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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?

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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...

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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...

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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!

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Keep your eyes peeled for those Rhodes pics!

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

Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier!

It's really great to know a guy that knows a guy, you know? After commenting that I would really like to get myself a Triple Rectifier, a buddy stepped-up to the plate and made me an offer I couldn't refuse — so Mesa Boogie is building me one of their 3-channel monsters: the 150 watt Triple Rectifier!

SWEET!

Posted at 7:07pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (1)

A New Addition To The Gear Family

I know a guy that knows a guy that runs a place that buys stuff from a supplier that I know, and well, I was able to get a killer deal on a sweet piece of equipment I've had my eyes on for a while: a Nord Electro 2.

The first instrument I ever played was a piano, and while I never became proficient at it, I still love to play — but an acoustic piano is just so loud when you want to sit for a couple of hours and just goof around, attempting to write out — or work out — song parts. For the last few months, I've been tinkering with software keys, and while they play their limited part, they just aren't the same as a legit keyboard. Throw into the mix the new band (The Lillian Pearl), and that we may do some songs that could stand to have a nice Rhodes or Wurly in the background, and the Nord Electro 2 is the keyboard all other emulators wish they were.

I snagged the 61-key model, and I can't express how stoked I am to get this red monster! It sounds incredible, and the videos of it being played next to a B3 and a Mk1 Rhodes are ridiculously in the Nord's favor. Of course, nothing will ever have the same sound and soul as the original — but the Nord is the best of the best, and it'll be sweet to have those classic sounds at my fingertips. And, of course, the Nord also has some of the best piano emulation tones on the market — and I mean these samples sound like the full-size, big-mambajamba Grands. It's right next to scary how "real" the Nord's sounds are.

So now I wait for it to arrive — but it will be well worth the wait!

Posted at 10:09pm CDT | Permalink | Comments (2)