I had breakfast Tuesday morning with Smokey and Jeff - good friends and members of our trap shooting team, Christian brothers, and two of the most solid men I've ever known. I haven't seen them since before treatment. It was a long time coming.
Jeff presented me with a trophy that was inscribed, "Most improved shooter". As it turns out, of all the participants in our Tuesday Trap Shooting League, I improved the most over the course of the last season. I wasn't able to accept it on my own, so Jeff grabbed it for me.
Now before you get too excited about this honor, what it really means is that I was the worst shooter the year before. It was my first year and I had a lot to learn. For those of you that might not be familiar with trap shooting, here's a quick lesson...
In each round, you attempt to shoot 25 targets - which are bright orange clay disks that are launched from a single "house" or trap. There are five positions in a semi-circle, where you attempt to shoot five targets before moving on to the next position. The targets can be launched in any direction from the house - left, right, center, high, low - you never know where they will go.
In the course of the season, we attempt to shoot 600 targets.
OK, on my very first round, I shot a zero. I didn't hit any of the 25 targets. My second round, I shot a one. So, the bottom line is that I could only improve from there. I finished my first season with a total of 307/600. I finished the second season with 418/600 - an improvement of 111. I graciously accept this honor.
I really do enjoy the sport, and especially the comradery of being on a team with a bunch of great guys. I miss being able to shoot this year. I look forward to next year.
It was great being able to catch up with the guys, and more so, being able to enjoy a good meal with them. Eating is once again something to look forward to. I'm still not 100%, but close enough.
Unfortunately, my dry mouth has made it to my vocal chords, and I have lost my voice. Hopefully, it will clear up in a few days and I'll be back to my old self again. I did more listening to Smokey and Jeff, than talking.
Two years ago, I had built a really cool screen porch for Bill & Dianne. They are friends of Smokey and his wife Kathy. During our breakfast conversation, Smokey mentioned that Bill & Dianne were looking for someone to replace some windows at their place, and wondered if I would be interested.
Windows are a project that I can handle, so we headed over to check out the project after breakfast. I couldn't stay to take measurements, since I had my eye doctor appointment that morning, but I will get back over there to measure and get the windows on order.
Next stop Tuesday morning was the eye doctor appointment. A couple of weeks ago, she found a laceration on my left cornea. I was given eye drops to clear it up. Part of the nerve damage that resulted from the cancer is a lack of feeling on the entire left side of my face. This includes my eyeball itself. She figured that the laceration may have happened while I was sleeping - I rubbed my eye against the pillow, or maybe my hand.
The laceration has heeled, and my sight is getting better. I had mentioned to Dr. Julie (eye doctor) that Dr. Akthar (Proton Radiation Oncologist) felt that the left eye may have been effected by the radiation resulting in the cloudy fluid in my eye. This should clear itself up in time as the eye heals. As a little aside note, I have to thank God that I have no feeling in my left eye. If it is actually radiation burned like my throat and the skin on my neck, I can't imagine how painful it would be on my eyeball. Thank you for that.
Dr. Julie insists on me using an eye moisturizer, since she feels that my left eye is unusually dry. This didn't surprise me at all since everything else is also dry - my mouth, my sinuses, and my throat. The brand she recommended has the consistency of Vaseline, which of course, makes a gooey film over my eye, making it impossible to see through. So, I'm back to not seeing with my left eye.
No one knows if or when my neuro deficits will begin to repair themselves. It could be a year or more before I notice any change, or it may not happen at all. I need to consider that this is the best it might ever be, and begin to plan my future accordingly.
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