My partner in crime from High School is in Hospital with Cancer

Josh Rogers was the one that got me into grappling. He was a judoka (Judo practitioner) who started cross training into Gracie Jiu Jitsu when the early UFC tournaments made the art popular. He knew that I had only practiced striking based arts (karate and kung-fu) and was very intimidated at the thought of being pinned down.

Josh was the one who got me to move to Mesa, Arizona after I'd gotten my first DUI here and amassed a few thousand in tickets in that time span. I moved in with him and his wife, Stacie, and got a job as a corporate prison guard while I straightened everything out up here.

Josh and I had a ton of memorable adventures that we'd went on. Over the years, we've both changed and developed in various ways. We have horribly different political views and religious ideas. We've grown apart over the years and then worked out way back together for a time. Both of us making bad decisions and trying to figure out what to do next.

Now I find out that Josh was in the Hospital tonight by a mutual friend from the past. Sarah told me via Facebook that Josh had stage IV cancer in this throat. The surgeon had pulled what seemed to be a cyst out of Josh's neck that was about the size of a fist.

Stage IV means the cancer has spread. This is where we can expect the good or bad news. If it had went into the lungs, he could die according to his wife Stacie. If it turns out that it's just in his tongue and tonsils, he should be okay after radiation.

I'll be going back to Riverbend to see him to see if I can get any updated news.

MRSA identified

The culture came back positive for MRSA. This changes some of the game plan. What I know now is that it will mean a longer hospital stay, return I.V. antibiotic sessions after I'm released, and possibly being more susceptible to future infections.

Went to the hospital

Saturday afternoon I noticed a large pimple on the outside of my elbow. I ask Noriko to pop it and use rubbing alcohol on it.

Tuesday Morning: Went to Whitbird medical center and was diagnosed with Staph infection. I was given an oral antibiotic to take and a culture was taken to make sure it wasn't MRSA.

*My previous blog entry covers the what happened up until my hospital admittance.

Wednesday afternoon: I went to see "the Next Three Days" since I was feeling too tired to be productive. By the time I finished the movie, I was getting light headed and dizzy. I stopped at my Grandparents' house on my way home.
Either the pain from the swelling in my arm caused endorphins to kick in or the fever was making me disoriented. My Grandparents ended up taking me to the emergency room.
She called my brother, John, who's a CNA there. He stayed after his shift and sat with me for several hours during my evaluation. He arranged for me to be admitted to his department so he'd know the nurses and doctors who were taking care of me. Then he came in on both of his days off and spent a couple of hours visiting with me.
Thursday morning, I took an MRI to see if I had an abscess; which would require surgery to drain. While in the machine, I experienced a lot of pain. I waited as long as I possibly could so as not to be a nuisance. I finally spoke up when I couldn't stand the pain any longer.
After they wheeled me back to my room in a wheel chair, I got nauseated from the pain and went to the bathroom while the nurse went to get me pain medication. I just started to black out and lost motor function of my entire body. My knees kept giving out and I stumbled and fell with my infected arm against the wall a few times before melting to the floor with my cheek pressed against the cold tile. I had literally passed out from the pain for the first time in my life.
When the nurse returned and found me on the floor, she called for help. It took three female nurses to get me up, change my sweat drenched hospital gown for a dry one and returned me to bed.
I had recovered after a few minutes, but the feeling of helplessness stayed with me. It reminded me of when I was fighting MMA and got knocked out. I could still hear and some of my brain function continued to work, but my sight and motor function just shut off completely. When I came out of unconsciousness, I could hear my cornermen talking to me from above, I could think enough to know that I had been knocked out, but I couldn't see or move.
That's not a good experience.

Seeming elbow sprain turns out to be Staph infection

An editorial written by blog author James Anderson

Photo doesn't capture the bright pink color and tautness of skin stretched over the swelling.

Monday morning brought the beginning of another work week, and another day of planned daily doubles. I got to the BJJ gym and met my drilling partner at around 10 a.m. My right elbow ached over the weekend, but I figured a minor sprain was only going to a temporary delay in my current training routine.

By 11 a.m., competition class began warming up. After attempting a couple of sets of somersaults, it became clear to me that it just wasn't going to happen today. I decided to sit this one out, take some ibuprofen, and return for evening shift.

In the meantime, my elbow continued to swell and turn red. It felt hot to the touch. Noriko pointed out a large pimple-looking item in the middle of the swelling. I had her pop it and out came pus and blood. After hearing stories from a classmate about a staph infection that he'd had, I decided to have this checked out.

I went to Whitebird clinic on Mill and waited for several hours in pain before they saw me. The doctor disinfected the area and unwrapped a brand new sterile syringe and told me she was going to "do some digging around to make sure it was an infection."

Good lord!! I started sweating and got light headed as she prodded and poked. She took a couple of cotton swab samples for lab to make sure it wasn't the antibiotic-resistant MRSA strain of Staph. She gave me an antiobiotic to take twice a day and I thanked her.

As the day progressed, the swelling and pain progressed. I don't know if it was the natural occurrence of the infection, or if the prodding and poking exposed some rotting nerve endings. My arm stayed limp at my side like it was in an invisible sling. I felt so vulnerable as I went to my ADHD support meeting on UO campus. I was so aware of anyone within touching distance of me and their ability to hurt me beyond my ability to stop them. I knew at that moment, that any of them could take my wallet and I couldn't stop them. I'd never felt like that before.

I would have killed for a couple of stray Vicodin left over on a dusty medicine cabinet shelf at this point. Since we'd moved recently, we'd cleaned out and discarded all but the necessities. I took four ibuprofen and lay down in bed, hoping for sleep, but too wired from the pain to sleep.

Over the years, I've had my nose fractured in MMA bouts, have had my jaw fractured by a group of men and left for an ambulance to take me to an emergency room, have had a jagged aquarium rock pierce the arch of my foot and sever the tendon. I think this was more painful than all of those. For some reason, the usual endorphins didn't kick in, easing me into a hazy shock.

Since I plan to compete in the Revolution Tournament in Tacoma, and the Pan Ams later in March, I really can't afford to take any more time off than I absolutely have to. I might try and see if I can work some cardio or do some squats then the pain subsides.

Do I regret getting a staph infection? Sure! Will it prevent me from training? Not a chance. When you take on a sport or a life style, you take on the good and bad. The fulfillment and health that I've gained overall since I gotten back into a training lifestyle far outweighs the draw backs that come with that lifestyle.

I'll be back as soon as my body lets me, and I'll remember this pain so I can experience gratitude for my future health.

Grandma turns 80

Grandma turned 80 Friday. Noriko and I met Johnny and the girls at the grandparents' house Saturday afternoon to celebrate. The girls had tied up some balloons, and Noriko and I brought ice cream cake and a Papa Murphy's pizza. After dinner, we lit some candles and sang "Happy Birthday" to Grandma before she blew them out.