Il Divo - Hallelujah (Alelujah)

Oneness and Non-locality with Deepak Chopra

Anti-Smoking Excuses Campaign

No Smoking

It's 6 am , your sitting on the side of the bed in some hotel somewhere. First thing up, make that small 2 cup coffee maker perk. Back on the bed, pull a dumaurier out of the deck and light the first of many that day. Try and get the most out of it, suck that smoke as deep as you can, until it hurts. And were off to a good start for the day.

We all think of ourselves as being invincible , and thinking not me. We listen to the chatter

we manifest with our family members. We listen through jaded ears when we hear so and so, or uncle whoever is battling cancer. Sometimes we even try to diagnose the cause. Ahh he smoked but he worked in that garage for 30 years. That's what caused it. Anything to deflect the blows. I used to believe my own brother passed away not from smoking but from being overweight.

I smoked for many years. It made me look cool and I fit right in with my friends. I convinced myself I needed cigarettes to help me be calm. A deck a day for sure , many times more than that. That all came to an end one morning at Tim Hortons in Medicine hat when Coffee and doughnut in hand , walking back to my vehicle a lump forms in my throat and out I spew a wad of mucus and bright red blood. It brought me to my knees. From that point on things changed for me. I drove to Maple Creek and back to Calgary that day thinking of one thing only.

Lung Cancer is a tough one to beat. Don't gamble on being one of the lucky ones. Mine was stage 2 and inoperable. I participated in a clinical trial and with The Help of God am still here today.

So if you think you need a smoke, think about all the consequences and the people around you and how what you do can affect them. A cigarette will not change anything. If somethings troubling you or there's issues that have to be resolved , trust me getting back on smoking is the worst thing you can do. Don't smoke, I'm begging you.

Statler Brothers - The Little Brown Church In The Vale

Marty Robbins - A White Sport Coat And A Pink Carnation

I'm awake , and still in the operating room. A surgeon leans over and tells me that if we don't fix it now I'll be back in less than a year. I still don't know what he was telling me, but I consent , signing the form laying on my back on the table. The surgeon snaps his gloves , and says about an hour. The lights go out and I'm gone again. Two operations within a week.

This time when I come around I'm in Icu on the 10th floor of the Foothills. I'm on the newbie side where I get my own nurse who tends to and fusses over me with a trained eye for the next day or so. I am at a loss. There are tubes in my throat , I have drains running from my stomach. The pain is real. The nurse shows me the button that releases the morphine. It allows me to push it every 15 minutes, and not many opportunities are missed. That night is a blur , as is the next day or so.

They come to tell me they're moving me to the other side of the icu , where i will share the room with another and the bathroom with four patients. I'm told the view is spectacular, but I can't bring myself to look at it. The doctors come and go and so far little is said to me about the

outcome of the operation. I wait patiently and little by little I get bits of info from the nurses,

and soon I have a partial picture. I have leakage and infections, a lot for my body to handle. I"m

on antibiotics and being fed through the iv. A tube runs to my stomach keeping it empty and three drains draw the fluid from my leaks and infections. Special fittings massage my legs to keep clots from forming.

Every day is like living in a state of disbelief. between six or seven on the clock , a member of Dr Dixons team and usually a small entourage stops by for a few minutes to offer a little encouragement. Dr Ouelette seemed to offer me the most hope of all of them. He would offer tidbits like " were getting closer Mr Sawatzky * or " I really feel its getting much better" . Then the day would begin with a nurse taking my vitals. Next up the needle for keeping my blood thin. Then if I had the strength I would go for a short walk. When the meals came they passed me by. X rays, ct scans, new sites for the iv , were the order of most days. Bloodwork every night around One in the morning. The people that take blood are mostly asian. I remember one that was an old woman with a face completely white from talc. It floated away as she walked.

I could feel myself getting stronger and for awhile my daily walks were getting longer and easier to do. Then one day it was gone, I struggled to make three short walks a day. My infections were calling for better antibiotics, which they finally delivered. This latest drug did make a difference as I felt myself improve.

After not having anything except ice water for about a month and a half they finally take the tube from my throat and try me on some solids. Its hard to describe how your senses of taste and smell change after that length of time. Nothing is the same. What you used to like was now repulsive. The hospital food was totally disgusting, I couldn't eat it. Toast with becel and peanut butter seemed to be the only thing I could stomach,That and pistachio pudding. Val tried bringing me different things to try , and the result was usually a forced bite or two. Holly brought me a DQ milkshake that saved me for a day on my calorie count. They finally put a tube in and were going to try force feeding me. It didn't work out due to misinformation between the Drs and the nurses. Oh and the tube fell out when I was shaving. So I worked at getting my daily calories.

They finally thought I was well enough to go it alone at Home so after seventy five days I was sent home with one drain still in place. A nurse comes in twice a week to change dressings.

I am grateful for all that came visit. Julie's words of encouragement.advice and those no sugar added candies were well received. Thanks to Michael's family and for his prayer. Holly came from Red Deer every chance she could and I worried about putting her through this ordeal. I know Tammy has her hands full raising my Grandchildren and Im glad she came when she could. Val, bless her, came every day and I know she had her hands full without that daily visit. I wish my stay could have been for something simple that left me able to be more like an ideal patient that was more user friendly. The truth was I was hurting and worried. I did not want to put my family through that.

A visit with Dr Dixon tomorrow..

Hang gliding in Baden Baden