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Me and Florida
The biggest reason we moved was two-fold, both medical.
The UP was dreadfully lacking in doctors and especially specialists. I had a choice - take my wife to Ann Arbor to the University of Michigan hospital or take her to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. I badly wanted to go to U of M because I am an alumnus there, but it was an additional 200+ miles. Time was not our friend just then. I am hopeful we have this cancer thing behind her, but we don't know that. The same treatment we got in three days may have taken up to two weeks in the UP. The population there is dropping like a rock, and with that fact, doctors and specialists go away.
The other reason was for me. I'm pretty sure I've told you that I beat pancreatic cancer in the fall of 2013. I got super lucky and was placed in a very limited drug trial. Over six weeks, I was given various medications to kill the disease. When I told people I had to sign over 500 consent forms, they laughed, but I was serious. I think I even signed one that said, "If you grow a monkey tail, it's yours to keep."
Long story short, out of the original 25 patients, nearly half died by the end of the six weeks. The medication made me wish I could die, but I kept fighting to keep going. Ten more patients died within a month of the end of the trial session, leaving three of us surviving in November. I had to give them blood several times a week, and the clinic was sending bags of medications they wanted to give me to see how I was reacting, followed by more blood draws. By December 13th, I was the last survivor.
On December 19th, 2013, my oldest brother, Roger, was murdered over $15 worth of marijuana. He gave the guy a $20 bill and asked for his change. The witnesses there said the dealer shot him in the face, and as he walked away, he told Roger as he lay dying, "There's your change, bitch!" I was in Florida at the time, so I drove to South Carolina to pick his body up and return him to Michigan for his funeral.
It was a long drive, but I was crossing the Ohio - Michigan border on Christmas Eve morning when my cell rang. My doctor from the trial clinic told me that my blood work showed my pancreatic cancer was gone to my amazement and complete gratefulness. He said he wanted to continue to track my blood reactions to new meds. Since then, I have gotten a bad of meds via IV every two months. They draw blood before and after the IV. They are watching for the chemicals that change after the meds are given.
If you recall, Magic Johnson, a basketball player for Michigan State and then the Lakers, developed AIDS in November 1993. Magic had been told that he would die within 18 months because that was the norm back then... but Magic didn't die. They didn't know why, but after years of blood tests, they found his white blood cells were attacking and killing the HIV cells. Advancing technology began to show them WHAT was changing, and they developed treatments to make the blood cells of other patients mimic what Magic's blood cells were doing.
They are doing the same thing with me, and about (now) twenty-five others are doing with and to cancer cells. Every two years, I have to go to this clinic to spend two to three days in-hospital there. They take my blood, push various other meds in, and watch what happens. The human WBCs (white blood cells) is basically the human version of the military. If you cut your big toe, special WBCs come screaming down the lymphatic system and begin to clean things up and kill bacteria. It's utterly amazing. My WBCs have learned how to actively attack and kill cancer cells. I have had several skin cancers that try to flare up on a regular basis, but it gets beat down.
I have had my pancreatic cancer try to flare up again, but with this (still in trials) chemical made from materials I have been a guinea pig for its development, it goes away. They are very close to having this engineered for the public. This spring, I need to visit the clinic and stay for several days. I've talked to them in the past week, and they are ecstatic I will be close to them again. I'm trying to synch my stay with my schedule, but I hope to know very soon.
Besides, as soon as we get the house closer to done, I love taking photos of gators. I'm not sure where they are right now, but I have a few thousand pictures of gators in their natural environment. They are cunning animals, but they are relatively predictable... unlike people! In the last decade, I've decided that I need most people like I need inflamed hemorrhoids. LOL. I have my wife and our dogs. We are happy that way.
Take care!
V
posted by
BigV
on March 12, 2022 at 3:05 PM
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I wouldn't live in Queensland in Australia with the heat and Crocodiles. Same reasons I wouldn't enjoy Florida but enjoy and I am happy you are back where you love to be.
posted by
Kabu
on March 12, 2022 at 1:50 PM
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Good afternoon
My husband was stationed in Florida and later we visited the gator-infested state in the summer of 2007 when we took our girls to Universal Studios. Neither one of us was impressed with the Orange State. It's good to know that there is someone who appreciates it.
posted by
Sherri_G
on March 12, 2022 at 10:18 AM
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