Category: Life with Pratts

Garage Door Theater

I was going to post this picture yesterday, but I was busy undergoing a nuclear stress test of my heart, before taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to get some outdoor work done.

Thanks to the new families in the area, we had the best ever Halloween turnout on Thursday. Besides my usual front porch decorations, I projected a familiar movie onto the garage door. It’s the original 1977 version, not the 1978 “Part Four: A new Hope” re-release or — ugh! — any of the “special editions.”

A little boy, probably five or six years old, exclaimed, “Obi Wan!” He ran up to the garage door, patted the image of Alec Guinness and proudly explained to the group he was with, “That’s Obi Wan!” He’ll make a fine Jedi Knight.

Regarding my stress test, the results showed a healthy heart with no indication of coronary artery disease, let alone scarring from a heart attack. Yay. I had been told that my many years of long distance running was the probable cause of my a-fib, but yesterday’s results showed there are also definite benefits to running.

Covid or Kremlin?

What I have doesn’t feel like a virus. It’s more like I’ve been poisoned by one of Putin’s agents. With my immune system suppressed by chemo, I’ve been wearing Powecom KN95 masks in public places, and I don’t have Covid.

What I have is radiation sickness, and it’s unlike any other illness I’ve ever had. I’ve been assured that, by the end of this coming week, I should be feeling significantly better. I’m hanging onto that hope.

Face Front!

The last time I weighed 165 lbs., I was training to run the Boston Marathon. That’s my weight now, after six weeks of cancer treatments.

One effect of the chemotherapy is that it cured my psoriasis, although I have been told the flaky patches will probably return. There is also the effect that chemo had on my facial hair.

Before chemo:

After chemo:

Update: Once again, I am now clean-shaven.

How I Spent My Summer

I had surgery the Friday before Memorial Day, and I had my final radiation treatment the Friday after Labor Day. The going got extremely tough toward the end, but it’s done.

The chemo has made me anemic, so I feel weak and fatigued. I’m still in some pain, but with the promise that I won’t need the narcotic pain killer I’m taking after a week or two. Another effect of the treatments is that I’m down to my marathon training weight, but without the benefit of being in good physical condition.

Trump’s Suckers for Putin

Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian influence operation

https://apnews.com/article/russian-interference-presidential-election-influencers-trump-999435273dd39edf7468c6aa34fad5dd

Today was supposed to be my last cancer treatment day. Instead, it is the penultimate day, because of what happened on Tuesday, the worst day of my life.