Finding A Calling

Well the season is winding down and only a few more weeks left. Jeana and I are really focused on losing weight this year, and I’m proud of her that she is finally taking care of herself and making “Jeana” a priority in 2009. I think this is going to be her year! The Duzoxin is working great for both of us, and between that supplement and my 7am workouts with Gabe— it’s already making a difference. Watch for Jeana and I on the new cover of Defy Magazine that may be coming up soon.

I think Briana chose nursing as her career because of my ear surgeries. She grew up with me having ear, neck and brain surgeries, and I think being around hospitals she began looking up to the nurses who would take care of me. She told me she realized when she was about 13-years-old that she wanting to be a nurse, and that nursing was her “calling." If some of you are wondering what my condition is, I’ll fill you in. When I was 5-years-old, I was diagnosed with an inner ear tumor called cholesteatoma. I had surgery and at the time they removed the tumor, which caused me to lose 50% of my hearing. During the next 19 years of my life, the tumor kept reoccurring. I had a total of six surgeries by the time I was 25, which caused me to lose all of my hearing in my right ear. When I was 32 and newly married to Donn, the tumor had grown back so much that it had wrapped around my facial nerve, pierced a hole in my skull and started seeping up towards the right side of my brain. I underwent 10 hours of surgery and my doctor did not know if I was going to have movement of my mouth or face due to the severity of the tumor and the facial nerve damage that could have been there. I recovered 100% with no facial nerve damage, however my hearing was still gone.

About 3 years ago, I went back in for my last surgery to have reconstructive inner ear surgery and am happy to say they were able to restore my hearing to 80%. Let’s hope that’s the end of my surgeries!

If you are wondering why I decided not to buy the yacht, it was simply because the yacht was too expensive. When we were looking at the yacht last summer, the economy was not in the situation it is right now. It was a good decision as it would have not been affordable.

I love going to Vegas. I enjoy the shopping, the spas and I love to play blackjack. I usually go with my family or just one or two friends, so going with a larger group like that was harder to do. My sister Kathy just moved there, so it’s always fun seeing her and my brother-in-law Bill when we are there.

When Briana called to tell me that her and Colby were having difficulties, my advice to her was to just be patient and to be understanding of what Colby was going though. They had been dating for five years, they had never been apart, and they never had any issues. I know how much she loved Colby so it was hard for me to hear her upset. There is nothing more important to me than being with my kids when they need me. I wanted to go home after I hung up the phone from her, because it was hard for me to have a good time knowing that she was struggling. We are very close, so I knew she needed me there for her. I was only gone for one night, so it was good to be back home the next day to be there for her.