mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Yea Fish glad you can look back on it 20yrs later. Man that's rough but for a 19-20yr old? I'm sure it gave you a much broader perspective on life to benefit from. Was there any correlation to the sudden growth spurt? It wasn't bone related right?

na.. hodgekins. Thats lymphoma, so it hits the lymph nodes. It spreads quickly but also does well with treatment. Chemo is barbaric. You drip poison into your body under the logic and hope that it kills the cancer before it kills you. Im sure the cigs I smoked in my teen angst years didnt help.

Most of my perspective comes from this:
http://www.thevaleriefund.org/
although I was 19 my general practitioner had a relationship with an oncologist that headed one of Valerie fund offices so he got me in but I was the oldest there by far. Hanging with kids dying from cancer and rare blood diseases, and worst watching their parents remains the defining event on how I view the world. If you ever have some cash and want to donate they are an amazing group.

This was the year the Knicks lost to the Rockets and following that team was often the thing that kept me going. The whole office knew I was a huge Knick fan. They made me go to the xmas party that year. I really didnt want to, but they really pushed so I caved. Santa called me up to sit on his lap and said ho-ho-ho we have something here for this big kid... courtside seats. Knicks vs. Nuggs. I was right behind the Knick bench and sat in front of Rodney Hampton.

Life is funny.

wow! I have goose bumps fishmike.

Sports talk seems so silly in the context of real life.

For some reason, everyone who goes through these illnesses seem like pure souls that learn to have such a great perspective one life/

Curious ... was it hodgekins or non hodgekins?

You certaintly learn to focus on the moment and live in the now. Im a very emotional guy so takes some practice for sure. Its all about today and for me my kids. Right now Im a nervous wreck. Im cool on the outside but Im out of my mind. I coach my son's hoops team (we are the Jayhawks) and tonight is the league final. We went 8-4, earned a bi, won our first two and can win the title tonight. This is soooo much easier as player!

Makes all the little disagreements and chatter about trolling seem extremely small.

We only have 1 life....There's no reset button. Be happy and live life to the fullest.

Glad to see you guys are overcomers! You guys are the real heros....

fishmike wrote:

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Yea Fish glad you can look back on it 20yrs later. Man that's rough but for a 19-20yr old? I'm sure it gave you a much broader perspective on life to benefit from. Was there any correlation to the sudden growth spurt? It wasn't bone related right?

na.. hodgekins. Thats lymphoma, so it hits the lymph nodes. It spreads quickly but also does well with treatment. Chemo is barbaric. You drip poison into your body under the logic and hope that it kills the cancer before it kills you. Im sure the cigs I smoked in my teen angst years didnt help.

Most of my perspective comes from this:
http://www.thevaleriefund.org/
although I was 19 my general practitioner had a relationship with an oncologist that headed one of Valerie fund offices so he got me in but I was the oldest there by far. Hanging with kids dying from cancer and rare blood diseases, and worst watching their parents remains the defining event on how I view the world. If you ever have some cash and want to donate they are an amazing group.

This was the year the Knicks lost to the Rockets and following that team was often the thing that kept me going. The whole office knew I was a huge Knick fan. They made me go to the xmas party that year. I really didnt want to, but they really pushed so I caved. Santa called me up to sit on his lap and said ho-ho-ho we have something here for this big kid... courtside seats. Knicks vs. Nuggs. I was right behind the Knick bench and sat in front of Rodney Hampton.

Life is funny.

wow! I have goose bumps fishmike.

Sports talk seems so silly in the context of real life.

For some reason, everyone who goes through these illnesses seem like pure souls that learn to have such a great perspective one life/

Curious ... was it hodgekins or non hodgekins?

hodgekins... good for me. Generally a better outcome, but there are 1000s of other variables. I was a 2b.. I had tumors in my upper body. Under the arms, chest and neck. Nothing in the stomach, liver, kidneys or other goodies in the middle so that was a plus. 9mos of chemo, a couple surgeries to remove some of the bigger stuff and 3 mos of radiation. Essentially a year. It was not fun but I had excellent support. Good friends, good family, good docs and (remember I was 19) a ton of sympathy sex. If it wasnt for the damn cancer I would have been a great time

You certaintly learn to focus on the moment and live in the now. Im a very emotional guy so takes some practice for sure. Its all about today and for me my kids. Right now Im a nervous wreck. Im cool on the outside but Im out of my mind. I coach my son's hoops team (we are the Jayhawks) and tonight is the league final. We went 8-4, earned a bi, won our first two and can win the title tonight. This is soooo much easier as player!

lucky for you it was the "good" one. I think that Mario Lemieux's had it too. Lot's of success stories ...

Sympathy Sex .... LOL ... classic

Chill out about the game ... its just basketball! Whats the spread?

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Yea Fish glad you can look back on it 20yrs later. Man that's rough but for a 19-20yr old? I'm sure it gave you a much broader perspective on life to benefit from. Was there any correlation to the sudden growth spurt? It wasn't bone related right?

na.. hodgekins. Thats lymphoma, so it hits the lymph nodes. It spreads quickly but also does well with treatment. Chemo is barbaric. You drip poison into your body under the logic and hope that it kills the cancer before it kills you. Im sure the cigs I smoked in my teen angst years didnt help.

Most of my perspective comes from this:
http://www.thevaleriefund.org/
although I was 19 my general practitioner had a relationship with an oncologist that headed one of Valerie fund offices so he got me in but I was the oldest there by far. Hanging with kids dying from cancer and rare blood diseases, and worst watching their parents remains the defining event on how I view the world. If you ever have some cash and want to donate they are an amazing group.

This was the year the Knicks lost to the Rockets and following that team was often the thing that kept me going. The whole office knew I was a huge Knick fan. They made me go to the xmas party that year. I really didnt want to, but they really pushed so I caved. Santa called me up to sit on his lap and said ho-ho-ho we have something here for this big kid... courtside seats. Knicks vs. Nuggs. I was right behind the Knick bench and sat in front of Rodney Hampton.

Life is funny.

wow! I have goose bumps fishmike.

Sports talk seems so silly in the context of real life.

For some reason, everyone who goes through these illnesses seem like pure souls that learn to have such a great perspective one life/

Curious ... was it hodgekins or non hodgekins?

hodgekins... good for me. Generally a better outcome, but there are 1000s of other variables. I was a 2b.. I had tumors in my upper body. Under the arms, chest and neck. Nothing in the stomach, liver, kidneys or other goodies in the middle so that was a plus. 9mos of chemo, a couple surgeries to remove some of the bigger stuff and 3 mos of radiation. Essentially a year. It was not fun but I had excellent support. Good friends, good family, good docs and (remember I was 19) a ton of sympathy sex. If it wasnt for the damn cancer I would have been a great time

You certaintly learn to focus on the moment and live in the now. Im a very emotional guy so takes some practice for sure. Its all about today and for me my kids. Right now Im a nervous wreck. Im cool on the outside but Im out of my mind. I coach my son's hoops team (we are the Jayhawks) and tonight is the league final. We went 8-4, earned a bi, won our first two and can win the title tonight. This is soooo much easier as player!

lucky for you it was the "good" one. I think that Mario Lemieux's had it too. Lot's of success stories ...

Sympathy Sex .... LOL ... classic

Chill out about the game ... its just basketball! Whats the spread?

I think my guys are .5 favorites so its basically a pickem

You would love my team.. we have 4 good scorers, but EVERY kid plays defense. I got them taking pride in playing team D and its our calling card. Our first playoff game we were winning 12-0 at halftime. Yea... we were pitched a shutout in the first half

I need to get up and pace.

fishmike wrote:

blkexec wrote:I hope and pray for all you guys to have a long healthy life. Guns, fish and whoever else is battling life changing issues!

Makes all the little disagreements and chatter about trolling seem extremely small.

We only have 1 life....There's no reset button. Be happy and live life to the fullest.

Glad to see you guys are overcomers! You guys are the real heros....

One disagreement here. I do give back. I talk to parents going through this. Ive "sponsored" a couple people going through this and help.. but I have to tell you. The real heros were the nurses. These were the people who dealt with sick kids who lack the emotional tools to cope. They deal with the parent who are watching their kids endure this stuff. They do all this and bring an upbeat energy and professionalism that can only be fueled by true spirituality. The docs were the brains of the place but the nursing staff was the heart and blood that made it run. Tough tough field to be in. Not all are good, but the ones that are... true difference makers.

can you name the hospital?

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

blkexec wrote:I hope and pray for all you guys to have a long healthy life. Guns, fish and whoever else is battling life changing issues!

Makes all the little disagreements and chatter about trolling seem extremely small.

We only have 1 life....There's no reset button. Be happy and live life to the fullest.

Glad to see you guys are overcomers! You guys are the real heros....

One disagreement here. I do give back. I talk to parents going through this. Ive "sponsored" a couple people going through this and help.. but I have to tell you. The real heros were the nurses. These were the people who dealt with sick kids who lack the emotional tools to cope. They deal with the parent who are watching their kids endure this stuff. They do all this and bring an upbeat energy and professionalism that can only be fueled by true spirituality. The docs were the brains of the place but the nursing staff was the heart and blood that made it run. Tough tough field to be in. Not all are good, but the ones that are... true difference makers.

can you name the hospital?

Thank god for health insurance... all my treatments etc I think my parents paid less than $15k out of pocket. Not chump change but also not the $900k we billed to insurance.

blkexec wrote:I hope and pray for all you guys to have a long healthy life. Guns, fish and whoever else is battling life changing issues!

Makes all the little disagreements and chatter about trolling seem extremely small.

We only have 1 life....There's no reset button. Be happy and live life to the fullest.

Glad to see you guys are overcomers! You guys are the real heros....

Yea seriously. Many of us me included have gone overboard at times but whatever I say or do in the heat of the moment should not be taken too seriously. I don't hold any grudges here or in life outside of here. Everyday is a new day. Past judgements means nothing. We are living in real time and everything good and bad is in the moment. And life goes on. Always moving forward.

Blkexec, I never went threw something as serious as that

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

mreinman wrote:

fishmike wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Yea Fish glad you can look back on it 20yrs later. Man that's rough but for a 19-20yr old? I'm sure it gave you a much broader perspective on life to benefit from. Was there any correlation to the sudden growth spurt? It wasn't bone related right?

na.. hodgekins. Thats lymphoma, so it hits the lymph nodes. It spreads quickly but also does well with treatment. Chemo is barbaric. You drip poison into your body under the logic and hope that it kills the cancer before it kills you. Im sure the cigs I smoked in my teen angst years didnt help.

Most of my perspective comes from this:
http://www.thevaleriefund.org/
although I was 19 my general practitioner had a relationship with an oncologist that headed one of Valerie fund offices so he got me in but I was the oldest there by far. Hanging with kids dying from cancer and rare blood diseases, and worst watching their parents remains the defining event on how I view the world. If you ever have some cash and want to donate they are an amazing group.

This was the year the Knicks lost to the Rockets and following that team was often the thing that kept me going. The whole office knew I was a huge Knick fan. They made me go to the xmas party that year. I really didnt want to, but they really pushed so I caved. Santa called me up to sit on his lap and said ho-ho-ho we have something here for this big kid... courtside seats. Knicks vs. Nuggs. I was right behind the Knick bench and sat in front of Rodney Hampton.

Life is funny.

wow! I have goose bumps fishmike.

Sports talk seems so silly in the context of real life.

For some reason, everyone who goes through these illnesses seem like pure souls that learn to have such a great perspective one life/

Curious ... was it hodgekins or non hodgekins?

hodgekins... good for me. Generally a better outcome, but there are 1000s of other variables. I was a 2b.. I had tumors in my upper body. Under the arms, chest and neck. Nothing in the stomach, liver, kidneys or other goodies in the middle so that was a plus. 9mos of chemo, a couple surgeries to remove some of the bigger stuff and 3 mos of radiation. Essentially a year. It was not fun but I had excellent support. Good friends, good family, good docs and (remember I was 19) a ton of sympathy sex. If it wasnt for the damn cancer I would have been a great time

You certaintly learn to focus on the moment and live in the now. Im a very emotional guy so takes some practice for sure. Its all about today and for me my kids. Right now Im a nervous wreck. Im cool on the outside but Im out of my mind. I coach my son's hoops team (we are the Jayhawks) and tonight is the league final. We went 8-4, earned a bi, won our first two and can win the title tonight. This is soooo much easier as player!

lucky for you it was the "good" one. I think that Mario Lemieux's had it too. Lot's of success stories ...

Sympathy Sex .... LOL ... classic

Chill out about the game ... its just basketball! Whats the spread?

Mario did have it. His was very local so it was a clip and done. I think he had some local radiation. No chemo. Lucky for him.

I think my guys are .5 favorites so its basically a pickem

You would love my team.. we have 4 good scorers, but EVERY kid plays defense. I got them taking pride in playing team D and its our calling card. Our first playoff game we were winning 12-0 at halftime. Yea... we were pitched a shutout in the first half

I need to get up and pace.

Ok ... I don't do this often and please don't ever tell anybody that I did this.

I bless your team and you will therefore win this game.

I am a rabbi so I know what I am doing ... you are good to go ... thank me later.

If you bet on this game, the blessing is null and void.

lol Don't Pete Rose it Fish.

Nice of reinman to offer you a blessing