Aloha to Family and Friends,
Amy and I are very excited to be here on Hilton Head for this week's team tennis matches. For me, not only to be back on the competitive court and see lots of my buddies that I haven't seen in a year but to be in this lovely warm weather! As most of you who know me well, I am a Weather Wimp. Anything below 70º, and I'm complaining about being cold. I am euphoric being in the warm! Being an avid Pickleball player, Amy is delighted to be able to play every day. Life is good!
Last week started on Monday with a Blood Draw and a CT Scan. A review of the scan with Dr. Koomey on Tuesday brought news with which I was not particularly pleased. A new growth has appeared in the lower right abdominal cavity area. "Nothing to get too excited about, but we want to keep an eye on it," were Dr. Koomey's words. So, instead of waiting four more chemos before doing another scan, we'll do one after two more chemo treatments. Not the news I wanted to hear, but there was bound to be some "bad" news after so much continuous good news over the past two months.
Several days before this chemo, I experienced the worse pain I think of my life ... canker sores in my mouth. A breakfast of cereal and fruit would usually take me about 10 minutes to eat. During these canker sores, it took me an hour! I understand that some people get these from time to time from a latent viral infection they carry ... another example for walking in another person's shoes. You don't really know until you've experienced it yourself. IT WAS PAINFUL! But, of course, there's a drug for that. A call to my doc, a prescription called into the pharmacy, and a rinse was all I needed to be able to at least eat! Of course, $100 later (for a tiny bottle), a rinse before lunch and one before dinner, and I felt almost human again.
The next day, the sores had subsided, so I added another drug to my ever-growing collection of taken once or twice, then locked away for future use just in case. If you remember in one of the first Medical Updates I sent had a picture of me in bed with about 6 bottles of pills and complaining about "having to take all these damn pills!" Well, the drug count is now up to 19, most of which I need not take (thank goodness). They now live in the "just in case" drawer.
I have been playing tennis a couple of times a week and working on slowly building muscle and strength. I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm and try not to come back too soon … a recipe for disaster in most cases. SO, for now, I'm being the turtle, not the rabbit. This week will be a good test of how my approach is working!
As USTA national tournaments are beginning to be held, there have been many questions about the new rules, especially about the format and scheduling of the flight doubles. Fortunately, I have been feeling really well so that I can contribute to some of the discussions and resolutions of these issues. It is going to be a challenging year, with PATIENCE being the guiding word for everyone. The NSMTA continues to grow its membership and bring more services to its members. If you're not already a member, I encourage you to check it out. OK … Commercial over!
The RV sold just two days after I sent the last update out!! RVs are in great demand here in the US. It is a great way to travel during the pandemic. You can visit friends without intruding on their space, no worries about the cleanliness of hotel rooms, you can travel to states that have the lowest rate of new cases, etc. We met the buyers through another tennis friend. They called on Wednesday, sent a Venmo deposit immediately, drove up from North Carolina the following Monday and are now the proud owners of a motorhome they really wanted. Amy and I are thrilled that "The Tennis Nomad" is going to a family that will really enjoy it and take care of it as they travel to Alaska this summer! Go luck and happy trails to Pete and Jennifer!
Best Funny of the Week
Kid bets his dad 10 euros that he can't pull the bill out from under a beer bottle without having it tip over. … check out the look on the father's face at the end!
Finally, for those of you that are feeling badly for me … DON'T. You all have been so supportive that many times I read your emails, and it brings tears to my eyes. How bad can it be when I wake up to this almost every morning. Full credit goes to Amy, an avid photographer, who took this video at 5AM (I was still sleeping).
With much thanks and gratitude,
Mas
Mas Kimball
508-560-6111
”Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.” - The Dalai Lama
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