at Dunlap High School. It was good, but I was slow in figuring out that there were two worlds being described - the one with Horton and the Who world on the clover. Don’t ask. You’d have to see it.

Friday, after over three days of much lower pain, it came back and was pretty intense in the afternoon and evening. Not sure what it is, but we know it isn’t a tumor!

Hanssen’s invited us out to their beautiful home for a SaladMaster demo/meal, which was just excellent, not to mention healthy. Click on the picture (as always) to see the whole set. We may have a demo at our house soon. None of us bought a set, but the one with no income wanted to. We did come home and throw out some teflon pans. I mean, once you’ve consumed most of the teflon its time to get new ones, right?

Walking through their house is like a mini-African safari. The animal heads are very cool, but I loved the ostrich eggs. When you listen to their stories of growing up in Africa and then all the businesses they have run here since coming to Peoria in 1976, you can feel like a lazy bum. I heard that!

I had asked you to pray I could start my second cycle of temodar on Friday. It almost happened. At the last minute on Thursday I got a call from Duke and all tests had been faxed to them and they had actually faxed the temodar order to the mail order drug company. Unfortunately the mail order place didn’t call me until Friday, so I’ll start Monday. Once again God knew better and I’m actually glad to be holding off.

My blood work looked good and only my platelets are low, but not enough to delay this next cycle. I met with Dr. Geoffroy and he thought I was doing great. I finally asked him about flying and he said it should be no problem. No need for a space helmet. I can’t wait to fly to Austin to see all my friends, but I’m not sure I can do it before June, so my first flight will be to Duke on 5/31.

I’ve had shakiness in my right arm/hand for a while, but I’ve been a bit more shaky all over since walking late yesterday. For the first time I can’t put my socks on without sitting or leaning. Even Amy was alarmed when she noticed how much my hand shakes simply holding something. I’m not so sure it isn’t the trazadone, which I’m taking for “sleep” (and I use that term quite loosely) and am not yet sold on.

Speaking of walking, I’d like to walk more than every other day, but I need the rest to recover. My left heel is my biggest problem, but I just don’t want to see a doctor about it. I’m thinking a stationary bike may be in my future. Got one gathering dust you want to sell? I can supposedly drive now, but riding a bike outside scares me even more. We’ll see. When will it be warm enough? It was 54 degrees today and it’s MAY!

Had a great visit today from one of my best childhood friends Victor, who was in the area to see his Dad, and another high school friend Terry. Victor’s family and mine are like family and he and I go way back. I’m glad he has kept my secrets safe all these years. It was great to get time with both of them. I had not seen Terry (”Slick”) since high school. Vic, next time we reminisce more about things like the all night wrestling match, the golf course flag raid and “Vic, it!”. Thanks for driving over guys!

Quick funny. While walking through the hospital the other day with Eileen I said out loud for the first time, “I wish I was normal again.” It was actually backed by some real internal emotion that surprised me. Without missing a beat Eileen said, “You were never normal.” Well, then. Back to reality. That’s my wife and one of the things I absolutely love about her.

I’ve been reminding myself the past day, even during my bouts with pain (and a few other struggles), just how blessed I really am. Eating breakfast down at South Side Mission this morning and then showing my friends our beautiful home today was an even bigger reminder. I live an enchanted life and it is not a right or an entitlement, it is a gift from God.

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)

All I have to do is look closely and I can see it right now.

I need a miracle, God specializes in them, pray BIG!

links for 2008-05-03

• James Governor’s Monkchips » On RedMonk @ CommunityOne and Why Sun is OK
  (tags: Sun Redmonk)
• Sun’s Cloudy Vision
  Pick a path, Jonathan. You’re not strong enough to go for multiple markets — that’s a classic example of “diworsification.”
  (tags: Sun)

Don Bowen Update: 2008-04-30

Yesterday was repairman day at our house. First the Best Buy technician came to look at our TV in the basement that I have waited 2 years to call and get fixed. It had problems with the jacks right away and I was sure it was the TV, but just never exercised the warranty - one of the few I’ve ever purchased. Fortunately he confirmed that it was the jack panel. He called later that night to tell me that it was cheaper to have us go get a new TV than to repair ours for $2200!. Long story short we ended up with a better version of the same TV and a new 4-year warranty thanks to Matt.

The AT&T repairman also came by because I had static on my work phone. He had literally 20 reasons why there was no way he could fix it. The first was because we have cordless phones. I asked him, “What other kind of phones do people have?” He was no help at all and just wasted a bunch of my time. When will Best Buy start doing phones?

I was more anxious about this MRI than those in the past. I wanted it done on the same machine as all the other times, but it wasn’t possible. It was actually done in a mobile unit, but I was assured that it had the latest software, which I was happy to hear.

I made the mistake of laying down and thinking my head was cushioned. It wasn’t. I did fine for the first 15 minutes, but then the sharp pain on the incision started and made the second half tough. I think you get more familiar with pain, just never comfortable with it.

I’m not excited about my new sleep aid trazadone. Took it for the second time last night and had one of my worst nights. If I have the same experience tonight I’m done taking it.

Today was a long day, mostly because we spent four hours at an eye specialist who ran more tests on my eyes than I’ve had in the past 30 years - I’m not kidding. The main reason I went was for a field vision test. The machine was incredible and I did much better.

You can really tell that the left side of both eyes is severely impacted. The left eye a bit more than the right. Not sure what that little blind spot is on the right side of my right eye. Maybe I was just distracted.

I don’t want to alarm anyone, but he told me that I can drive. I even heard him dictate it for the official record. He also said, “You can’t see small things on your left, but you can see a big bus.” Now I’m not encouraging you to start taking public transportation, just telling you what the expert said.

Can’t remember the last time I had my eyes dilated. My eyes are still sore and watering even now, but at least I got some very cool sunglasses out of the deal!

While I was waiting at the eye doctor my friend Tim called and told me that the preliminary MRI results were good. Once again the news was emotional and very encouraging. I told Dr. Kattah that I had an MRI yesterday and he actually pulled it up on his computer right in front of us. He confirmed that is sounded very positive and then actually looked at the pictures. “It looks very small”. Praise God! I hope to get official news from Dr. Geoffroy and/or Duke tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers.

Tomorrow I do my blood and liver work to determine if I can start my second round of temodar, which I hope to start Friday. The timing is tricky. I have to do my tests early in the morning, fax them to Duke, get their go ahead and have them order the temodar so it can be shipped to me by Friday. Please pray for this to happen and for no side effects this time, especially the nausea.

If you detected weariness and fatigue in my past few updates you would be reading between the lines correctly. I knew and I said this was going to be a long journey. I guess the pain of the past three weeks has made it a bit harder than I thought. I’ve had to spend way too much time resting with my eyes closed and it can be dark and lonely. But I know you guys are with me. I feel your prayers and I get your encouraging notes.

“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (Exodus 17:10-13)

You are my Aaron and Hur. Thank you!

I need a miracle, God specializes in them, pray BIG!

links for 2008-04-30

• YouTube - “No arms, No legs, No worries!” — Nick Vujicic
  Impressive guy with a more impressive attitude and faith in God

Don Bowen Update: 2008-04-28

Friday was a long day and I didn’t feel well for most of it. I decided late to walk outside and Eileen wasn’t happy with me taking the “dangerous” route without Megan Not sure how I missed it the other two times, but there is a sidewalk in plain sight on the LEFT (where I can’t see). So now I have a safe route.

That evening Eileen and I got to go out with our friends Dan and Sherie, to get pie. Pie can make everything better. Well, almost.

I always get banana cream, but for some reason decided to go with cherry. I won’t make that mistake again. I like mine tart the way my mom makes it. Even the scoop of ice cream didn’t help. However, the company made up for it. I laughed out loud for the first time in a while when we discussed my upcoming first flight since my surgery and what it might do to my head. Sherie suggested that I wear an astronaut helmet and picturing that really made me laugh. Thanks for the evening and the laughs, guys!

So they won’t be adding “M.D.” to the end of my name any time soon. The move to 4mg of decadron didn’t do much of anything, best as I could tell. So, I made the decision to back down starting on Saturday. The side effects of decadron are just not worth if there is no relief.  Saturday was a long day.

Saturday night we watched “Game Plan”, which was cute, but pretty much what I expected with “The Rock” as the lead actor. It was more for Lauren and she liked it- for the second time.

Sunday I got a good walk in on the treadmill before church and actually felt ok before noon. However, by early afternoon the eye pressure was really a problem. We went to lunch with our friends John and Susie and I can only imagine that they felt like Dan and Sherie, watching me apply pressure to different parts of my head while carrying on a conversation. Here is what it looks like:

I know it isn’t a pretty sight, but what can I say, the pressure makes it feel better for some reason. Fortunately I have good friends that cut me slack

I rested the remainder of Sunday afternoon, but since I can’t sleep I listened to the EDS Byron Nelson golf tournament. When it got to the end I got up and watched the finish and tie-breaker. It was a great distraction for me and the final putt was really something.

On Friday I had asked my doctor to prescribe a new sleep aid. I’ve been taking ambien since surgery and it just isn’t working. The past several nights I took two Tylenol PM and an ambien only to sleep for a little over an hour! The doctor called it into Walgreen’s and we went to pick it up Friday night. Can’t tell you how disappointed I was when it wasn’t there. I called my doctor and he said I’d have to wait until Monday. Arggghh! Fast forward to today and I have them call it in - again. Eileen goes to pick it up and it isn’t there - again. Not sure how that happens. Supposedly the pharmacist at Walgreen’s is busy so the prescription is left on voice mail, which somehow gets deleted. And I was worried about mail order!

I hate to admit it, but today was one of the hardest days I’ve had in a long time. The pain came on strong and early and my eyesight felt severely impacted. I told Duke how the weekend had gone and they suggested that I get another MRI as soon as possible. I don’t know why that affected me like it did, but it brought on anxiety that I’ve not felt since this began. I prayed and listened to my bible. It was inescapable and I confess I felt like I did right after my surgery.

Finally, God reminded me that nothing had changed. Yes, I had lots more head and eye pain, but that could be a number of things. Since I wasn’t feeling my way into acting, I decided to act my way into feeling. So, I got up, got my sweats on and walked while listening to a CD on prayer and faith. Once again “the peace of God which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:6-7) was protecting my heart and mind.

Please pray for my MRI tomorrow at 3pm CT and that it is completely clean. Also, continue to pray for relief from head and eye pain. Lastly, pray that I remain confident in God, who really is my refuge and fortress and my very present help in time of need. Without Him I’m not sure what I would do.

It also wasn’t a coincidence that I was listening to Hebrews today:

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:7-11)

I need a miracle, God specializes in them, pray BIG!

links for 2008-04-26

• Gene therapy ‘trains’ immune system to destroy brain cancer cells and reverses behavioral deficits
  More advances for what I have - GBM - where the immune system attacks cancer cells
  (tags: GBM attack cancer immun system gene therapy)