My update
First, thank you to everyone for your continued support and excellent ideas.
Yesterday I visited my GP as planned. His response to my condition more or less fell well within the predictable process. They will be scheduling me for a CT Scan, appointment with a Neurologist, Neck / spinal cord X-rays, tons of blood work and a return for a physical in 14 days.
I took your advice Jamie and wisked my Bride out for a nice dinner and evening on Saturday night. We had fun and actually sorted through some ongoing issues to boot. No, I did not share my condition. I'm staying the course.
I spent the entire weekend (less Saturday Night of course) working for the girls. Finished up with one of their projects and just got a good start with the other one. Jamie, you are wrong about the full pocket book. Years ago, I offer my children money or services but not both. In the early stages they took the money, but gradually learned that materials are much cheaper than Labor. So, while their old man is quite slow in the process, the end product is usually pretty good and the price of the Labor is dirt cheap.
My children truly appreciate the effort and to no surprise enjoy the time spent together in the projects not unlike when we baked cookies together eons ago.
We like to make these memories together. Someday I could very well look back at these memories and they will act as a mental filler to when we did something very special together. Will I be able to make a healthy memory with my children in two (2) years from now? Perhaps not, so the way I look at it is make memories now and visualize them forever. My understanding is with this condition that the mind usually outlast the body. So, I get to keep all those memories as our treasure chest of life.
My beautiful Bride is nearly bouncing of the walls with her excitement about this cruise. It is really neat to see someone this happy about anything. She is all worried about food for me and the laundry situation. I just laugh at her because I'm very familiar with preparing meals and keeping things caught up even with her around. Somehow in my current state, I hardly find the conquest of the laundry at all challenging. I realize it is just her way of feeling more comfortable about my welfare in her absence. Tell me that isn't pretty cool.
Peg, thank you for the three (3) ring binder idea with all the different variations of plastic protectors. This will certainly help keep me organized and constantly positioned for the unpredictable. I have indeed requested copies of all the information that will be drifting in throughout the process of elimination.
Everyone, your kind words are working. Your togetherness or team like attitude got me to take that all important first big step yesterday. No matter how we slice it now, the wheels are in motion and for better or worse, something is going to happen. Hello to reality and good bye to denial.
I see no immediate glitches on the radar screen and can only trust that the Gods will send something to derail the process. Seems the custom that something must go sideways, if for no other reason than to keep us alert. If I were to speculate it would be in the area of the Neurologist appointment. The rest will hopefully unfold smoothly. Is it not interestingly that I have to hope for an entrapment in my spinal cord or a brain tumour as a consolation prize? I mean, let's be realistic here, given the options what is my best alternative? The variation in my two (2) arms does not make for a simple solution. My GP seem to think that there was a very slight difference in my leg muscles as well, but my guess is we will lock that down in two (2) weeks on my next visit.
I'll keep you all informed as the events unfold and remember this simple message: You all matter to someone and that someone treasures all of you big time. If I had a magic wand, you would all be able to do back flips before breakfast tomorrow........just for the fun of it.
Out for now.
Sandy
ps: Jamie, your Saints are kiling me in the local NFL Pool. What's up with that?