Up, Up, and Delay!

As is usual this time of year, we're trying to get in the air any chance we get. If it's not windy, it's raining. This is supposed to be the wettest month, so we should have some good flying days coming up.

I went to OSP on Friday and the field was full of activity. Jim, Terry, Tim, Alt, and Kyle were all there. Jim had a new wing he was flying for the first time. His old wing was caught in a tree in Florida, so when he headed off to get a chainsaw to remove it, someone cut his risers and tried to pull it out, damaging it beyond repair.

Saturday was a long one. Chris, Chip, Ronn and I headed down to Bill's place. Jean came out also. She has a PPC, but it was damaged in a car wreck. She's currently getting it repaired.

Chris flew for 4 hours throughout the day! We don't get too many days like that.

Bill got out his Fresh Breeze on a Trike Buggy and worked with me. Before long, he had me in the air! I flew a couple of patterns around the field and decided I'd had enough. It was fun, but a little nerve wracking.

Jim and his new wing.


Alt flying under Tim's wing.


Alt close to sunset.


Alt under the moon.



Chris with Bill in the background.



Chris after being shot down.



Bill and Chris



Chris and Jean



Chip and his son Rhett



Me! I look pretty serious, huh? That's terror!





First Practice Run.



Second practice run. That's Bill's son Joey in the background.



More fun...



And I was flying...





I can't say enough thanks to Bill for not only letting me fly his trike, but helping me learn when he could have been up flying. Thanks again Bill.

Update on Me!

Revised on 5/22


I heard back from the doctors and it looks like I'll be heading that way soon. I have a few things to work out, but they think I'm a good candidate!!







Okay, I've received a lot of questions about my health so I guess it's time for an update.

First, I really appreciate all of the concern. It's nice to know people care. I'm even hearing from people I've never met. Gotta love the internet :-)

I went to a Radiologist a couple of weeks ago on a Thursday. He was ready to do a procedure called Cryoablation. This is where they insert a probe through your back into the kidney and freeze the cancer. This is a very easy procedure and you stay in the hospital for about 4 hours. This sounds much better than taking my whole kidney. That would leave me in the hospital for 4 days, two weeks out of work, 6 - 8 weeks for a complete recovery, and a lifetime of worrying about my remaining kidney.

Then, he called me back on Friday to tell me he had discussed this with a urologist and the best thing for me to do was to have the kidney removed and move on with life. If you've met me, you probably already know this pushed me over the edge. I was already stressed and this made me furious.

I told my wife that doctors were idiots and I was going to do nothing at all. I was going to keep my kidney and just have a new CT scan in a year to see if it had progressed. This didn't go over well!! She was concerned that I was making a selfish decision and risking my life. I was irrational for a few days and then I got on the internet and got to work.

So, where does this leave me? I've done a lot of research and found that Cryoablation is the way of the future. I found an artice that says Johns Hopkins University did a study and it's 95% accurate. Even when it doesn't kill all of the cancer, it's slow growing, so they just go back and do it again. I've decided this is what I'm going to do. The doctors no longer have a say! I will travel if necessary to get this done. I believe with all of my heart that I'm doing the right thing.

Here's a link to the article, let me know what you think:
http://www.newsmax.com/health/cryoablation_cancer/2008/03/17/80945.html

Jack

Central Texas Airshow

Well, all my posts have been about PPG. Thought I would show some photos from our local airshow last weekend. I still need to clean the sensor on my camera. You'll notice the spots on the photos.

Falcon Flight - Formation flying with RV's and a Beech 18



I took many photos trying to get this one!!


Charlie Jirik - Fina Extra 300


Bob Carlton - Jet Powered Glider




A-26 The Spirit of Waco


Vietnam re-inactment. Huey and A-26


Randy Ball - Mig 17


Tora Tora Tora



Douglas A-1D Skyraider


Grumman OV-1D Mohawk


F-16