THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN

I'M SURE THERE ARE THOSE HERE WHO ARE CHRONOLOGICALLY ADVANCED THAT WILL GET THE SUBJECT REFERENCE. LOL

I'll give you a run down on how I gave myself that nickname, so here goes:

1] My heart in 2003 decided it wanted to be a racehorse, but w/o me having to do any running.  It would go from my usual of 65 BPM to 250 BPM at the snap of the fingers.  So had to have cryoablation done to freeze several 'circuits' in my heart, but after 3 1/2 hrs. of that they still counldn't find the problem and pulled out.  They keep you in a twilight state so I could converse with the surgical staff how I'm feeling.

2]Liver Xplant in 2008 d/t Non-Alcoholic Cirrosis.  All went well except for a little mild rejection, and trouble with my short term memory r/t postop IV steroids.  The Xplant also changed my blood type, & made me Diabetic along with taking 3 BP meds, and on anti-rejection meds for life, not to mention 2 bucketfuls of meds twice a day.

3]I have 3 Titanium Vertebra T7, T8, & T11. Which while I am able to walk just fine, pain & I have become old friends.  I take, depending on pain level 90 - 180 of Oxy/day to stay vertical and not walk around hunched over like I am 90.

4] I have bio-cable in my L Wrist & L Calf so the muscles will function to lift, grab, & walk.  Courtesy of being a Combat Medic in the Army.

5] I also took a bayonet to the abdomen whilst in the Army as well, that took a bit to recover from.

6] Took a AK-47 round to the upper tibia of my R leg, Army as well.

7] Knife wound to my R bicep.

8] Numerous bilateral knee surgeries the R has had more done than the L. R is due for replacement.

9] R ankle surgery due to Fx and Bone chips floating around in there.

10] Broken R Patella. It broke entirely in two, not fun.

11] And now... Found out after my 10 year Liver Xplant Annual 2 weeks ago [Mayo Clinic Jacksonville] was perfect.  

After the good news came the not so good news.  They discovered a mass on my R Kidney about 2 1/2" x 3.0".

There was not a sign at my 9 year Xplant Annual, but surprise there was something new this year.  Pre-Op workups will start on 06 Feb. with the surgery on 13 Feb.  Had to chew on the Dr. a bit as it had be the day before Valentine's. Dr. is hoping they will only have to take 1/2 the kidney, but if it has spread throughout the entire kidney then out it comes.  I'll also lose a rib as well.  Joked with my wife today, maybe I'll to bring the rib home with me. You know, 'The Lord God caused Adam to sleep...everyone should know the rest.   She got a laugh out of it.

Now perhaps you can see while I gave myself that moniker.

On a lighter note I have a great & loving wife. We have 6 children, 4 boys & 2 girls aged, 25, 23, 21, 19, 15, & 13 y/o.

My wife was Dx'd with Multiple Sclerosis 8 months after my Xplant in 2008.  She didn't get her first flare until last year and really hit hard.  Then her 2nd Flare 5 months later.  She is still able to walk, talk, and do most other things, but she has a quad cane which she hates, and uses the electric wheelchairs when we go out shopping.

Our standing joke is, That we have really put that In Sickness & In Health clause in the Wedding Vows to the test. LOL

Found out after my 10 year Liver Xplant Annual [Mayo Clinic Jacksonville] was perfect.  

After the good news came the not so good news.  They discovered a mass on my R Kidney about 2 1/2" x 3.0".

There was not a sign at my 9 year Xplant Annual, but surprise there was something new this year.

As the Great Paul Harvey used to say, 'And now you know the rest of the story.'

So any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.