Hi Folks...
Just thought I'd drop in and tell you how I'm doing. This board was so helpful during may battle and I see many familiar names still kickin' which is wonderful. I want to thank those that were so supportive.
As of February 2016, I'm still NED. My "official" three year anniversary is April 24th when I rang the bell.
My Rad Onc did a "scope, poke and prod" and was thrilled at the way my throat has healed. I'm at 90% normal eating and drinking, no issues with taste and my saliva is nearly normal.
Being a musician/singer, I was quite concerned about losing what is essentially a part of who I am. My team at Johns Hopkins was aware and did all they could to insure that and they were successful. I lost a bit of my high end in my voice from the surgeries and treatment but with hard work and vocal exercises, my stamina allows me to perform up to two hours without a break and I've adapted my repertoire to take advantage of my strengths.
While I still suffer from some pretty negative side effects in the form of pain, I'm able to work through them with exercise and pain meds. Pain meds will be a lifetime additive I'm afraid but it's just part of the "new normal".
Music for me has been my life. I went to school for it, toured and performed with major artists, done studio work, commercials etc. my entire career. I left full time performing over 20 years ago but still perform part time. My "day job" is in the CD/DVD manufacturing industry and I've been doing that for over 18 years. I truly believe that enjoying your work is a key to happiness in life and thanks to my team at Johns Hopkins and the blessings of the Almighty, I'm still able to do so.
As a caveat to all this, I want to share an exciting and humbling honor. I, along with 11 other artists/bands have been invited to perform a showcase at this years
Merlefest in NC on Saturday, April 30th. You can check out my webpage at
www.marktmusic.com for info and performance dates.
For me, this is an honor and feather in my musical cap/career.
Anyway.... again, just an update. I'm blessed. Thank you again for the support during an extremely difficult journey. Continued health to all and to those still in the battle, it's a difficult journey but you can do it!
Positive thoughts and prayers
"T"
