Craig and DaVinci - It's All Going Down Now In a BIG WAY - A Sundance Exclusive !!!

Good Mornin’ Semis;

Well, things are finally getting ready to “go down” now from the DaVinci robot surgery.
I’m working with the Media Manager at the hospital now. She has written up a story about the surgery for the hospital and I am working with her on this, proof reading it to make sure that the article is correct.

I was the 1st patient in North Texas to do the DaVinci robot surgery and UTSW was obviously the first hospital in North Texas to perform this procedure on my lung. And my cardio/thoracic surgeon was the first surgeon in North Texas to do that surgery. And by he and I doing this procedure, it helps my surgeon with the certification process, so that he can perform this on other lung surgery patients that would qualify – so it’s a huge honor for the both of us.

I see the surgeon later this week and there will be a “photo op” down there, where he and I will have a picture taken together – that’s pretty cool. After the story is approved, it will be posted out to the UTSW website, where you will be able to read about it. I’ll give you the link once the story is about to be posted. Anyway, this is very exciting and so totally unexpected, but I am so honored to be given this opportunity to be the test case for the hospital and to be able to help my fellow man going forward.

And, I’m going to be in the newspaper too! The Fort Worth Star Telegram is sending out a reporter this afternoon for an interview about the DaVinci surgery. This reporter likes to do stories on health about people who live in Tarrant County, which I do. I don’t know when this article would appear, but of course will keep you posted – maybe it will be on their website to view when it comes out, along with being in the paper. I’m going to buy a few copies for posterity. So, this is exciting too to be in print for the entire Dallas Fort Worth / Metroplex area.

And….it gets even better than that!

I’m going to be on TV too! Channel 11, which is our local CBS affiliate, will be contacting me very soon, perhaps this week, to setup a time for them to come to my house and do an interview on the DaVinci surgery, the Tornado we went through and all of that human interest stuff. Channel 11 is pretty big on Health Stories in the metroplex and they do a very good job of reporting! So, that’s pretty exciting stuff too! There is well over 1.5 million people living in our area that gets this broadcast, so that is pretty big exposure for the fight against Cancer and the benefits of the DaVinci robot surgery for lung procedures. This is unbelievable to me and I’m so proud to be a part of all of this media!

And then…UTSW will be doing an interview with me on the DaVinci surgery and this interview will be posted to YouTube! So Sundance is going “viral” on the Internet now! Again, a big honor to be selected for this and I am so glad to be able to help the hospital, who helped me, and to further promote the DaVinci benefits and also that the War on Cancer can be fought…and Won!

She mentioned to me that there may be posts to FaceBook and even Twiter, but have no confirmation on these at this time.

So, your Semi; is going to march forward and spread the word of the latest and greatest surgeries, battles won against Cancer, and who my loving family on the board is – I’m going to get our name out there if at all possible. Each time that I sit down to talk about my experience, I will carry a piece of each of you with me to remind what “our fight” is all about. When ONE of us wins – we ALL win!

So, that is what is happening for the rest of this year, folks…my “15-minutes” is already ticking! If I blink, I’ll miss it for sure I’m just going to try and enjoy it all and take it in. I’m reaching some big audiences, so my hope is that the people that see all of this will be able to get something from it – either information, or inspiration, or both. I’ve always tried to use my Cancer to be able to help others and I’m getting a very rare chance to be able to step out in the spotlight and draw attention to our plight – and for that I am truly honored.

Patteee, if you are reading this, I am “putting myself out there” as you like to tell me…I hope you will be pleased.

Well, Gang…that’s it for now, I guess. I’ll keep everyone posted on links and dates and such as I know them, so you can all participate in this with me. It’s all about sharing with each other. And now that I know all of you, I want you to share in this with me – because ME is US!

Take care, Semis; - Wish Me Luck
-Craig