jdmidwest

It does take time to recover, mine took 4 months to start to feel like I did going in. But I have noticed they tend to lump all patients into a big pool. I think it is because they have seen so many and just average things out. Every case is different. Every human body is different and they seem to have lost touch with that. They have a protocol they follow, like a flow chart. It is a system that you just have to have some faith in. I am coming up on my first PET Scan in 2 weeks. They hold off for a reason. The PET relies on normal cells and cancer cells and the amount of radioactive tagged glucose they take up in the normal cell process of feeding. Cancer cells take it in faster and flare up when the scan happens and show up against the normal cells. They are waiting for your body to stabilize from the damage of the radiation. Regenerating cells may flare up and give a false reading. Part of the hesitation on PET test is the expense, insurance does not like to pay for it unless it is necessary. And it is a big dose of radiation to the body that really could cause more cancer down the road. You really should avoid it at all costs, but they have to use it. Frustration was probably the worst part of the whole ordeal. I tend to be more patient and work things thru. But I felt I should be getting better faster and tried to speed things up. Alot of my recovery support was thru emails to cancer docs or calls to my personal physician who I was fishing with each week of recovery. I set several balls in motion, lymphodema and speech therapies to help with swallowing and muscle damage in neck were started by me. I have seen a cancer doc once since I left treatments in June. But, in the end, it takes time for the radiation to stop killing and the body to heal. It does get better. Make sure you get lots of fluid and proteins to help the process. Try to get out and do something every day. Keep positive.

I have had some normal days again in the past week. Left out at 3 yesterday and fished till dark and still had plenty of energy to enjoy food and a few beers after we got off the water. The radiation keeps on doing damage after the treatments stop. I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to turn for the better, but it did. I have had a great medical staff to help me thru. Today was a different critter. 3 foot swells on the lake this morning and we pulled off after about an hour dealing with that. Dropped in the river and caught a few small ones before we finally bailed and headed for home. The wind was just brutal.

4 months away from radiation and things are approaching normal again. Most effects gone. Still have dry mouth and goofy taste buds. Neck stiff and speech weaker and slurred. Weight and strength coming back. Kicked cancer in butt again and kissing it goodbye. Back on TN River today and had a good day. I had been tossing back 14-16 in smallies and holding leader board over my two companions. Then one pulled ahead of me with a nice 18" 3 1/4 lb smallie. Not to be outdone, I worked this one up. Best smallie so far, 20" and 4 lb 11 oz. He fell to a flicker shad just before dark. Nice end to a wonderful day.

Had I been sitting still in full camo in the woods, he would have spooked 80 yards out. It was funny, several people passed me. He must have been a local oddity that other knew about. I did not want him in the cab of my new company truck, but if I had a camper shell.....

Ran across this feller today on a street in town. He was just standing in middle of road and I pulled alongside. He pecked hubcaps. Ran alongside truck. Followed me down street a half block. I shot some video if I can figure out how to post.

Love My Nails Platinum worked good. I used some fauceted beads instead of plain round ones with success.

I was using 6 and 8 mm ones when I was up there. I also have dozens of other egg patterns that never really did the trick like a pegged bead. I will have to try them. Must be an instinctive bite pattern.

Snows were moving down the Mississippi all day today in big flocks. Colder weather on the way.

Nice fish. I have a ton of beads left over from Alaska trips, but have never tried them here. Hard to find a nest of salmon eggs to mimic here in MO. But they sure worked charms on Dollies and Rainbows in Alaska.

All the fresh smallmouth and goggle eyes you can eat?

Looks like the fault is shaking, 3.6 yesterday in Manila AR.

Drought is over. Whoppin 2 tenths of an inch today. All of that blew away with the wind after the clouds left. Still waiting to plant fall garden.

I always thought that was because they had bad aim backing up into the trailer.

All of the toilets flushing near the dam skews the reading, then the turds start clogging up down below.

Plenty of rain up north. Wing dikes at Chester were under water today, sticking out a few weeks ago when I crossed.

I love grilling on a gas grill. But I always hated the cleanup. Double that if you sauced anything or used a marinade. Lots of scrubbing and checking that you did not leave any brush "whiskers" behind on the grill surface. I would go thru a few brushes each year on my small Weber Q grill. I always used the charcoal grill to cook anything that I wanted to sauce. No matter what you sprayed it with, the grates always get gunked up. Then I saw the Infomercial. Copper Grill Mat, made it look like a charm, easy cleanup and cooking like a normal grill. I bought a couple of them back in the summer at Menard's for 9 bucks and some change. I love it. Trimmed it to fit with scissors. Toss it on after the grill heats up and put food on. Keeps juices in better. Works wonders for veggies. NO Stick on anything. Nice grill marks. Easy cleanup between when cooking different food, just push old char or juices off with a spatula. Same great taste. Does not change the way the grill cooks or flavor. When done cooking, pick it up with tongs, drain grease or juice off, then toss in dishwasher or hand wash. My first one looks like it will last the rest of this year and keep going into the next. Wonderful. Two thumbs up.

I have not mowed since July. That was about the time of the last rains. Just traveling around, the dry parts are west of St Gen to Cuba, down to the Arkansas border, back across the bootheel, and up thru southern Illinois. Lakes and ponds are low. Hurricanes missed the area, going east and west of the area. Most rain has been from a few fronts that brought it in, not hurricanes. I was on 3 lakes today in Illinois, all were several feet low. But the Mississippi River was running full at Chester. No fracking around here. They dig the sand out of the ground and haul it off to the Fracking areas.

Its been dry because of no rain in Se Mo. Farmers are pumping groundwater out in irrigation. But nothing to do with fault. Hurricanes missed us. Last good rains in August. 2" in Sept. Less than inch so far in Oct.

I have a few fly vises I may part with. They make great lure duplicators.

Tube jigs work fairly well in coontail. They tend to shed weeds.

We debated going there on Sunday. We fished a lake on Terre Du Lac on Sat. evening after rain passed for a few hours and did alright. But decided on Lake of the Ozarks and went elsewhere. Something passed thru that made fishing tough on Sunday, probably lingered into today. Clear water did not help. I have never caught any huge bass on Council Bluff. But there are a good number of average ones there. The Enough end has always been my favorite and the rock ledge along the arm where the outflow thing is.

I drove up with a friend on Sunday and fished it for the first time for fun. We put in at State Park ramp at daylight and fished that arm down to where you could see Osage Beach. It was a brutal lesson for me, first time on the lake. 2 small bass and a drum. But I did better than my buddy that has fished it before on several tourneys, he caught a white bass and nothing else. We pulled out by 2. It looks like it has potential, and not too far away for me. Shad were everywhere, but not much feeding on them. Lots of cover and deep rock banks like I normally fish. Boats were spaced out about every 100 feet everywhere we went. I am sure the tourney had many participants. We took my buddies boat and we were the smallest boat on the lake. 17' Alumacraft with a 25 Merc. I think the jet skis had us outgunned. Somebody had set up a boat blind that morning not far down the lake with a dozen geese out in front. He had boats fishing on both sides of him when we went by. I am sure he had not planned on all of the activity.

I hope it is when I get to old to remember to go..... But one really never knows. They buried a guy today that made plans with me on the 4th of July this year to fish out of a new jet boat he was looking to buy this year. He never got the boat and I never got to fish with him. I met him thru a friend, it was his cousin. We had talked fishing over the years at the annual party on the 4th at my friends house. When my buddy called the other day to tell me of his passing I was shocked to hear. You just never know really how short your time is.

Enlighten me on PB2. I am considering a first time trip to LOZ this weekend and may have a down day on Sat due to weather. Sounds like a trade or tackle show. Dam Hurricane coming thru TN and washed out plans for that one.

My 50 runs all day on a few gallons. I am going to buy smaller tank and make room for extra battery for 24 v system. I have been siphoning tank each spring for mowers and put fresh in first time out when I see a no ethanol place. Stabil goes in too.