Life Event

[TravisCook]

Yesterday was a great day. I received my PSA results. Lowest reading so far at only 0.014. The PSA is considered a cancer marker for me. No movement in the number indicates the cancer is not active. News of the results made my wife cry. We both understood the significance.

We just returned from a brief trip out of state. A group of friends all drove to Ohio for a bit of a road rally. Having had a beautiful trip we were horrified to have seen an accident on I70 between a sedan and a tractor trailer just outside of Claysville. Three occupants including the driver. Mother and toddler both ejected. It was Mothers Day.

There are a lot of things that we look at every day. Minor setbacks. It’s been raining nonstop for the last week since returning. It took nearly a month to get a new quarter window for one of our cars. There are days when I have a hard time standing up. Does any of that really matter? Yes I know they are irritating and I’m not saying we should all just ignore everything that goes wrong in life.

I do my best to have the perspective that I should be thankful for everything I’m given. Just before leaving for Ohio I ran to the store. I rarely go anywhere and so I was surprised to see a large bolt had gone through my rear tire. We weren’t taking the truck, I saw it in my driveway so I was able to get home, I wasn’t stranded anywhere and its easily fixed.

I thanked God for allowing me to have that road hazard under those circumstances and despite developing cancer I thank Him for allowing me to be here with my wife every day. Being here and not leaving her side is the most important thing to me. Nothing else matters.

Glory to Almighty God above

 

[Medusa50]

It’s been several months since I have touched this thread. No new is good news has been the theme. Doctor visits have all gone well. Treatment has yielded results better than my doctors could have hoped for. My life has been relatively incident free and for all of that I am grateful.

We recently returned from an 18 day cross country road trip. Fourteen of us set out to cover the United States and visit a half dozen National Parks on a trip I dubbed “Drive to ‘25. Nearly 2 years in the making, it was to be the holy grail of road trips.

Starting in Wisconsin, everyone converged and began to head west. On the list of stops was the Badlands of SD, Wall Drug, Deadwood, Iron Mountain Rd. Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Sturgis, Spearfish Canyon, Devil’s Tower, Bighorn National Forest, Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Beartooth Pass, Montana 200 Scenic Byway and finally Glacier National Park and the Going to the Sun Road.

The second half of the trip we continued the journey with just two of the original fourteen into Canada. Waterton Lakes, Banff and Jasper. To say I’d died and found heaven wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

While in Glacier I had the opportunity to hike to Grinnell Glacier. After a short boat ride it was a 3.5 mile slog uphill. With more than 1600 feet of elevation gain. Nothing I did could prepare me for the physical assault that day. Fighting through exhaustion, cramping and other pain myself and two other friends made it up to the summit.

I thought about quitting several times. Giving up would have been easier. Approximately 1.2 miles from the top I urged my friends to go on ahead. I didn’t want to hold them back. As I sat there on a rock outcrop I thought of all I had been through. Looking at the distance remaining I said I’m not letting that stop me.

I got up and pressed further along the trail. After coming to a group of trees .4 of a mile from the top my good friend Mark came back down to meet me. I asked How tough is it? He said I’m not gonna lie, there’s steps leading up to the ridge. It’s no joke!

Young kids 40 years younger said they had to take a break every 5 steps. I kept telling myself, I’m going up there. I had to will myself to the summit. As I came up over the hill I could see the Glacier and Upper Grinnell Lake.

It was an emotional moment. I didn’t say anything. I wanted to experience the silence and grandeur even though deep down I felt like shouting. I did it. I went farther than I thought I could. Farther than most expected me to go.

I didn’t make it because I was in the best physical shape. I made it because I wanted it more than a lot of folks who tried and never got to the top. My mind said yes even when my body was saying no.

Though I doubted my own capabilities I surprised myself at the end of the day. When you want something that bad, nothing stands in your way.

 

[Mystiko Neossia]

Can you please PM me your photos. They look lovely. I am happy you survived and conquered a big goal in your life.

You are a living example anything is possible if you believe in yourself. Oakley's vision was always told make something better. Well sir you truly did make your life better by never giving up. Thank you for sharing this moment of triumph with us.

 

[Medusa50]

Can you please PM me your photos. They look lovely. I am happy you survived and conquered a big goal in your life.

You are a living example anything is possible if you believe in yourself. Oakley's vision was always told make something better. Well sir you truly did make your life better by never giving up. Thank you for sharing this moment of triumph with us.

I’ve attempted to post a number of them here. I’m getting a notification saying the files are too large. Not sure if there is a way to address that.

 

[Codechimp08]

beautiful brother, glad you are doing well and visiting some beautiful areas. Jealous of this photo, looks amazing. Keep on keeping on F$#k Cancer !!!!

 

[Medusa50]

beautiful brother, glad you are doing well and visiting some beautiful areas. Jealous of this photo, looks amazing. Keep on keeping on F$#k Cancer !!!!

Not everyone wins their battle but when I’m gone I want folks to know that I wasn’t going to let it happen without a hell of a fight.

 

[Medusa50]

Badlands SD

 

[Mystiko Neossia]

Badlands SD

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Beautiful photos!

 

[Medusa50]

Frustrating many of the files still say Too large.

 

[Wicked]

Frustrating many of the files still say Too large.

Can we address this @OakleyBoss
Others are having this same problem.