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“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:5)
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HCV Treatment update – things to be thankful for
I just wrote this post on an excellent support group forum I found and made friends at HCVSupport – I thought I would share it with my blog readers:
Sorry all for abandoning you. I have really struggled with this TX and did not want to say anything about it for I had nothing good to say. BUT I thought about it and I do have much to be thankful for. First, being able to even get the treatment. Second, it is working – undetectable at week 4, 8 and 24 so far. Thankful that I have a great wife and family (8 kids) that have really helped me along the way so far. Thankful for my friends that give me the “space” I need at this time. Thankful for my boss at work (he is my pastor too as I work for a church) in being 100% totally understanding about my struggles with this tx. He spoke with some people he knew who did bad on the tx and who it failed for, so he knows. I have been to work only one day or so a week since being on treatment. I get much of my duties done from home on the computer.
Thankful I was able to get to Niagara Falls last week for two days with the family – see my blog post on the adventure:
http://frankbroughton.us/blog/archives/467
Tomorrow will be my 33rd injection, so only 15 weeks to go after that. After week 24 my hemoglobin was low (10.4) for too long so my doctor cut back the ribaviron. It went up (11.1) by the next month but not enough. He cut back the ribaviron once again. It went up to 11.6 but wants it up to at least 12.5. I get some blood work done tomorrow so we will see if the second cutback has worked.
My last day of the ribaviron will be on Christmas day. So looking forward to that. It has been a long road so far with some very bad days along the way and many sleepless nights. There are days when I feel lousy but I am able to pretend that I am not – the days when I cannot even pretend I feel good are killer.
Thank you to the numerous members here who sent me words of encouragement though PM’s! I just answered a bunch of them.
I will add here I too am thankful for all of you who have mentioned to me that you are praying for my treatment and health. I do appreciate it very much. A couple of my aunts have been a great encouragement to me to keep going. They both have had close family members on the same TX, so they know of the ordeal.
Christmas day! What a day that will be if the Lord wills! and then I would turn 50 on January 9! I think I just might shoot off some fireworks in celebration. A word of caution: I have not succeeded yet in this treatment there is a percentage chance the virus can come back – but God is good and He knows of my uprisings and downsitting, knows the amount hairs on my head (getting easier to count these days haha) so He is in charge of my life.
The Power of Niagara Falls (short video)
Here is a video I shot from below the American Falls at the Cave of the Winds.
Took the family to Niagara Falls – Awesome!
Some who read this blog know that we are not able to get out as a family much. We have a handicapped son at home that needs 100% care. Carol really needed a break, so we placed Michael in OLV’s respite program for the week. We decided to get away to Niagara Falls. We were there on Tuesday and Thursday. We had a great time (BTW the we is me, Carol, Lisa, Timothy, Hannah and Frankie – James joined us on Thursday). The weather was perfect. We purchased the Niagara US Discovery Pass which included the following attractions: Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Niagara Aquarium, Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, Niagara: Legends of Adventure Movie, and the Niagara Scenic Trolley transportation all day. I highly recommended this package.
I delayed taking some of my HCV treatment meds on Monday night and Tuesday morning. It helped, but I was still hurting. It took me all day Wednesday to recoup. After Thursday, well it is now Monday and I am still in bad shape. Only 16 weeks left of this treatment!
The first adventure we tackled was the Maid of the Mist boat ride. I have been on the Maid of the Mist before but every time is a great experience. You can really feel and hear the power of the falls from this ride. Plan on getting wet even though they supply you with the famous blue rain jackets.
After the Maid of the Mist we viewed the falls from the Observation Tower and then went to Prospect Point. I was able to capture some good photos from both these locations. We then loaded up on the Scenic Trolley and took the complete three mile ride around Niagara Falls State Park. This park is the oldest State Park in the US.
Our next stop was on Goat Island to the Bridal Veil Falls area. This location is one of my favorites in the park. You can reach out and touch the water (do not do it). After taking some pictures and finding the information for the 
Earth Geocache located there we decided to go below to the Cave of the Winds.
None of us have been to the Cave of the Winds before. What a mistake, living 45 minutes from here and never experiencing this – wow. It was great and was the highlight of the mini vacation. Carol and Hannah on Hurricane Deck on the picture to the right says it all. The Bridal Veil Falls behind them is POWERFUL! I took a ton of pictures from this area. It was mesmerizing! I shot a great video of the America Falls, I will post in another blog entry soon. Looking up and seeing the water rush down towards you is – well a rush! I was hesitant to leave this area, I enjoyed it very much.
Our next stop was Terrapin Point this is a short trolley ride or medium walk away. This is the location of the 
famous Horseshoe Falls. After acquiring the information for the Terrapin Point Earth Geocache we jumped back onto the Trolley for a ride to Three Sisters Islands. There is a regular geocache called “The Other Sister” located here and an Earth Cache called the Green Cascade. We found both of them. The Other Sister is a tough hide and we where glad to find it.
I was pretty much shot after all this. We decided it was time to find a restaurant for dinner. We drove around for a while and decided to head to River Road in Tonawanda to stop at Old Man River. I am glad we did, this is a nice hamburger type joint that sells seafood also.
Thursday lead us right back to Old Man River for lunch. 
Our first stop at the Falls was to the Trolley for another ride around the park. Then it was off to The Niagara Falls Discovery Center. The center showcases the natural and local history of Niagara Falls and the surrounding area, it is a hands-on learning experience for all ages. A movie was shown to us here. It was kind of a disappointment. They can do better. We also experienced a virtual elevator ride into the gorge. Next up was the Niagara Aquarium. It is nowhere as nice as Marine Land on the Canadian side but it is worth going to. We enjoyed the seals, sea lions, electric eel and various other native and non native fish. It was nice and relaxing.
From here is was Trolley ride back to Goat Island to Terrapin Point. We then decided to take the long walk back to Prospect Point to view the falls illuminated when darkness set in. It was a nice hike and worth it. I acquired many awesome night shots of the various areas. We had a great time and recommend everyone to make the trip to Niagara Falls!
See our full Picasa Web Album (143 pictures)
Feature Photo – Grasshopper up close & personal
Mr. Grasshopper was climbing on some Joe Pye weed in the field across from my house. He even let me get close up to get this shot.
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Dual-screen laptop on sale by Christmas
The world’s first truly dual-screen laptop, which will allow computer users to multi-task while on the move, is due to go on sale by the end of the year:
Overview of America
John McManus narrates a moving tribute to America and discusses the history of what makes America great and how only we, as informed citizens, can keep the timeless concepts of Americanism alive.