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Just A Second…

An update is coming soon. Stay tuned...!

Posted at 4:27pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

7 Days Later

Today (tonight at 8:05 p.m. to be exact) marks day 7 post surgery, and things are going as well as can be expected. I'm still having to elevate my foot to keep down the swelling, and if I don't, I get the wonderful sensation of my foot filling with blood — and the feeling that everything is about to burst through my stitches. It's not a painful feeling — but it is most certainly uncomfortable. Kind of like the stitches are the cork that's keeping my insides from gushing out, and all that pressure is building up in that little toe. A Hoover Dam, of sorts. The only "pain" I've been feeling is a searing, burning sensation‚ and that chimes in every 3 and half hours or so, like clockwork. Thankfully, I take my pain pills every 4 hours with Tylenol in between, so I can manage it pretty well. So really I'm mostly just incredibly uncomfortable all the time, as far as the toe goes.

What hurts are the spots where they removed lymph nodes. CRIPES! It's like I've been hit with a bat, and they're swollen in kind. They hurt if I look at them! I also had a small mass removed from my left arm, right at the bend, and it's driving me nuts, too. I can use that arm now, but I'm ready for the Steri-Strip to come off so I can survey the huge gash it seems I have (but scars are cool), and get my range of motion back.

Another issue I'm having to deal with is nerve damage from the lymph node removal. From my inner thigh, down to about half my calf, I'm pretty much numb — and this is one reason walking is so difficult right now. I'd say about 80% of my leg is dead weight, and that's a lot of weight to lug around. The vast majority of the nerves should heal up within 6 months, so it's just a matter of waiting.

As fas as me getting around, right now I'm on crutches — and only getting up under necessity, and to get some circulation flowing in my leg for a bit. I'm hoping that after my stitches are removed in 2 weeks, I'll get to where I can put more weight on my foot and downsize to using just 1 crutch. If my nerves are cooperating and that happens, I'm hoping I'll be able to downsize yet again to using just a cane by October's end. Sometime after this, I hope to be able to return to church and start playing in the band again — as long as Bunker and Phillip will be my roadies and carry gear for me. Then maybe — just maybe — I'll pretty much be able to get along without a cane by Thanksgiving. But again, my nerve regrowth will dictate all this, and while I want to get back to playing at church ASAP, I won't walk up and down the steps until I'm 110% confident I can manage without falling. We'll see.

So that's it for now, and how things are going 7 days after my toe amputation. Now, a lot of people are wanting to see what this little bugger looks like, but I've been hesitant to show it to the public — not because I'm embarrassed or anything (I think it's kind of cool, personally), but because it's pretty freaky looking. I mean, the human brain just expects to see all 5 toes when it see "A Foot," and when one toe is just cut in half, it's kind of jarring at first. Couple that with my toe still having the big, black, and wiry stitches — and it's pretty crazy to look at.

So here's what I've done: I took a pic of my feet today and blurred-out the amputated portion — so if you want to see it unfiltered, you have to click the picture. Let the blurred image serve as a warning. Also, any redness you see isn't blood — it's just swelling skin. You'll also be able to see the start of the wonderfully huge bruise that will soon cover my foot — as well as some writing they did on the side of my toe pre-op. It's not gory or anything, it's just really unusual. In fact, it looks just like you would expect it to if you were to imagine a toe cut in half. So, here's the pic...

Are you awake yet? You didn't pass out and hurt yourself, did you?

Posted at 4:33pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s Done!

Well, it's done: 2/3 of my right great toe was amputated on Wednesday.

For those of you that haven't kept up, I was diagnosed with a granular cell tumor on the end of my toe, and the only way to remove it — while trying to ensure it wouldn't return — was to completely remove my toe down to the first joint. I also had 4 lymph nodes removed, and those will be sent through pathology to make sure no tumor cells have tried to move throughout my body. I also had another spot removed from my arm that I didn't tell many people about, but the Doc is pretty much 100% sure it was just a random fatty build-up some people get along their muscles. All of the results will be in sometime next week, and I'm ready for them NOW.

I was in surgery for 4.5 hours, and ended-up having to spend the night at MD Anderson. I'm glad I was forced to stay, though, as the pain and difficulty getting around is pretty hardcore. It's better than it was, but it's still no cake walk.

Speaking of walking, I'll be on crutches for who knows how long — maybe up to a couple of months. I'm not going to push myself too hard, but I'm hoping that I can downsize to just 1 crutch in a few weeks, though, then move to a cane for another few weeks, ultimately ending up walking on my own. It will all just depend on how my body decides to act and react.

I'll go back in just under 3 weeks to have the stitches removed, and that alone will make the amputation look a thousand times better. Right now, it's like a little Frankenstein's monster — and my whole foot is somewhat swollen. In 3 months I'll be able to get a prosthetic, which will make it so that I can wear flip flops and feel more comfortable walking in close toed shoes. We're going to go with a company called Touch Bionics and their LivingSkin aesthetic prosthetics. These people make prosthetics that are so lifelike, it's insane. They use acrylic nails, add wrinkles, add hair, and custom paint to match your existing appearance. It's nuts! I'll be able to slap it on when I want to go barefoot, and it will, quite literally, look like I truly have all 10 toes.

In the mean time, I just have to take it easy. It'll be several months before I can really put my full weight on my foot, and it'll be just as long before I can lift anything. I was pretty cavalier about all of this from the beginning, and now I fully admit this surgery put me in my place — I never thought this far ahead. Quite humbling, to say the least.

Thanks for all the emails, texts, and prayers. Now I'm off to nap again...

Posted at 4:52pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (0)

What A Week It Will Be!

I briefly mentioned this in my last post, but this week will bring a crazy surgery to me: I'm getting over half my right big toe amputated! How nuts is that?

Long story short, I had an ingrown nail removed a couple of years ago, and it never quite healed up. After months and months of trying this and that, my "foot Doc" said to have it biopsied, because something was going on. The biopsy revealed I had a granular cell tumor on the end of my toe, which for months, we had all been calling a callous from the damage of the ingrown nail. The initial results showed the tumor to be benign, so that was nice to hear. I am also the second person in UTMB's database to ever have a tumor like this in the area I have it. Nice to have a problem no one knows anything about, eh?

Fast forward a bit, and I go to see an orthopedic Doc to see what he wants to do — and he's clueless. He doesn't want to mess with anything that could potentially have some kind of malignancy, so he tells me to go to MD Anderson (a place I know all too well) to have them look at it, just to ensure everything is on the up-and-up. So, I email the Doc we had while my Dad was at MDACC, I explain what's going on, and he tells me he knows exactly who I need to go see — and it turns out the Doc he recommends is the best surgical oncologist not only at MDACC, but one of the top surgeons in the world. Literally. If you ever have to have anything surgically performed on you, this is the guy you want doing it. Needless to say, this was/is an awesome relief and a total answer and thanks to prayer!

So I go and see this Doc, and he doesn't even skip a beat: the end of my toe, down to the first joint, has to come off — no question about it. When removing a tumor, you also remove a margin of good tissue in an attempt to prevent spreading of the tumor if there are any "trace" cells bandying about. The problem with having a tumor on the end of your toe, is that when you remove margin — there's just nothing left. Thus, the end of my toe has to come off — and we hope that once surgery starts, that really is all they'll have to remove. I guess I'll know for sure when I wake up, no?

And to be perfectly cautious, they are going to remove a lymph node and run a full battery of tests on it, just to make sure none of the tumor cells have taken any trips though my body. Statistically, this happens less than 4% of the time, and if I'm on the other side of that percentage, all they'll do is remove lymph nodes. We'll see.

And there you have our main excitement for the week! Everyone always asks how I feel about it, and to be 100% honest and totally transparent, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm enough of an Existential Christian Zen kinda-guy that I really get that no matter how much I wish it were going to be different, no amount of wishing will change reality. This needs to happen, and it needs to happen now (last year, really). There's nothing I can do about it, so there's no reason to get all in a fuss about it. I do NOT say that to make light of the situation, though — I'm having part of my body amputated, after all. Not only that, it's part of my toe, which directly affects walking, running, balance, walking on the beach, etc., etc. This *is* a pretty big deal. But again: what can I do about it? Pray that God sees fit to let everything come out okay with the surgery and my final biopsy results.

Without a toe with a tumor having to be removed, how I can I truly appreciate the toe without a tumor that's not being removed? Right?

This will all go down on Wednesday, so stay tuned for an update that night or Thursday!

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The bright spot for the week should come today or tomorrow, when my new Gibson Dove acoustic arrives. She was made here in the USA on July 3 of this year, and she's GORGEOUS! Stay tuned for pics!

Posted at 8:18am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Big Day Tomorrow!

This is an extra-fluff post because it's been so long since I've posted, and because I'm super-excited about tomorrow: The Fates have aligned and made it so that my new Bogner 2x12 speaker cab AND my Bogner 20th Anniversary Ecstasy amp will arrive tomorrow. SWEET!

I am particularly stoked about the cab, as the Bogners are supposed to be the "be all, end all" of cabs — and the last "real" cab I had was my half-stack (though my Goodsell 2x10 stinkin' rules). It'll be awesome to pipe the Ecstasy and my Goodsell Super 17 MkII though the Bog 2x12! I'm still waiting on the Mesa Triple Rectifier I mentioned previously, and my supplier let me know that we're still looking at delivery in mid-October. For that rig, I ordered another Bogner 2x12 cab — sans speakers. I'm currently looking into what I'd like to load in there to maximize the high-gain rectifier tones I'll get.

As with all cool, new toys,  I'm sure these will be delivered right before I have to walk out the door and head to practice — so I'll see them long enough to wish I had more time to take them out of their boxes. Such is life, no?

••••••••

Oh yeah — I'm getting half my right big toe amputated two weeks from now. How crazy is that? More details later, so for now, Bob's your Uncle...

••••••••

A note for my Facebook people: if you're reading this via Facebook, it's actually being sucked from my personal web site: http://www.maurymccown.com, just so you know. =)

Posted at 10:07pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Bogner 20th Anniversary!

I just secured the purchase of another amp I've always wanted: a Bogner Ecstacy. Not only that, it's the 20th Anniversary model! SWEET!

Posted at 11:50am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

Round-Up!

It's been another long while since the last post — sorry about that. So let's play catch-up...

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First off, our band, The Lillian Pearl. Short and sweet: our drummer flaked on us. A couple of days before our next practice, he backed out of the band. He has his reasons, so whatever — but it was a setback for sure. That said, the drummer never was the defining characteristic of our band, so we're moving ahead like gangbusters, focusing on writing, recording, and making the necessary demos to send to venues.

But Jim, if you're reading this, please move down here ASAP. We pay in nachos. Thanks, The Lillian Pearl.

••••••••

I mentioned I had a dadgum tumor on my toe a few posts ago, and I've gotten nowhere fast on that. I went to an orthopedic doctor who basically said he didn't have a clue what to do (outside of amputation), and he told me to go see someone at MD Anderson Cancer Center. So, I contacted my Dad's doctor, and he's working to get me in so that I can see a surgical oncologist he highly recommends. The ball is rolling very slowly on this, but I'm hoping to hear something soon in regard to setting up an appointment. We shall see.

••••••••

Since I need another project to work on, I bought a 73-key Rhodes Mark 1 from an old college buddy, and I picked it up on Sunday. The bones are there, but she needs a LOT of work — which is why I wanted her. I'll post pics soon, and I'll also keep you posted on the restoration — and FYI, my plan is to pretty much rebuild everything, so this will be a pretty massive "labor of love" project. Stay tuned!

••••••••

I talked a friend into going to Kenya with me (which wasn't hard to do), and we're totally stoked about going. We'll be taking a Vision Trip with the 410 Bridge, which means we'll be seeing 5-7 areas and communities that have been identified as places needing massive assistance. This trip will allow us to hone our plans and ideas for a charity organization I started, and asked my friend to join with me in. I'm not giving out any further details yet, other than to say: a whole lot people, each doing a little, can cause a massive global change...

••••••••

In preparation for the Kenya trip — as well as some cool family vacations in-the-works — I decided to do away with my old mini DAT video camera and come into the 21st Century by snagging a Canon VIXIA HF S100. I decided to stick with removable memory only, as the cost of having built-in memory plus removable was more than it would cost to buy just two removable cards.

I am really, really looking forward to getting this! I can't believe how small and light it's supposed to be — and reviews all agree that this is one of the best prosumer digital HD cameras on the market. I hope they're right!

••••••••

Keep your eyes peeled for those Rhodes pics!

Posted at 9:34am CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)