I’ve decided to give you all a break today. No significant rants on politics, sexual
preference, religion, or faith…..keeping in mind that religion and faith have
absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Sigh….that’s how it starts…..I digress.
As I write this paragraph I realize that I might be lying…it doesn’t
take much to set me off. Just keep
reading and shut your freakin’ yapper.
I’ve been feeling well enough after this last round. We definitely knocked the dook out of cancer
this round. I was tired and felt
nauseous, but I got to live life pretty normally. I avoided shaving my head for yet another
week. And no, it’s not turning into an
ugly comb-over, so save the jokes. Mouth
pain has been non-existent for this round.
That is super cool, but as I scan my mouth for sores I will say that I’m
quite disappointed with how my teeth have stained since my last dentist
appointment I switched to a sonicare
almost a year ago, I floss every day, but still I get stains. This is crap.
I can drink 2 cups of coffee and have stains on my teeth, but I can
painstakingly stain my back deck and it looks like I haven’t touched it after
only one month in the weather. They
should come up with some sort of coffee additive to deck stain to deal with
this. Again, I digress. I’d say the only lasting impacts have been numbness
and tingling in my fingers and toes, and some serious aversions to anything
that smells like a chemical or plastic.
The numbness doesn’t bother me all that much. I’m more sensitive to it (at least they say)
because I’ve frostbitten my fingers and toes before. The gag reflex from the plastic and chemical
smell is really a pain in the neck. The
very hand sanitizer that is keeping me healthy makes me want to throw up in my
hat. Seriously, what a quandary. I stand before the automatic hand sanitizer
dispenser with alleged deadly bacteria on my hands, and with the sandwich I ate
30 minutes earlier climbing the water spout.
To sanitize, or not to sanitize, that is the question. Forget Shakespeare, that S.O.B. was too busy
writing Sonnets that make the majority of men look like philistines to be of
much value to me right now. I did,
however, have the privilege of being stuck in slow traffic behind a large
diesel pick-up for 30 minutes the other day.
Add the smell of diesel exhaust to the list of horrible things that make
me want to hurl. And, while I’m at it
(yes, this will be a bunny trail) what the crap is up with those guys that lift
their big diesel pick-ups as if they’re going to enter them in a monster truck
competition? Totally ridiculous. I realize that having some extra ground
clearance can be nice when you’re drunk and running over parked cars and
pedestrians, but let’s get real. You
can’t hitch a trailer to the truck without a drop hitch, you can’t go through
the McDonald’s drive thru because your truck is so tall (and I know you love
McRibs), you can’t even get into that thing without a step ladder. Okay, maybe it looks tough, but if I’m not
intimidated by your horribly offensive and surprisingly anatomically correct
“truck nuts” along with your “Fear Me” sticker in the back window, the lift kit
won’t push me over the edge. I just
realized that I’m breaking my rules from last week by ranting on this. Shame on me.
If you didn’t read last week’s blog, essentially I made an oath to treat
people better. I messed that up already,
I suppose. If you want to lift your
truck, go ahead. Just be aware that it
makes it hard for you to see your blind spot, so be careful when you merge
because there might be some guy in a mini cooper down there somewhere jamming
out to the Jonas Brothers.
As previously stated, instead of a blog filled with deep moral insight, this week
I’ll entertain you (at least I hope) with a story, that as of late, is always
on my mind. Kacy and I took a trip to
Everest Base Camp a few years ago with our great friend Gary Scott. A side note, Gary is more than just a good
friend. I consider him to be a mentor on
many different levels. I would willingly
put my life in his hands (and actually have a few times) and more importantly
I’d trust him with the lives of my family.
I say this to at least put this story into context, and for you to
remember that I was on this trip with a great guide and we had an awesome
time. This story is just part of our
awesome Nepal experience. Also, if you
have the means go on a trip with Gary, you’ll have a blast. At the very
least, check out his stuff at http://www.rightpathadventures.com/.
Alright, so on with the story, welcome to Pheriche – Elevation 14,300’. After 6 days of trekking steadily uphill from a mountain airstrip in Lukla at 9000’ (go to YouTube and search for “Lukla Air Strip Landing”, you won’t be disappointed) we arrive in the village of Pheriche in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Pheriche is a great little village that is a major stopping point for many Everest expeditions. It’s got a little airstrip there for helicopter traffic and the infamous Himalayan Rescue Association. Enough of the trivia, if you want to know more…google it. Anyways, upon arriving a few of us decided to take a quick hike up a nearby peak. Now, keep in mind that for our group (Jesse, Patrick, Gary, and I) we’re not only fit, but we’re acclimated well from hiking slowly over the last few days and an easy hike for us includes about 2000’ of elevation gain in less than 2 hours. In the range of 14,000 – 16,000 feet, that’s not bad. However, insert the male ego, and the fact that I left about 45 minutes after the other guys, I took it as my personal challenge to catch up…which I did eventually as they were taking a break, but not without a significant cost (more on that later). I felt really well on the down climb, and after an hour or so of hanging out in our lodge (more description on what a “lodge” really is in a moment) we had dinner. A fantastic dinner of “Momo’s” to be more specific. Up until this point, I had a significant love affair with Nepali food, especially Momo’s. This is where the story heads South. For those of you with weak stomachs, skip the rest of this story. We had opted to stay in a lodge this particular night, which turned out to be a very, very good thing. Lodges in the Khumbu vary in their accommodations, but for the most part, at this altitude, they are thinly insulated buildings (think wood with Styrofoam stapled to the inside) that are furnished with a 3-inch foam pad on a wooden bed, and a chair if you’re lucky. Remember, anything that makes it up to this elevation is probably carried in by people or yaks, as helicopter drops are extremely expensive. Next, the lodge’s community bathroom is a short 10 steps down the hall and consists of a floor-mounted bed pan of sorts and a barrel of water to wash down your….uh, you know, business. To make the experience even better, you don’t drop toilet paper down the hole, you put it in a bucket next to the “toilet”. Trust me, after 2 days you’ve seen more of other people’s crap than your own. A little tip, don’t look down the hole. Curiosity will eventually get the better of you, and you’ll look….everybody looks. Good luck getting that image out of your head. All this said, keep in mind that water doesn’t flow freely at 14’000’. People haul it to the village either by bucket or by chunk (yes, it’s frozen up there). So, you don’t mop floors and laundry service is expensive and time consuming. You’re in the Khumbu, get over it! Don’t get me wrong, lodges can be a luxury at 14,000’, and boy am I glad we had such a luxury. I woke up at 3am with a headache and extreme nausea. My first thought was to hydrate, which you have to do religiously at this elevation…especially after a tough hike. I take a drink, and that’s the catalyst. It was as if my stomach was just daring me to take a sip, like an ambush. Well, as soon as that drink hit my stomach it’s all over. Of course, there’s no trash can, no bucket. All I could find was a gallon-sized zip lock bag in my pack. Well, it’s better than nothing. After an hour or so, the zip-lock was full. To empty it, I stumble down the hallway to the bathroom in my sleeping pants and down booties. Oh yeah, did I mention that it was cold? Like, really cold. Cold enough to freeze vomit in a zip lock bag within an hour kind of cold. That’s right, a great little pudding pop that turned out to be. So, I empty out my zip lock and go to “flush” it down. Only one problem, the barrel of water is frozen solid. No wash down for me. Felt pretty bad for the next guy. He had to look at a frozen chunk of vomit while taking a pee. Well, back to our room for a little rest. After laying down for another 30 mins, the party continues. The interesting thing was that I had run out of anything in my stomach to offer up to the Zip Lock baggie. So, with nothing else to offer, I started to vomit blood. Yep, I said it….blood. This whole time Kacy had been putting up with my vomiting and whimpering, but she got a little alarmed when I leaned over and told her that I was vomiting blood. But, like any hardened adventure traveler she took it in stride and coaxed me back to sleep. I don’t remember much else after this. I was exhausted, dehydrated, really cold, and totally eradicated of any bodily contents. I do remember a couple more frozen trips to the bathroom, but I’ve been trying my best to repress those particular memories. I woke up around 6 or 7am to a frozen bag of bloody vomit (I told you to stop reading) and Kacy standing over me with a cup of tea. I literally spent the next 2 days in bed bundled up in sleeping bags making hourly visits to the frozen bathroom. After those two days, I brushed my teeth, shaved my face with a bowl of hot water, and got on with our trek. I still don’t know whether it was exhaustion, a stomach bug, or some combination of the two. Also, a cool little event as we were leaving, a guy had to be airlifted out for a burst appendix. Even something as simple as that can be your ticket home. As is life in the Khumbu. Now, this may sound like an uncomfortable, scary, and somewhat painful story, but think of the lessons it helped teach me. More importantly think about how those lessons are coming in handy right now as I sit here with a headache, an upset stomach, hair falling out, treatment port in my chest, and poison coursing through my veins. At least I get to do it in a warm house, with warm water, and real flushing toilets. Shoot, I even have Cable and Netflix in this beeotch. I love this story, and as I read through it, it’s probably not near as exciting or interesting as I think it is. But, these last few weeks I haven’t been able to get it out of my head….for obvious reasons. But, I’m so thankful for the experience that it gave me. I challenge you all to go out there and make yourself uncomfortable. Get out of your comfort zones because sooner or later, you’ll find that life forces you out into the great wide open (I hate Tom Petty) to fend for yourself. Trust me, you’ll be better equipped if you teach yourself to relish in the suffering. We’ve all got our crosses to bear in that regard. You may not have cancer, but I’m sure there’s something that you’re suffering through right now that’s likely even worse. My advice; don’t do it alone, and if you can smile through the tough stuff, the good days are even more precious.
Alright, so on with the story, welcome to Pheriche – Elevation 14,300’. After 6 days of trekking steadily uphill from a mountain airstrip in Lukla at 9000’ (go to YouTube and search for “Lukla Air Strip Landing”, you won’t be disappointed) we arrive in the village of Pheriche in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Pheriche is a great little village that is a major stopping point for many Everest expeditions. It’s got a little airstrip there for helicopter traffic and the infamous Himalayan Rescue Association. Enough of the trivia, if you want to know more…google it. Anyways, upon arriving a few of us decided to take a quick hike up a nearby peak. Now, keep in mind that for our group (Jesse, Patrick, Gary, and I) we’re not only fit, but we’re acclimated well from hiking slowly over the last few days and an easy hike for us includes about 2000’ of elevation gain in less than 2 hours. In the range of 14,000 – 16,000 feet, that’s not bad. However, insert the male ego, and the fact that I left about 45 minutes after the other guys, I took it as my personal challenge to catch up…which I did eventually as they were taking a break, but not without a significant cost (more on that later). I felt really well on the down climb, and after an hour or so of hanging out in our lodge (more description on what a “lodge” really is in a moment) we had dinner. A fantastic dinner of “Momo’s” to be more specific. Up until this point, I had a significant love affair with Nepali food, especially Momo’s. This is where the story heads South. For those of you with weak stomachs, skip the rest of this story. We had opted to stay in a lodge this particular night, which turned out to be a very, very good thing. Lodges in the Khumbu vary in their accommodations, but for the most part, at this altitude, they are thinly insulated buildings (think wood with Styrofoam stapled to the inside) that are furnished with a 3-inch foam pad on a wooden bed, and a chair if you’re lucky. Remember, anything that makes it up to this elevation is probably carried in by people or yaks, as helicopter drops are extremely expensive. Next, the lodge’s community bathroom is a short 10 steps down the hall and consists of a floor-mounted bed pan of sorts and a barrel of water to wash down your….uh, you know, business. To make the experience even better, you don’t drop toilet paper down the hole, you put it in a bucket next to the “toilet”. Trust me, after 2 days you’ve seen more of other people’s crap than your own. A little tip, don’t look down the hole. Curiosity will eventually get the better of you, and you’ll look….everybody looks. Good luck getting that image out of your head. All this said, keep in mind that water doesn’t flow freely at 14’000’. People haul it to the village either by bucket or by chunk (yes, it’s frozen up there). So, you don’t mop floors and laundry service is expensive and time consuming. You’re in the Khumbu, get over it! Don’t get me wrong, lodges can be a luxury at 14,000’, and boy am I glad we had such a luxury. I woke up at 3am with a headache and extreme nausea. My first thought was to hydrate, which you have to do religiously at this elevation…especially after a tough hike. I take a drink, and that’s the catalyst. It was as if my stomach was just daring me to take a sip, like an ambush. Well, as soon as that drink hit my stomach it’s all over. Of course, there’s no trash can, no bucket. All I could find was a gallon-sized zip lock bag in my pack. Well, it’s better than nothing. After an hour or so, the zip-lock was full. To empty it, I stumble down the hallway to the bathroom in my sleeping pants and down booties. Oh yeah, did I mention that it was cold? Like, really cold. Cold enough to freeze vomit in a zip lock bag within an hour kind of cold. That’s right, a great little pudding pop that turned out to be. So, I empty out my zip lock and go to “flush” it down. Only one problem, the barrel of water is frozen solid. No wash down for me. Felt pretty bad for the next guy. He had to look at a frozen chunk of vomit while taking a pee. Well, back to our room for a little rest. After laying down for another 30 mins, the party continues. The interesting thing was that I had run out of anything in my stomach to offer up to the Zip Lock baggie. So, with nothing else to offer, I started to vomit blood. Yep, I said it….blood. This whole time Kacy had been putting up with my vomiting and whimpering, but she got a little alarmed when I leaned over and told her that I was vomiting blood. But, like any hardened adventure traveler she took it in stride and coaxed me back to sleep. I don’t remember much else after this. I was exhausted, dehydrated, really cold, and totally eradicated of any bodily contents. I do remember a couple more frozen trips to the bathroom, but I’ve been trying my best to repress those particular memories. I woke up around 6 or 7am to a frozen bag of bloody vomit (I told you to stop reading) and Kacy standing over me with a cup of tea. I literally spent the next 2 days in bed bundled up in sleeping bags making hourly visits to the frozen bathroom. After those two days, I brushed my teeth, shaved my face with a bowl of hot water, and got on with our trek. I still don’t know whether it was exhaustion, a stomach bug, or some combination of the two. Also, a cool little event as we were leaving, a guy had to be airlifted out for a burst appendix. Even something as simple as that can be your ticket home. As is life in the Khumbu. Now, this may sound like an uncomfortable, scary, and somewhat painful story, but think of the lessons it helped teach me. More importantly think about how those lessons are coming in handy right now as I sit here with a headache, an upset stomach, hair falling out, treatment port in my chest, and poison coursing through my veins. At least I get to do it in a warm house, with warm water, and real flushing toilets. Shoot, I even have Cable and Netflix in this beeotch. I love this story, and as I read through it, it’s probably not near as exciting or interesting as I think it is. But, these last few weeks I haven’t been able to get it out of my head….for obvious reasons. But, I’m so thankful for the experience that it gave me. I challenge you all to go out there and make yourself uncomfortable. Get out of your comfort zones because sooner or later, you’ll find that life forces you out into the great wide open (I hate Tom Petty) to fend for yourself. Trust me, you’ll be better equipped if you teach yourself to relish in the suffering. We’ve all got our crosses to bear in that regard. You may not have cancer, but I’m sure there’s something that you’re suffering through right now that’s likely even worse. My advice; don’t do it alone, and if you can smile through the tough stuff, the good days are even more precious.
After typing that story, I realize that I could probably
share a bunch of funny stories with you.
How bout’ you decide what the next story will be about. Your choices:
-Our car getting broken into and us being
rendered helpless after a 4 day backpacking trip in Hillbilly, Arkansas (this
has got to be the most interesting story)
-Kacy, Boss, and I driving from roughly sea level
to the mountains of Colorado in the middle of winter to climb Mount Evans (a
14,000 foot mountain in Colorado), during which I got frostbite and a storm
rolls in on us.
-A recent winter climbing trip to Humboldt Peak
that taught me yet again several more important life lessons.
You
guys make the call. Thanks for reading,
and go make your weekend count for something!
(PS-Kacy does the pictures and captions)
Pheriche Hangover
(complete with the back of Pemba's head - notice the beer in his hand...jerk)
 | |
| Back on top! |
Chemo Treament #4
January 4, 2012
Ben trying not to gag while Lana turns to me and says, "He's so dramatic" haha
6 comments:
Well here is my deep moral insight. You know me......
As you said "relish in the suffering", definitely reminded me of James when he said, "Count it all joy my friends when you encounter vaious trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing." Wow....love those words....it says it all.......thank you JESUS
I challenge u to tell us all 3 stories! Not only will it give u something to do and memories to be fond of, but it will give us some great stories to read and probably a few laughs. Talk about killing 4 birds with one stone...or would 3 stories technically count as 3 stones? In that case ur return isn't as great as it seems :-)
Hi Ben and my little Kacy! I enjoyed reading your blog (even with the bloody vomit). You have great perspective and I am always a little taken aback by just how you lay it all out there! At the beginning of every new year, I struggle with my resolution to be a better person and it IS a struggle. I usually fail miserably about 30 minutes after midnight on January 1!
Thanks for always giving me something to think about! I will continue to pray for you and I look forward to the next chapter in your blog!! Love you guys!
Hey Benjamin Button! I can't help but call you that for some reason! Thanks for the updates. I just od'ed on your posts and read 2, 3 & 4 all at once. I'm exhausted :) But, really, the updates on how you are feeling physically is great (since I no longer see you everyday) and I enjoy reading what's going through that brain of yours!
Stories are therapy for all. Tell em all and tell em good!
If stories come to you, care for them. An learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. —Barry Lopez
Praying for you guys! Love the posts. Keep them coming, and thanks for letting us share your journey.
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