PFLOYD

[32, 16, 6]

We willcontinue our prayers and pep talks. T's takin his Pap for a scope on Thursday. I went with him a couple of weeks ago his numbers are running a little high. I have a sneeky feeling we are gonna run into each other in a bit. I honestly have to say I hope its at the convo, or in a gym. I have a hard time taking notes in the Dr. office. Stay tough. Teresa

[trojandave]

Pfloyd: I greatly admire your fighting spirit in this battle.......I'm hoping and praying that you can finally be cancer-free soon and that you can get your energy back to do the things you love to do.......one of those of course is watching high school basketball in our beautiful Southeastern Ohio.

Thinking of you, Mike!!........May God Put HIs Healing Hands Upon You!!

[pfloyd]

... thanks trojandave for the thoughts and prayers - I'm doing every thing I can to get the "W" on good side of my pocket schedule ...

I had 2 surgeries Wednesday - the cancerous cell was removed from my right lower eye lid Wednesday morning - took 2 tries to get it all but they got it removed with clean margins ... Wednesday afternoon I spent in my second surgery of the day to do reconstruction of the eye area, particularly the lower eye lid of my right eye ... tough day - I got myself mentally ready for the initial surgery to remove the cancer BUT I had no idea how extensive the reconstructive surgery would be <deep breath> ... they grafted skin from behind my ear to the damaged eye lid to rebuild that area ... in doing so they have sewn my right eye lids (upper/lower) together halfway across to allow the blood circulation needed to have the skin graft take hold ... I see the surgeon next Thursday afternoon to make sure the reconstruction is going as planned , they will reopen the eye in 6 weeks - the first week in September ( which coincides with the week I will be having my CT Scan to see if the chemo is working - Super Bowl Week for Pfloyd) ...

... I'm hanging in there! pain is minimal , swelling is not too bad right now, I'm back on my chemo with the Zelboraf at a reduced dosage ... I'm handling this new dosage much better than the full strength dosage ... not sure how Popeye got around with one eye BUT I'm working on that too LOL ...

[93Bulldog]

I get depressed reading the beginning of your posts Floyd - I feel for ya pal - I really do!

Then you always crack me up at the end with some witty insight and your 'glass-is-half-full' attitude.

Just hang in their - you'll be sitting inside McAfee Gymnasium for the preview in no time feeling 110%!!! Then of course, after an hour or so of 93Bulldog chirpping in your ear, you'll wish you were back at home resting in your bed.

[wipala]

pfloyd, keep up the battle...will continue to pray from AZ for our unseen
friend in Ohio....wipala

[pfloyd]

... having a hard time getting my wife's dogs to sit on my shoulder and say "Polly wants a cracker" ...they dress up as parrots okay AND they will eat the crackers BUT got nothing in the way of speaking ... maybe I should train them listening to some Jimmy Buffett? ... I'll keep working on it LOL ...

[32, 16, 6]

I told you all the purple in Jims Gym would ruin your eyes. Now look at you. (no pun intended)

Looks like Coach Maddox might have another good team this year. Height, finesse,three to five shhoters on the floor at a time again. Hard to beat a team that can go ten deep. I might have to send you and Mrs Pfloyd my pass.

Oh, and another thing stop puttin the dogs on your shoulder, and get one of,those purple hippos from the puter room. Thats more like you!

[pfloyd]

... had 2 appointments this week - one at the James with my oncologist , a 2nd at the Eye Center to follow up my surgery of July 25th ... trying to determine if things are going "well" when talking to an oncologist is literally impossible - maybe that is because they really don't know until a scan is done - I had the usual blood draws/lab work done, the doc brought them in and went thru each result by the numbers ... she followed this up with "things are looking pretty good" - now as the person with cancer I'm looking for anything that would give me a "hint" as to where I stand ... Is the chemo working? ... are there any numbers so out of whack that it says the chemo is not doing its' job? ... what is the expression on the oncologist's face as she's giving me the rundown? ... what word or words is she using to describe my situation? ... I have to say that the "pretty good" statement bothered me ... usually when someone uses "pretty good" it is always followed by "but" - it is so hard to not read into statements made by the doc when dealing with a disease that can not be seen ... bottom line is I won't know anything as to whether the chemo is working until Thursday, Sept 13th ... this will be either a "thumbs up" - the chemo is doing it's job of reducing the spread of the cancer and/or reducing the size of the tumors - or a "thumbs down" - the chemo is not working, we need to try something else <deep breath> ... Sept 13th is now marked with a big red circle on my calendar ...

... my eye? the MOHS surgery was successful in removing all of the cancer from my lower right eye lid ... the doc said the reconstruction looks "great" ... the graft is doing well, I can see - tunnel vision wise ... no pain at all ... the tunnel vision just means I have to go to see a movie twice so I can sit on the right side the first viewing and the left the second ! ... I have surgery scheduled for .......... wait for it ... Thursday Sept 13th ! LOL ... they will do the remaining reconstructive surgery and open up the eye at 3:30pm ... Sept 13th now has a big red circle and a black star around it on the calendar ... Sept 13th is going to be a "tense" day for pfloyd & family ...

[Gib25]

Prayers and good luck from the Athens sports Community!

[TigerTownKid]

Prayers from Ironton.. get well soon!

[Focused]

Prayers going up for you from this Scioto Co. preacher..

[Orange and Brown]

Hang in there Brother...Still praying for you.

[32, 16, 6]

Your probably busy, but it would be nice if we could get a smiley face or an arrrggh every so often. September is closin in fast. lookin for good news.

[surfsider]

Prayers and good thoughts to you and your family PFLOYD from up near I-70 along the Ohio River.

[32, 16, 6]

Ok, did some sorting some reading and talked to my consultant. Any day you wake up and breathe, you accomplished more than a third of the population in Swaziland. The average age in Swaziland is Thirty two. Ive already told you tears are good, flushes the soul. We both know chemo is ruthless. It hits the good cells as well as the bad. My reading and consultant both agree with my gut feeling. That spot on your eye lid is a good thing. Thats cancer cells being pushed to a local area, which were promptly removed by our good friend the surgen. Your exhausted. Too tired to even get up. You should be. Your body is fighting a battle. Round robin alumni basketball followed by a night on the town with your classmates and an eight oclock semi final game against the young guys that have got you singled out as the man to guard......and the ref forgot to bring a whistle a pea in it. Still feelin beat? Dont, cause I ve got your back! Theres a prayer army in the stands. Four time outs, and a big bag of tricks. Rule number one. We never give up. Rule number two, when you want to give up, go back to rule number one. Its the off season. Time to getin shape, time to build confidence, time to dig in. James says if your sick call the elders togetherhave them anoint you with oil and pray. Oil is medicine. All of these people are sending theirprayers.
I believe that the news will be better. Keep the faith my good man.

[wipala]

32,16,6 Well said...pfloyd WILL defeat this!!! Prayers are going up everyday in Surprise Az...

[frog]

This man you all know as PFloyd and some of you know as Mike is THE strongest person I have ever met. He keeps pushing through being tired,
being in pain at times, not being able to see, and fighting an opponent that isn't visible with true character and grace. YOU would never know by
looking at him that he is "sick"! He smiles and laughs and works harder than anyone. He is back in school, doing the job that he loves, second to none, working with kids. He is a true fighter. There isn't the word "give up" in his vocabulary. There is always the next "quarter", the next game plan, the next, "get it done" to go through. The land of purple is praying for September 13th to be THE LARGEST DAY of celebration! Good reports and all!!! IT is time for a positive to be released and give him time to recoup and build up his strength once again. Cheers to the purple hippo man and all of his supporters! It is fantastic to read all the words of support and kindness from the SEOPS world.

[Jesco White]

Having been away from SEOPS for 5 months or so, I had no idea of the "bad news" that has been given time and again to Pfloyd. As soon as I saw this topic, I opened it with a lump in my throat, fearful of the worst, but I strange confidence in my mind, knowing the man I've grown to respect on a rarely parrelleled level as Pfloyd, isn't the type to quit or back down. Ironically, I was away all this time dealing with my own personal struggles that were absolutely NOWHERE near what my SEOPS friend has dealt and is dealing with! I spent some time feeling sorry for myself and losing focus, only to regroup and begin to compete in life again.

Mike, aka Pfloyd, I hope you either read this or are made aware of it through friends, i.e. frog, because I have something to say to you in my strongest, most confident, reassuring coaching voice! Over the years, I'm sure you have seen a number of teams lose an early conference game by a large margin, only to battle back over the course of THE ENTIRE SEASON, experiencing all the high's and low's that even a state championship season can bring. I'm sure you've seen those teams get stronger and more dangerous, eventually getting their redemption, wether it be a conference championship or a huge tournament win over a foe that previously drilled them. The best part of any EARLY conference loss, is the OPPORTUNITY at redemption in ROUND TWO!!! Mike, I'm proud to "know you", even if it is only via a computer screen and the username Pfloyd!!!! Now, lace 'em up and go get redemption in "Game Two"!!! Your title awaits you!!!

Sincerely,

Your buddy Jesco, aka Josh

[pfloyd]

Jesco - my Chuck Taylors are laced my friend ... thank you for the "pep" talk my friend ... I get down at times - having battled now for what will be 2 years this October - I truly can not remember what it feels like to be the "healthy" me BUT I know that I want more than anything to feel healthy again ... so many chemo treatments since the first week in June (twice a day every day) - my body has had no recovery time ... BUT just as you Josh - I don't know what it is to quit, to give up, to throw in the towel - just not part of my make up ... I have ALWAYS been of the mind set that the tougher the opponent the harder I work to beat that opponent - it's all I have ever known - it's THE WAY I have lived my life - put it all on the line, 110% ... again thank you Josh for giving me a "reminder" kick as to where my head should be LOL ...

... frog - I don't know what to say but thank you for the kind words ... you know me - I will give it my all for as long as I can ... you're probably right - most folks at work don't see any difference in what I do - but those close to me KNOW how much it takes physically and mentally to push through the pain, ignore how much giving it all drains me physically each day ... I truly thank my friends for propping me up, pushing me each day ...

... 13 days 'til the CT scan!!! I'm going all in for NED (No Evidence of Disease) ... not even going to waste time on reducing the size of the cancer tumors - shooting for NED instead LOL ... I am really , really looking forward to getting my eye back !!!! the pirate life is NOT for me - this "one=eyed jack" thing is driving me crazy ... Sept 13th - NED and my vision back - I've got all of my fingers crossed, dotted my "i's" crossed my "t's" AND "laced up the Chuck's" - game on ...

... Thank you everyone for your continued support - you are ALL such amazing people ... comforting to know I have so many of you on my "TEAM" ... the road "we've" traveled these last 2 years just has to lead to a "good" destination/ending ...

[Schnellfritz]

Is there any way the moderators can put a "like" button on the posts? Kinda like what FB has. Anyways, I hit like for Pfloyd's post.