VISITORS FROM HOME

(Click on any photo for a large view)A view to Loma Linda

After being down here for over two months, it was great to have Bill and Peg come down for the weekend from  San Francisco. We celebrated their arrival by eating at BJ's, a recently discovered micro pub, where we had some great fish tacos accompanied by a good IPA. The next day we ventured to Palm Springs which has become a winter favorite for us (and a few others!) where the ladies checked out the galleries on a long hike while Bill and I found a great running trail into the mountains starting just below Bob Hope's 50,000 sq ft mansion in which he never even slept one night! 

After Sunday brunch in Redlands just down the road from us, we checked out the local architecture which features many Victorian era homes along wide palm lined boulevards finally ending up in their classic 100 hundred year old library which is a real throw back to an era when people actually read books and newspapers. Do we know how to show visitors a high time? 

Sadly, they were off on Monday morning while I celebrated the 2/3 mark of my treatments with 15 to go but still hanging in there with good energy and spirits. It's amazing how fast the time has gone as we approach the home stretch but, as you have noted from this blog, we haven't been idle. 

Unfortunately, Marianne's dental work at the University Dental School may necessitate a few days' delay in our scheduled departure. 

SETTLED IN

A view of Lake Perris

After getting adjusted the first week we're now ticking along with the daily haps. (When we went to the grocery store we met four people that we knew which is surprising after only two weeks here). My treatments have all occurred between noon and three to date and I realize my luck because some guys get scheduled at God awful hours like 5AM or 11PM so, hopefully, this will continue. It's great to have spring like weather down here in January with 10 straight days with 80+ temps affording t-shirt running weather which certainly pleases this sun loving guy.

However, during one of the rare rainy days, I managed to run 62 laps on a .1 mile indoor oval in the gym for an indoor 10K! Last Saturday we visited Lake Perris, a huge state park just south of us which is the last reservoir on the California State Water Project which actually gets it's water from Oroville up north. Also, over the weekend, my daughter, Gretchen and son-in-law, Russ came up from San Clemente to check us out and we had a fun dinner in Redlands.

By the way, with all the warm weather, all my tomato seeds have sprouted on the deck. Since I'm a guy who likes to quantify things I figure, with 45 sessions, I get 2.2% better each weekday thus being 100% at the end. However Marianne, having contrarian in her Danish DNA, pointed out that I will continue to improve post-therapeutically for a while so I figure I'll finish better than 100% with a prostate the size of an olive! How's that for glass-half-full thinking? Tomorrow, I'll finish the first quartile so I'm well on my way and the time is going by rapidly and I'm feeling good.




PB in his pod

OUR RADIATION VACATION

With our little tutu-mobile loaded to the gills, we made it down here fine despite two big-rig mishaps on the freeways. After an immediate visit to Costco to get stocked up, we got settled into our home away from home, a condo in an adult community in Loma Linda, California, with a nice view of the adjacent San Bernardino Mountains where Lake Arrowhead, Mt. Baldy and Big Bear are located. This area is known as the Inland Empire as it is only 40 miles from Palm Springs and the desert to the east. 

Loma Linda is basically a small town surrounding the University hospital which is run by the Seven Day Adventist Church with Redlands next door. Our place backs up to the Loma Linda Hills which afford some great running trails. Loma Linda Springs, where we're staying, has a couple of pools, a work-out room, and a club house with beautifully landscaped grounds. 

The proton radiation treatment is five days a week for 9 weeks with the actual zapping taking less than a minute, but I'm usually in the pod for about 15 min. with setup. Actually, there are approximately 160 patients from all over the US and Canada going through treatment between 5 AM and 11PM Monday-Friday. The main attributes of this kind of radiation therapy is that it is very specific in targeting the actual cancer in the prostate with the protons dumping their load in the cancer cells and not upon entry into the body so the surrounding tissue is not harmed which results in fewer post-therapeutic side effects. This has certainly been confirmed by the testimonials of former patients and the ones we've talked to here. One of the things that is really impressive is the support given to you here in the way of social interaction, as we're all in the same boat. I have never met such a friendly group of people with bad prostates. They even have a "prostate potluck" here at Loma Linda Springs every Tuesday with a huge turnout and an informal Wednesday night get-together with a featured speaker. 

We're already into a routine here, up at 6 with an AM run in the hills followed by a gym workout as they have an excellent facility here. Loma Linda belives in "making man whole" which involves both body and spirit. However, at the present, my spirit is in better shape than my body, so I'm focusing on the latter! Incidentally, we have been blessed with spring like weather with temperatures in the mid 80's during the first week so I have been able to fit in some pool time, as well. I even got my tomato seeds planted in pots for transplanting when we get back to Belmont towards the end of March. 

They gave us a lot of info on the area and we're looking forward to seeing some of the sights starting this weekend as it's hard to get away during the week days with the treatment, keeping in mind that's why we're here.