After the Call Comes the Visit

As you know, last week I got The Call - my father informed me he had cancer. Yesterday, I joined him for his visit to the oncologist. Late last week, he had an MRI and a PET scan to determine to what degree the melanoma has spread to other parts of his body. Yesterday was the meeting to get the results -- I had prepared myself for a dire diagnosis.

It is with great joy and an overwhelming sense of relief that I can report the doctor delivered the best possible news. The MRI and PET scan revealed the rest of his body is cancer free! The only remaining cancer is locally contained in a few lymph nodes under his left arm. The doctor believes it can all be removed in one additional surgery and may not need any post-op chemotherapy. What a relief.

I took him home and we had a chance to talk. He was extremely relieved and as we discussed our fears about the alternate scenarios, he got emotional and glassy eyed. Mind you, Spartacus does not cry, but I think he'd been keeping a lot of fear and emotion bottled up and it all just hit him in that moment. We both let out a big sigh of relief and sat quietly for a while.

So, it looks like he's going to be sticking around a while longer, and for that, we are both extremely happy.

The Call

Well it finally happened. I got the call every child dreads -- my father called to tell me he's been diagnosed with cancer. He was stoic, even detached in his delivery of the information, which I have come to recognize as his technique to cover up his worry. I know he's scared, but he would never let on. And now, everything changes, all because of a single phone call. How many times has this same scenario played itself out in the kitchens of homes throughout the country? And what are the outcomes? The mind races with the possibilities -- both good and bad!!

He doesn't know much, except that it's serious -- doctors removed a swollen gland from his left armpit the size of a golf ball and one from his right armpit that was even larger. Both were biopsied and determined to be malignant with melanoma. He will be having a PET scan and an MRI this week to determine how widespread and at what stage the cancer has developed. We will all be sweating out the next few days.

My dad has been battling skin cancer for many years. Once a quarter he's been seeing a dermatologist to have bad looking lesions removed. He wears protective clothing and a hat and religiously applies sun block -- now. But he didn't always. For years, he allowed himself to be exposed to the sun unprotected and now he is paying for his folly. But this is different -- this cancer has moved inside his body and is in the lymph nodes. All his ailments up to now: arthritis, high blood pressure, neuropathy and heart valve surgery have been light work compared to the big C -- cancer. This is time, I'm scared too.

WOW -- Weekend of Weather

The picture above is representative of what the neighborhoods near my house look like. The wind and rain of Saturday have reeked havoc on trees and power lines. There are 22,000 Westchester county residents still without power 48 hours after the storm. If not for some handy work with a chainsaw by a local resident, this street would be blocked.

We lost power at 4:30pm Saturday and didn't get it back until 9pm on Sunday. It made for a challenging weekend to say the least. I've heard that some Greenwich, CT residents won't be restored until this weekend. I felt like Magellan navigating to my destinations with so many streets closed due to the trifecta of obstacles -- either flooding, downed trees or downed power lines. It amazes me that I live in one of the most affluent areas in the United States and we still can't figure out how to supply our homes with uninterrupted electrical power. Why do we still hang wires on poles just begging Mother Nature to drop trees on them? It seems like a silly game -- one that she is clearly winning.

Jay Peak

This past Friday was one of those perfect days. Everything came together to make a memorable experience that will stay with me forever.

Previous to Friday, I had not been flying since Jan. 31 when I spent 1.4 hours with my CFI getting signed off on my required Bi-Annual Flight Review (BFR). As the name would imply, the government requires all pilots to take a BFR every two years with a certified flight instructor to demonstrate competency. There are two parts of the exam; first is an oral testing on the rules and regulations which lasts about an hour and then a flight portion where the CFI asks the pilot to engage in a series of manuevers which must be completed to the FAA mandated "practical test standards." Basically, the CFI attest to the government whether you are a knowledgeable and capable pilot. I passed with flying colors!!

February turned out to be a "no-fly" month for me. I had a few trips planned, but bad weather and forecast icing conspired to keep me on the ground. Itching for a flight, last Tuesday I noticed that the weather forecast for Friday and the weekend were to be outstanding and that conditions at the northern ski resorts were forecast to be fantastic. I left a message for an old friend, Joe R, that I hadn't seen in a while to ask if he was available Friday. He finally called me back on Wednesday and I pitched the idea of taking Friday off to head to Jay Peak in Vermont for a day of snowboarding. Joe loved it, but was not sure he would be able to get away for the day. He promised to let me know the next day.

Joe and I met in 1994. I actually hired him as a broker trainee while I was at Smith Barney and he was a superstar from the beginning. He has been extremely successful and now has a big time job there. Back in the day, we spent a lot of time together, but then I moved on to the Cape for Smith Barney and ultimately left the company, yet we have always stayed in touch. Joe is the type of friend that I only talk to a few times a year, see only once every couple of years, but when we do get together, we seem to pick up right where we left off and just laugh our asses off! It's always great to see Joe.

Now my experience tells me that when someone does not immediately say yes to an idea like this, but rather tells you they will let you know the next day, it never happens. To my surprise, I received a text message the next morning from Joe that read, "I'm in! Let me know details."

We met Friday morning at 6:15am at the airport. We departed at 6:45am into a low overcast on a VFR flight plan as I'd hoped the weather would improve and the clouds would lift as we flew north. Unfortunately, the weather actually started to get worse and I was no longer comfortable flying VFR, so we called up ATC and air filed an IFR flight plan to Newport State Airport (KEFK) in Vermont. The flight plan had us climb to 7,000ft which put us in and out of thin, whispy clouds. Within 30 minutes, the clouds had dissipated and we were flying in beautiful sunshine. The only problem was a 25kt headwind slowing our progress. We landed at 9:00am exactly after having to make room for a Pilatus PC-12 that was desperate to land before we did. The PC-12 was full of 5 guys with the same idea we had -- skiing at Jay Peak.

Our driver, Richard met us out on the ramp and we were quickly on our way to the mountain. Joe is a snowboarder also, and our abilities were very evenly matched which made for a great day. We tried to experience as much of Jay as we could since it was the first time there for both of us. Jay Peak is a fantastic ski resort with great vertical drop, a lot of difficult terrain and more glades than any resort I've been to in the East. They have a new lodge at the base with two new restaurants, one of which provided me and Joe with an excellent lunch. More boarding in the afternoon under tremendously bright skies with no wind and a temperature near 35 degrees -- it could not have been nicer.

Richard picked us up right on time. It was back to the airport and a quick departure by 4:15pm. The headwind during our flight north was now a beautiful tail wind for our trip home and we were on the ground at 6pm. What a day!! Friends, flying and snowboarding -- a most excellent combination.