Me and Southie Jack

About the time I was being diagnosed and starting my first go around with Multiple Myeloma, a show called Booze Traveler started airing on Travel Channel. There were a lot of adverts for it and I have to say that my interest was piqued. We were entering the cold weather and a nice escape to foreign lands would certainly be welcome and it didn't hurt that the topic of the host's travels revolved around indigenous intoxicants, those who make them, and the customs surrounding their consumption. Yeah, I think I could be persuaded to go along for the ride. 

During the coldest months of the year came some of the most painful days of my cancer experience as I underwent radiation on my spine, followed by its amusing after-effects and then my first foray into chemo. Those days also brought a tremendous amount of fatigue and apathy towards how I spent my evenings. I was still busy working full days at the office, but I was zonked by the time I got home. I'd often find myself slowly oozing into bed around 7 pm. That early bedtime didn't mean that I was asleep at that hour, though I often would be. I often would experience sharp, twisting pains in my left shoulder blade and I'd be awake again for at least a little while. If I wasn't dreaming of my Clone Army doing battle against an unseen enemy, I would spend some evenings being whisked away to a foreign land for a little liquor learning.

Thank God for Jack Maxwell and his lovely little show.

If it hadn't been for this programme, I think my sense of humour would've fallen on its then radioactive ass. I probably would've forgotten that there was a whole world outside of my tiny little life. As I stated in an earlier blog, it's important to express love and to say "thank you" whenever you get the opportunity to do so. I suppose in some fashion, this is my attempt to say those things to "Southie Jack" for helping me get through those rough patches.

Thank you Jack. You are loved.

So, here I am again in the cold months of the year, three years on and I am once more being treated for my annoying internal alien invasion. On December 12, 2017, my Facebook feed alerted me to a photo having been posted to Jack's Instagram account. That's the day I learnt that he is also now "busy". My heart sank as he revealed that he has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. As an e-friend and a viewer of his show, there's only so much that I can personally do for him as he goes on his adventure. I mean, I don't have a show that will entertain him or keep him occupied when he needs it. Still, if nothing else, as it was clearly shown to me by those in my world time and again, I believe he has seen that there is a lot of love out there and that love will get him through anything.

If you will, please send some love, healing energy and some strength to a fellow cancer adventurer to help him along on his path to good health. 

Thank you all.