Happy Birthday Dad!

This Halloween is my fathers birthday.

Not his original birthday, mind you. It's his new birthday.

For the record, droids don't eat cake. But they can bake them!

I'm sure you're confused, because I was at first. Before I go on, let me preface my explanation with a description of the process in which my father's multiple myeloma is being treated, taken from the American Cancer Society's website:

"Autologous stem cell transplant:
This type of transplant uses the patient's own blood-forming stem cells. These transplants are fairly safe and have a low risk of serious complications. To collect the patient's stem cells, often the drug cyclophosphamide and a white blood cell stimulating drug are given. Then blood-forming stem cells are removed from the patient's blood by a process called leukapheresis. In this process, blood is removed from the patient or donor, the stem cells are separated by a machine, and then the blood is returned to the patient. In some patients, the stem cells come from their bone marrow.
The stem cells are preserved by being frozen while the patient receives high-dose chemotherapy. This chemotherapy destroys almost all the cells in the patient's bone marrow. This includes the blood-forming stem cells as well as plasma cells. After the chemo, the frozen stem cells are given back to the patient. Stem cells are given IV (in a vein) like a blood transfusion. They travel to the bone marrow and start to grow and make new blood cells."

Pretty neat, right? It's still an experimental process, but it seems to be getting good results. It is however not without it's risks. You see, when you are given this high-dose chemotherapy, it doesn't just kill the cancer cells- it kills a lot of other things too, like stomach microbes that aid in digestion, and most notably, it kills your immune system. This can be problematic because you are basically of the same fragility as a newborn baby, susceptible to illness and infection that normal adults have built up an immunity too. It's like setting back the clock of your bio-chemistry to day one and re-building your immunities all over again.

In the business they call this your new birthday.

The family has some great plans lined up for my Dad's new Birthday. My brother has made him a special surprise. My Momgot him a giant walking skeleton balloon for Halloween.

I'm giving him a bumper sticker with a link to this blog.

Shameless plug warning: Buy one!

A few weeks back I finally made the trek up to Ocala to go to the Makaze squad Armor party. I was very excited to meet the garrison and make some new friends that were as big of nerds as I was about Star Wars. But mostly I was excited to get my armor done. I rolled up around 7:30 after a long day at work with my gear packed into cases and my tools in a big black tool box. I didn't need them. The place was fully equipped and decked out with every tool imaginable, food, huge work spaces, and Star Wars memorabilia that would make any fan boy teary-eyed. (It was less of an armor party and more of an armor factory!) I got the tour and made the rounds meeting the guys (and gals) and found out that I was late- like 12 hours late. Evidently these things start early in the morning and go very late into the evening. After a while chatting I went out to my van and grabbed my kit so the troops could look it over.

At first I think they were impressed by how far I'd gotten, which made me feel good because I was anxious to get going "trooping for the cure". I had heard stories about what these guys could do, and was told that sometimes they could put together whole kits in one day and get submissions in for 501st approval that night. But as they looked closer at my handy-work (all 4 months worth of it), they started to notice flaws in the construction. First it was little things, like replacing a few strips here and there. Then it was bigger things, like trimming out parts, re-doing entire sections of the armor. The resident TK expert, Tim, pulled me aside and said to me (with a great deal of concern on his face):

"I have a lot of respect for the work and the money that people put into their kits. That being said, I think your best bet here is going to be taking this thing apart and starting over."

Yeah. I was pretty crushed. Not only had I spent the last few months working feverishly to get this thing done, but I had sunk a lot of money into it as well. In addition I had constructed the armor with a plastic-weld adhesive that is extremely difficult to undo (you know, because it welds plastic). I understood what a nightmare it was going to be to take the thing apart, and realized in that moment that the armor wasn't going to get done that day, and wasn't going to get done for a very, very long time. Working as I do in the retail world (and with a second job to boot) the time from the end of October until late January doesn't hold a lot of free time to work on projects of this magnitude. I would be lucky to get the suit done before march if I was lucky.

All those thought ran through my head in the few seconds after Tim had dropped the bomb on me. I looked at him and said, "cool, let's do it". And then I picked up a screwdriver and started pulling the armor apart.

I spent the rest of the evening going back and forth between working on the armor and talking about heavy metal with a few of the guys (most notably Troy, Paul, Rick, and another Paul) who were all nice enough to help me out. They gave me lots of great pointers on how to put my kit together better, and showed me how to use a lot of tools that would hopefully make my life a lot easier. All in all it was a great time and everyone I met was a pretty amazing person with a hundred great stories to tell.

I didn't take pictures. I'm sure they like it better that way.

It would have been very easy for me to get mad at that party. It would have been very easy for me to walk away from that armor and quit on the spot. But my dad taught me better than that.

I guess the point to this entry is that I haven't accomplished as much as I would have liked to since I started this blog. In my mind I feel like I've failed, kind of like I've been masquerading as something I haven't become yet. I wish I could have gotten the armor done in time to wear it to see my Dad in the hospital. To present this whole thing to him in the grandest form possible. But we make the time for what is most important to us, and the last few months have been full ones. I'm glad I went to the mountains with my Dad so we could spend a week away from the bustle and grind of work. I'm glad we got to take one more fishing trip to the beach. I'm glad I could help in some small way little Lyric Strub with his brain surgery, and pull in a few extra shifts to donate to that cause.

My Dad started his high-dosage chemotherapy tonight. Tomorrow he will rest and on Halloween, his favorite holiday, he will receive the stem cell transplant. He will be born again. And after that he will read the words on this page and I hope more than anything it will bring him some happiness in his darkest hour. I hope he can smile and know that he's a hero to so many people, including his son.

-TFTC

Charity Dollars Raised:          $1,842.00

TK completion:                        20%