Up until now, every walk-in visit has been either a preventative measure (physical exam) or sent home with antibiotics to fight a mild infection. I guess it makes sense to have this option, but the doctor told me that I would have to go to the hospital overnight instead of home with a prescription. My white blood cell count (WBC) was over 4x normal, and there were a couple options. I could (a) have a severe infection and need IV antibiotics, (b) having complications due to the pilonidal cyst that had developed and hurt, or (c) leukemia. I initially discouraged the cancer diagnosis, thinking it was a worst case scenario that was possible but not probable.

The next day at the hospital, after spending an unpleasant evening of doctors poking the one painful spot on my body trying to determine how to proceed, I was told that I did in fact have leukemia, a rather aggressive form, and that I would be undergoing chemotherapy as soon as possible. They also had to address the cyst before they could begin chemo.

There is no doubt that this is a life-changing event. Up until now, my medical history could fit in a small binder. Now every time I go to the hospital for chemotherapy, they have to use a 3" binder to hold all the charts and forms for my treatment. I also now live with a Hickman catheter, which has some advantages and disadvantages. Prior to December 11th, I didn't know what a Hickman was, what NPO meant, or the difference between general anesthetic and sedation. I didn't know that they made a man-purse-sized Wound VAC for portable use. Heck, I didn't even know what a wound VAC was.

My family and I have gone through some very tough days in the past nearly three months. But even with all the procedures and paperwork and puking, the good days still outnumber the bad. I thank my family and friends for sticking by me and being the best damn cheering section around. There is absolutely no way I would be here writing this out if it weren't for all the cards and well wishes on CaringBridge and visits and prayers and support.

This week, the plan is to be re-admitted for my third round of chemotherapy. The past two weeks I have been able to get some sense of normalcy back into my life. I spent a good amount of time at my own apartment (last time between hospital stays I was at my parents with only a couple visits to my own apartment). I was able to get some projects worked on and clean up my space so the dusting will be easier the next time I get out. It was quite thick from two months of neglect.

I hope to update and post again after the final round of chemo, when hopefully I will be done with hospital stays for a while and just have scheduled clinic visits. It is hard some days to sit down and type out how I feel. This morning I happen to be on NPO (non per os, no food/drink by mouth) so I can't have breakfast (not that I usually do) or even a drink of water until I get to the clinic and they decide what procedures they will be doing.

Now, some information that has been posted other places, but I thought I'd really quick aggregate it.

1.) CaringBridge - this site is updated daily-ish by my parents on my status. It is the most up-to-date news on my treatment. http://caringbridge.org/visit/andrewlynch

2.) IWillBeatThis.com - Site set up by my co-workers to coordinate benefit efforts. This includes a benefit event that is being developed. More information regarding that, including an online donation system, will be posted on IWillBeatThis.com.

3.) This site - I haven't been very good about updating this site while I'm in the hospital. I always have the best of intentions, but never get around to it. I will try and post something here, so follow if you like. There is also a Donate button in the right column if you so choose.

4.) Benefit fund - There is a benefit fund established at State Bank & Trust in Fargo. This fund is for helping with medical bills and other care costs. You can make checks payable to "Andrew Lynch Benefit Fund", 3100 13th Avenue S, Fargo, ND 58103.

Link: CaringBridge

I decided on a 32gb iPad 2 with wifi only. I toyed with idea of getting a 3G version for ultimate portability, but it started adding up. I have been typing out is post on on the soft keyboard and have only made a few mistakes. The key is to take things slow when typing and pay attention to little mistakes.

Now, I have to update the firmware to 5.0 to get the iCloud features.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

To be honest, this is uber-flattering to me, and makes me blush every time I read it or have someone talk about it.

College Student’s Tech Savvy Allows Fargo Salvation Army to Expand Flood Service Area

FARGO, N.D. – April 14, 2011 – The Fargo Salvation Army recently expanded its flood relief service to 4,600 square miles, a feat made possible by North Dakota State University senior Andrew Lynch. The 21-year-old majoring in electrical engineering walked through The Salvation Army’s doors during the 2010 floods, asked to volunteer and has been an invaluable asset ever since.

Through Lynch, the Fargo Salvation Army has been able to:

• Deploy its mobile kitchens to communities much farther away than was previously possible, thanks to Lynch creating a large-screen electronic mapping system. In real time, dispatchers can monitor river levels, locate mobile kitchens and tell the drivers precisely where they need to go to serve the most people in need.

• Save hundreds of dollars in dispatch expenses. Lynch created a text messaging system for on-call disaster teams that eliminates the need for The Salvation Army to buy pagers that cost well over $100 each.

“Lynch has been a huge asset to us,” said Steve Carbno, disaster services manager for the Fargo Salvation Army. “And that’s just the tech side of it. He has such a compassion for helping in any disaster we respond to. When there’s a fire, you can tell he’s genuinely hurting with the family. We don’t see guys like him come around often. It’s phenomenal to watch. For all he gives us, it’s remarkable that he still has time to be a full-time college student.”

The Fargo Salvation Army has begun to scale back its flood response, but continues to serve where it is needed. Individuals or communities in need of cleanup kits may call 701-232-5565.

To donate to the Fargo Salvation Army, call 800-SAL-ARMY or mail a check to 304 Roberts St., Fargo, ND 58102. Be sure to designate your donation “Fargo floods.” To volunteer, call the Fargo Salvation Army at 701-232-5565. Click below to make an online donation.

Overall: At first glance, this handheld looks like any other dual-bander amateur HT. It has a two-line display for showing frequencies in the A and B banks. It has backlit keys, and a red "MENU" button in contrast to the black keypad. The top has two knobs, one as a rotary encoder dial for selection and one for volume/power. Pretty standard when compared to my Yaesu FT-60R.

Audio: Initial reports have been of good audio quality. The speaker is exceptionally loud. Not a bad thing for a handheld. I can have the volume near halfway and that is plenty loud for indoor use. I will be testing it with a clip mic and be using it in a loud environment later on.

Battery Life: Not sure yet. It is powered by a 1700 mAh Li-Ion battery. I don't know if this is a good thing or not. I'm used to the NiMH and NiCd batteries found on my FT-60R and business-class Kenwood. The initial charge on the battery allowed for a cumulative 45 seconds on high power, which was nice. The rapid charger apparently filled the battery intelligently, as after 10 minutes in the charger it reports full. We'll see how full "full" really is.

Programming: Just get the programming cable! The software is free from Wouxun/Powerwerx site. I tried doing some minor changes on the menu system, and it clearly was overly complicated. Everything I've read online said to just bite the bullet and get the cable and software. I'm glad I did! I was able to get the radio out, plug the cable in, and after some "unlocking" (which I'll talk about below) it took the programming just fine. The software is a bit clunky, but it does work.

Band Coverage: This guy is best for transmitting, not necessarily for scanning. The scanner is slow, and the band coverage is really just VHF/UHF. There's no 800 MHz listening, or in-between bands like with the FT-60R. As far as TX, you can obtain software to legally open this guy up to other bands, obviously if you are licensed to transmit in those bands/frequencies. I am covered under a license for a business band UHF frequency, and unlocked my radio to transmit on this frequency. So far it has had good signal and audio reports.

Now, the cons:

• 128 Channels - kind of small compared to other HTs with 500 or 1000
• Programming software, as I said, is clunky. Very clunky.
• Don't yet know how smart the charger is. Seems to check the battery level before charging.
• No external DC jack - charger only

I will be adding on to this review as I own the radio. This is just a nice starting point.