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to a pediatrician, who said that this was a viral infection. We had suspected that it might<br />
be an ear infection. By Sunday at noon, our house was finally quiet. The cruise was over.<br />
We were left <strong>with</strong> fond memories, and viral infections.<br />
Posted by David Shuster at 11:22AM (-08:00)<br />
First Update for 2012. Google Ads Pay Out!<br />
Tuesday, January 03, 2012<br />
I received a check from Google for ad revenue from my blog. $100.95 was sent to me as<br />
a result of people reading my blog and clicking on the ads Google places on the right side<br />
of the posts. As a result, I am matching the amount and sending $201.90 to the<br />
University of Washington care of Dr Nghiem to be used for research into <strong>Merkel</strong> cell<br />
carcinoma.<br />
I was home alone for almost a week as Judy went to the Renaissance meeting in<br />
Charlotte mainly to take care of Eva, Sara and Bel. She left last Tuesday and came back<br />
yesterday. I worked 4 full days while she was gone, and managed to handle the work<br />
well, although I was tired by the end of the day. While at home, I watched a DVD of<br />
Season 3 of 24, all 24 episodes, and read a book of 850 pages, 11/22/63, a science<br />
fiction thriller by Stephen King.<br />
I am feeling quite well, but there are some symptoms. Apart from the dry mouth, hearing<br />
loss and neuropathy, I have gradually been developing discomfort on swallowing,<br />
particularly dry foods. There have been episodes of heartburn. I thought this was due to a<br />
virus as I was in contact <strong>with</strong> my contagious grandchildren during our family cruise.<br />
However, I now think I am developing a radiation stricture of my esophagus. I will<br />
mention this to Dr. Flam when I see him on January 18. I think there is little to do now,<br />
unless it gets worse. If it is due to new tumor growth, the area has had a full dose of<br />
radiation and I doubt if any more chemotherapy will be effective. Right now, it is not a<br />
quality of life issue.<br />
Treatment, if needed would likely be balloon dilation of the esophagus, which I am<br />
reluctant to undergo at this stage.<br />
<strong>My</strong> shortness of breath and cough have improved but I continue to take a narcotic every<br />
morning for the cough. (Just a small dose, I am not addicted.)<br />
Here is a story from my youth. It teaches about life and death.<br />
The Mouse and the Minnow Trap. When I was about 10 years old, I used to go to the<br />
country <strong>with</strong> my parents and my brothers. <strong>My</strong> parents would rent a cabin by the side of<br />
the lake and there were quite a few children of similar age to me we spent the summer<br />
there. One day, we found a mouse in a minnow trap. We kept the minnow trap and a<br />
small locker when it was not in use. There was still some bread inside it, and when in the<br />
water, was very efficient at catching small fish. It was somewhat cylindrical in shape, <strong>with</strong><br />
conical openings at either end. These openings allow the fish to swim in, but then they<br />
couldn't find the openings to get out. It worked very well on this little mouse which got<br />
caught inside. We had a long discussion about what to do <strong>with</strong> this mouse. I think the<br />
consensus was that we would submerge the minnow trap in the lake until the mouse<br />
drowned and then dissect it. You have to realize that this time, we were young children<br />
who had no significant ideas about life and death, pain and torture. At that age, you<br />
thought you would live forever. Time subjectively seem to pass much lower. A week off<br />
from school was a very long time. All summer away from school was an eternity. <strong>My</strong><br />
mother saw this group of children in serious discussion, and decided to intervene. She<br />
<strong>My</strong> <strong>Battle</strong> <strong>with</strong> <strong>Merkel</strong> <strong>Cell</strong> <strong>Cancer</strong><br />
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