For The Story: Read more about this Alternative Process Here……
Category Archives: Intersections
When Life Throws a Curve
From the vagaries and ups and downs of life. I find myself recovering from surgery with time to reflect. Another Intersection of Life and Art.
As you read this I am on my way to the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix Arizona for a Consultation. But here is where The Story Begins:
On October 3, 2018, I was diagnosed with a “brain mass”. Vision problems had sent me to the Ophthalmologist. His testing and measurements of my left eye indicated something bad was going on behind that eye. He sent me to the emergency room, calling ahead to discuss with the Dr. what tests would be appropriate.
The Symbol of My Journey
(The Ambiguity of the Mirror from “The Artist’s Studio” symbolizes my Journey. So it will be the featured Image for these medical update posts…….)
When I arrived, they were ready for me and ordered an MRI with contrast dye, no questions asked. The diagnosis: Brain tumor of unknown type growing behind my left eye; referral the the Neurosurgeons.
But, there is also a back story: I am an 8-year breast cancer survivor. So I also (and for the rest of my life) have an Oncologist. He now enters the mix. His fear is a metastatic spread of my previous cancer, which would be a sure death sentence.
Weeks of testing: Bone Scans, PET Scans, CT Scans…………All showing no breast cancer; Dodged that bullet! But I still have an unidentified tumor in my head that needs to be identified so the best treatment can be determined. All non-invasive procedures exhausted, now it is time the the Neurosurgeons to perform a biopsy.
So how do they access that area behind the Eye? By drilling holes through you sinuses. The ENT Surgeon does that. I didn’t even get a black eye from this; but I do have a puffy face. My worst bruise was from the arterial blood pressure tap-in. Apparently when you have brain surgery, they tap an artery to have the most accurate blood pressure.
Biopsy Results: I have a rare but treatable/survivable brain tumor (Which I will name and discuss later). It is in effect a birth defect. It was supposed to be reabsorbed as my little fetus grew, but it wasn’t. And when that happens you have a little guy in your head that probably won’t be a problem unless you are 1 in a million me.
My Neurosurgeon removed what was safe to remove without doing harm. It was affecting my optic nerve (first symptom), my Pituitary Gland and Carotid Artery (the brain’s source of blood).
Follow-up will require a unique radiation treatment only available in a few places. So I have been referred to The Mayo Clinic in Phoenix AZ.
POSTSCRIPT: Ongoing, I will be taking a road trip to Phoenix (Dates TBD); loading up the 4Runner with my camera gear and film (bought for a cancelled trip to the Everglades). Radiation I know will be 5 days a week for 8-10 weeks. So I will be doing photography as I feel up to it and posting as I go. Exploring Arizona for that time and keeping OldSchoolPhotoLabs very busy.
Ciao Baby!
Armistice 1918-2018: What Have We Learned?
Over the past 4 years of the 100th Anniversary of World War I (The War to end all Wars, except that it didn’t). I had hoped for some thoughtful reflection on the Root Cause of Conflict. I am aware that some of this occurred Across Europe. But nothing here in the USA.
WWI History is barely touched upon here. I know much more than the average America due to an excellent AP European History class I took in High School. It was taught by one of my most memorable teachers, Mr. Knab, from the perspective of the root cause of conflict and how it directly led to WWII.
An opportunity lost……..
So I am Honoring My Father’s WWII Service in a Segregated Army, in Italy. 1st Lt Vernon Johnson. An Army He later helped to Integrate under orders from President Truman. He worked in the Army Reserve, ‘helping’ white soldiers get used to taking orders from African America Officers. At the out break of The Korean War, he was like other WWII veterans, exempted from further service because he had a wife and child. At least back them they did not want to make more Widows and Orphans.
Notably my Father was also a Buffalo Soldier…..And he loved the Bob Marley song. He felt Appreciated and Respected.
My Father always talked about the Children he met in Italy………
And Training at Ft Huachuca, Arizona…….
We’ll end with a Photograph of my Mother. The one that my Father carried with him through the War. I found it in his old foot locker along with many of the images above:
Mom is still with us at a Feisty 95……
Let’s Take A Break………
Let’s take a break from all of the Artistic Seriousness. Sometimes photography should just be FUN! So I’ll share with you A tasty morsel from our Team Building Garden at work: Courtesy of Team Plantform….
And it was VERY YUMMY!
I’ve also tagged this as an ‘Intersection’, because Gardening is its own Art Form……
Intersections of Life and Art
I’m going to be posting more in depth commentaries on specific issues that affect my Perspective on Life, and therefore my pursuit of the Arts.
Annoyingly, I want to post these as Pages…so they aren’t hard to find. But WordPress does not post updates for page changes. Boooooooo!
So I’ll have to post separate notifications. These post will always be identified by the Eclipse as the featured photo:
My First Intersection was prompted by the dismissive attitudes of Tennis Pundits that I reached out to on Twitter, following the U.S. Open Women’s Final. To see how I make this Intersection, Read On! (Warning, might not be much fun, but it’s greatly watered down from my original essay).
