My name is Bob.  I am a 49-year-old male; born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA.  I’ve been married to Dayna for more than 20 years.  We have no children.  I am the creator and author of this blog, which reflects my true-life experiences.  My story will begin with events occurring during the year 2011.  The journey has since led me on a path including 23 surgeries with varying degrees of invasiveness, 2 diagnoses of cancer, 2 benign tumors, severe fistulizing crohns disease, liver disease, and something extremely rare and newly viewed as a pathological illness – IgG4 Related Systemic Disease. 

I’m not the type of person who is active in social media. For example, I do not participate in Facebook or Twitter. Therefore, I debated long and hard before choosing to move forward with this blog. My main motivation for starting this page is to attempt to reach out and help other people. Throughout this period of my life I have continued to work full time and carry on as active of a life as possible.  For the most part, I’ve been able to golf, bowl, swim, and do large projects around our house.  I want those who are experiencing this type of challenge to realize just how important it is to stay active.  Less activity will make you think incessantly about your situation.  That will prove to cause more stress and mental hardship. Just being sick is stressful enough; don’t add to it.  Another important thing to remember is that you can’t dictate all the paths and events your life may encounter.  The more you try to control them; the more stress you will create for yourself.  That will distract you from your true focus.  Which should be….bouncing back from these negative events you can’t control.  We must realize these events have a place in our lives.  We need them.  We learn from them.  Most of all they define the great events.  This is a bit of a subconscious thing but trust me it’s true.  If we didn’t have negativity as a subconscious comparison, then we wouldn’t understand or appreciate the positive things in life.  Therefore, we must look at life events such as death, job loss, or illness with respect and not fear; for they are an essential part of human emotional development.

You will see on the left side or across the top of this homepage a link to the content of this blog.  The focus of it will be my story.  But there will be some other departments of interest; such as recipes, news and information regarding medical topics, inspirational items, and the section detailing the current events regarding my health/diseases.  On an ending note, I would appreciate comments and questions from readers as it will give me a way to gauge interest and build relationships.  Please participate.

Thanks, and happy reading!

Bob