Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How Much Time Do You Have Left?

I'm right at a month from being 59, my blood pressure - pulse - all that is perfect with no medicines and I came awful damn close June 15th...
Did some running around, went to dinner and was driving home with the wife, last thing I remember is turning off the highway into a cornfield. About 45 minutes later, I understood enough to hear them tell me they were doing a CT Scan. As soon as the CT scan was done, they dumped an IV bag full of the clot-buster drug into me faster than I have ever seen one empty. All I could do is lay on the gurney and open my eyes - couldn't talk, move... nothing.

Three days later I walked out of the hospital with no apparent damage or affects of having a stroke that everyone says should have left me a vegetable or killed me. Have some follows up, and until they are done, can't lift anything over 20 pounds, no archery, no guns, can't stay outside if it is over 80 degrees and 60% humidity (try that in Missouri). I'm going absolutely bat [bleep] crazy and climbing the walls but I'm alive and plan on staying that way for a long time to come!

I have today. At least up till now. Don't mean to pour cold water on the Fire but that's a question you'll never know unless you have the hammer back and your finger on the trigger. In the spring of 2017, 66 years old still climbing trees to hunt, walking mountains, running chainsaws, fixing anything that needed it, got to where I was always tired no matter how much sleep. Always having to stop to rest. Along in August when I couldn't keep going, couldn't eat, lost about 25 lbs, no answers, when I finally ended up in an ER trying to figure out a crazy high temp and some other stuff all the answers didn't come out, but kidney cancer did; renal cell carcinoma, right side. Fast forward to December and that's when the robot doc at Levine Cancer Center pulled the part of that kidney with the cancer and fortunately left most. Time to heal.

By late February was fairly well recovered, had a new chain saw and proceeded to "thin out" six cords of firewood from the back yard. Bout wore me out but felt good, till May. Then routine follow up with my urologist and he's right back at me saying a new test says I have an 80% chance of an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Fast forward again. Confirmed at Levine and removed Sept 2018. Turned out better than it was supposed to. Pee only where & when I want and never when I don't. LeRoy could be doing better but shows good signs of life, specially on drugs . Decided with two abdominal cancers back to back a routine colonoscopy might be a good idea. A month after prostate surgery, colon cancer was discovered. Partial colectomy in November almost 2 months to the day after prostate surgery. 13 days in the hospital because of an OR screw up, MRSA infection a prideful surgeon refused to diagnose and sent me home with, over two months of an open draining wound due to that and it healed only because I went to my primary care doc to get lab work and treatment. But it didn't heal correctly.

Just got released from the hospital on the 19th after another 5 day stay. Fairly extensive hernia repair from the deep umbilical hernia from the infection pit, along with the idiot surgeon incising dead on top of 30 day old primary incision from the Sept surgery. Now to recover, again. Bottom line I went from healthy and strong to having 3 separate cancers in my body at the same time, dealt with one by one, followed by proof there's idiots everywhere that come when you least expect it, all in a year and a half. Add the "mystery illness" from 2017 and so far I've stayed sick, hospitilized or recovering for over 2 years. And honestly after finding 3, realism sets in and you have to question the future.

But you know me, I can't complain. grins

So just a small point to make. Be careful calculating and having fun guessing about life when you never, never have the full answers to a serious question. Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is the front end of a train. LOL. Gotta go. Got some healing to do and life to start over. Maybe a year, maybe 50. Whatever time is left I intend to use for accomplishment, I do believe God can put that in front of us in ways we would not choose.

72 years old, had bad heart attack and a tripple bypass a little over 20 years ago.
Bad case of blood poisoning from copper dust about 17 years ago, which cost me a liver (liver transplant 13 years ago).
Now have a very bad blood clot in liver and 3 doctors have told me it’s the end of the line. In the mean time, I’ve had 2 hips replaced, a carotid artery flushed out and a pretty bad case of a sepsis infection. Well that’s all I remember now.
I’m hoping I get to see the 444 Marlin I’m having Turnbull Restorations work on now. It’s ok though, it’s for my grandson anyway.

How much time do I have ?

I don’t know, but I’m not buying any green bananas !!

And, what do you want to do with the time? We ain't gettin' any younger!

I hope you continue to beat the odds, sir! Something tells me you will.