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Lingering On The Edge of the Abyss
Originally published May 11, 2022 I was lingering on the edge of the abyss while the grinning Grim Reaper waited patiently outside my hospital room’s window. I was in excruciating pain and fighting for my life two days after major surgery at Surrey Memorial Hospital. I had a part of my jawbone replaced with a…
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What I Learned From The Biopsy Results Today
Originally published September 6, 2025 After waiting on pins and needles, here’s what I learned from the biopsy results today. My surgeon explained that the lab results didn’t indicate cancer, but he strongly questioned the lab’s assessment. Dr. Anderson believes that it is cancer, and after examining me again, he is convinced it is cancer,…
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Here’s Why My Living The Dream Is Now Difficult
One of the first answers I gave, after being diagnosed with cancer in 2009, was, “I’m living the dream!” However, in May 2022, I had major surgery to replace a portion of my jawbone with a bone from my shoulder. Since then, I’ve tried to remain positive and not feel sorry for myself. Self-pity is…
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Here’ A Story About Meeting Grace in ER
My story about meeting Grace, a neighbor of mine, in the ER of Peace Arch Hospital, is short because it was the first time we had ever met. Let me explain. It was on May 14th, ‘Hump Day,’ and I was feeling great. After having breakfast and feeding my dog Buddy, we went for our…
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This Old Dog Learned A New Trick Today!
I am the old dog who learned a new trick today, and it immediately released all of the anxieties I had been experiencing for the past two weeks. Initially, my cardiologist indicated that my pacemaker surgery would be sometime in February 2025, and that was one reason for my anxiety. However, I had three heart…
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Did You Know About These Three Kinds Of Woodpeckers?
Many woodpeckers exist, but you probably don’t know about these three kinds. There are several reasons why a Woodpecker isn’t woody, but I will only cite the ones pertinent to this story. While searching Google for a photo of a woodpecker, I was amazed at how many different ‘peckers’ there are in the world. However,…
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How Complete Strangers Helped To Save My Life
On October 27, 2024, before entering the ER at Peace Arch Hospital, and if I survived, I decided my next story would be about how strangers helped to save my life. That afternoon, I got up from my bed in my apartment to walk to the kitchen to get a soda pop. Suddenly, my legs…
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Why I Spent Money Needlessly To Stay Alive
The reason why I’m spending so much money to stay alive is because of the effects of the radiation therapy treatments for stage 3 throat and tongue cancer in 2009, combined with the jawbone replacement surgery in May 2022. However, the amount is not medical-related expenses. It is because I am unable to eat solid…
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Why Little Danny Cried This Morning
There has always been the Little Danny in me, and a part of me has always felt sorry for him, and maybe that is why Little Danny cried this morning at the hospital. I am ashamed to admit that shortly after, the ER Doctor visited me early this morning and informed me that she had…
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Giving My Breath & Teeth New Life!
Yesterday, I was at the Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, giving my breath for a life – but the life was my own. I had an appointment at the hospital earlier in the week, but that was for my ongoing heart and blood pressure problems. I will be including a summary of that appointment…
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Why I Have Never Experienced A Loss of Words
It was a few days after I had met my friends at the Vancouver Venturers Walking Club’s scheduled walk at Spanish Bank. Although I had difficulty speaking and standing on my feet because my legs were so unstable (caused by low blood pressure), I felt optimistic and thought things would return to normal after seeing…
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Stood Up By a Date on the Spanish Banks
I do not remember ever being stood up by anyone in my life, but my date was supposed to meet me at 9:30 AM yesterday, and I arrived at 9:15 AM, so, I was definitely at Spanish Banks, the meeting place, on time. But it was cloudy and freezing, and I worried that maybe my…
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When You’re A Friend And Lean On Me
The title, When you’re a friend and lean on me, describes how I feel about my friends. My buddy Norm (the northern one) and I have been friends since September 2011, when we met as volunteers at the cancer center where we were treated for cancer. We no longer volunteer there because of the Fraser…
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This Is A Dear Anita Love Story
I wrote a Dear Anita love letter to my gal pal, Anita, and I have been heartbroken ever since.You would understand if you knew how much this lady and her husband Ralph, and their young daughter Aria, mean to me. I have known this family since we first met in Spring 2021 when I moved…
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A Nod and Wink
There is a saying I remember – “A nod is the same as a wink to a blind horse,” and it now has meaning to me because it is the same as giving a wink or nod to complete strangers – whether it is a gal or a nod to a guy. I have always…
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When Bumps On the Road Can Help You
Various types of bumps on the road prevent vehicles from driving too fast in areas such as those near schools, parking lots, and other high pedestrian traffic areas. And those bumps come in various heights and widths, depending on whether they are paved bumps, often painted yellow to make them visible to drivers. Speed Bumps The…
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The Electric Shock of a Lifetime
It all began on March 5, 2022, and I wrote about it in my A Dream Gone Bad Story. And if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, you already know about my broken heart (aka heart boo-boo) and the electric shock of a lifetime, but I have several friends and regular readers of…
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Update from Danny
Yesterday, I announced that I would not be on social media or writing on this site for a few weeks due to health problems. But I should have also posted something here, on my website, because I have more readers than friends on Facebook. I will not elaborate on all of my health issues but…
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Doctors, Dogs, and Veterinarians
I went for my physical exam yesterday, and I really like my new doctor. She weighed me, and I was 152 lbs. I cannot remember ever weighing less than 165 lbs. That was when I was in high school. The doctor spent a lot of time with me, and her interview was in-depth. She has…
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I Am Guilty For Telling Little White Lies
The Oxford Dictionary defines a ‘white lie’ as: a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. “when I was young, I told little white lies“ Although my stories are all based on the truth, some require a little white lie(s) to avoid embarrassing or hurting another person’s feelings. And sometimes, that…
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Why I Love Walking With Friends, Dogs, & Venturers
A year or two after my cancer treatments ended in 2009, I got an urge to write about my cancer. At the time, I was hopeful that I would survive cancer and live my remaining days in reasonable health. However, before starting my chemotherapy and radiation therapy, my oncologists indicated that I only had a…
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Helmets, Dogs, and Orchids
Last night, before I went to bed, I briefly talked with my two new orchids. I told them to get acquainted with each other and try to like each other, despite the difference in their color. I felt kind of silly, but several friends told me that orchids require lots of love and attention. And…
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Is There A Doctor In The House?
I want to begin by stating that Dr. R. Wilson, my family doctor, retired today. And although I was given lots of written notice of his retirement, I have not been able to get another doctor here in White Rock. But I am not complaining. There are many provinces in Canada with the same problem…
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A Brand New Acronym For Bad Days
Regular readers of my blog posts are already familiar with my original POETS acronym story – Piss On Everything Tomorrow’s Saturday! It was something to remember on Fridays – especially those not going well. Essentially, it gave hope that tomorrow would be a better day. But today, my Holly Golightly gave a new meaning to…
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Why I’m Afraid My Dog Is Dying
Although it was not Friday the 13th, it felt like it was. It used to be that Friday was a cause for celebration because it signaled the beginning of the weekend. And kids going to school and their working parents all look forward to the best workday of the week. But after you retire, all…
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Under the Knife
It was after I woke up at 5:30 AM on Thursday and let Holly outside to do her business – that I felt the sharp pangs of withdrawal. Not the type of withdrawal associated with heroin or other drugs. My addiction is coffee. I usually have two large cups of coffee each morning, and that…
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In Isolation
On Sunday morning, I drove to a Covid 19 test facility to get tested for the virus. It is a pre-op requirement that had to be done before my surgery, scheduled for this Thursday. Although I have had several operations during my lifetime – the last was when I had my gall bladder removed in…
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A Walk in the City Yesterday Didn’t Rot My Teeth
I awoke at 3:00 AM yesterday and was as excited as a kid in a candy store with empty pockets and no money! But candy will rot your teeth, but walking won’t, and I proved it to myself yesterday during a walk in the city. But I could not understand why I felt so down.…
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Needles and Pins
You would think that after eleven years, I would not be nervous about seeing the doctor, but I guess it’s just my mind fighting with my heart and leaving my body feeling like being pricked by ‘pins and needles.’ But that’s not until this afternoon at 2:00. Until then, I plan to go for a…
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A Hasty Retreat
Today, I am leaving for three days of quiet and solitude at a spiritual retreat on a nearby Bowen Island mountain top. Although I no longer search for answers to questions that evaded me for most of my life – my spiritual growth and well-being have always been important. The retreat will allow me to…