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I'm baaaaack
Been a long couple of years since I was active here. 2 years ago I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Went thru 9 months of chemo which reduced the size of the tumor to a point where I could have the Whipple surgery - I'm reminded of the line from Little Big Man where Jack Crabb says "they're whittlin ya down pretty good there, Mister Merriweather." I went from 210 pounds to 115 pounds, in and out of the hospital, and was in surgery for 10 hours last March and am just now getting some semblance of strength back, and am all the way back to 140 pounds, which I think will be my fighting weight from now on. I do not recommend this disease to the faint of heart. On top of all that, we moved from Indiana to Illinois 4 months ago, and most of the packing, movers, etc fell to my incredible wife Julie - all 4'11", 100 lbs of her. What a dynamo! Love that woman. We went from a 3500 sf house to a small 1300 sf house near my daughter and new grand daughter in the chain of lakes area in northern IL, with all my shop stuff in storage until the spring when I can finish fixin up the one car garage. (my shop space will be cut in half from the old one in Morocco.) Seems like as I shrink, everything else does to. LOL.
But considering that 85% of the folks who get this disease die from it, I fell pretty dam lucky to be typing this. My last 2 cat scans showed that I'm in remission, and I'm feelin pretty god dam good, all things considered. I think once the shop is set up I'll be making children's stuff - chairs, toys, etc - small things that will fit in the shop, and that won't be so heavy I have to call for assistance from the Dynamo.
So I'll be pursuing the forums and dropping my 2 cents worth every now then, and it's worth every penny. Also looking for sawyers/mills up here where I can get some decent q-sawn white oak if you know of any. Cya around.
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Bill, You are a tough guy. Glad you got “outa there alive”. I’m aware that in order to get the Whipple surgery you have to promise to
not “Squeeze The Charmin” . I know it’s not easy. Try to make yourself content just “doing crafts” with the complimentary cardboard tubes.
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Congrats Bill. We welcome you back and hope the shop gets set up soon.
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Good to hear from you, and especially with good news!!
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Good to hear you are in remission, do all you can to stay there.
Looking forward to seeing some of your toy builds.
jtk
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Wow, that's wonderful news about your health battle. I've had several friends in the 85% bracket you mentioned.
I don't know any sawyers in your area but I think Woodmizer still keeps a list of people around the country who want to share their contact info. You might also try https://www.woodfinder.com/. It's been years since I've sawn any white oak on my little sawmill.
I'll be watching for some of the children's stuff you mentioned! If you don't have a lathe one can fit in a small shop space. I used to keep two lathes, a bandsaw, and a few other tools in 1/2 of out 2-car garage.
Hey, here's a great little project for small kids - I made this after my oldest son was born, about 50 years ago. It's been through three sons, two grandkids, and a score of visiting kids. It used to have nice perky leather ears, bridle, reins, and braided leather tail!
Attachment 494356 Attachment 494357 Attachment 494358 Attachment 494359
I made this from a 1x12 pine shelving board from Home Depot. My shop at the time was a jig saw, hand drill, a cheap plane, and outside on the porch a 24x36' work "bench" with a vise and a Craftsman radial arm saw (complete with sanding drum for curves).
JKJ
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Bill!!! So happy hear you have turned things around! I have been following you frequently, seeing that you have been checking into the forum even if not posting.
I always appreciated your contributions and your philosophies. Time to tell my wife about your victory!
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Welcome back Bill. It's wonderful hear that you are winning the battle.
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Bill,
You are extremely blessed to have survived pancreatic cancer! I worked in hospitals and clinics for 34 years in radiology departments. I noticed that pancreatic cancer patients seem to succumb to the disease often in just a few months. I asked a radiologist one day why that is so. He said it's a silent killer in that by the time most patients have symptoms it's already spreading to the rest of the body.
Congratulations! You have a lot to celebrate, wife, family and life in general!
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Congratulations and welcome back Bill!
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Bill, great to hear your success in fighting to stay alive. Congrats on that and the newest grandchild. Patrick
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Glad you have came through it and still have a sense of humor. Such a nasty disease. My SIL had throat cancer. It was a tough go for him and he's about the same. Lost over 100 lbs and now just doesn't have much appetite. I know there are some saw mills in that part of the state or some a little farther north in Wisconsin. Maybe this link will be helpful.
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories...68a4be41f29cb2
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Congrats on the great news Bill. Best wishes in your continued recovery!
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Cheers to your continued improvement, sir.
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Bill, welcome back! And you are indeed an amazing fighter to come out of that particular issue as you have. It's one nasty thing. I hope to be reading about your new projects as you start moving some along.