In the beginning, there was BC ... and BC was good!

     Do you ever just meet one of those people that have lived a very blessed life? If you haven't, let me introduce myself. I am Skip Long. Husband of Mary, father and grandfather. Friend to so many I can't count them and a very lucky guy. I have worked as an electrician since I was 13 and still have all my parts, and work for a quality guy I consider a great friend. My children are both married to spouses I would have hand picked if I could. Over the last 5 years, with a lot of extra work and some good coaching, Mary and I bought a nice little Condo with a view of the Issaquah Alps (you can sit on the porch and watch parasailers glide over the mountains) and were pretty much living the dream, no drama!

      Until May 19, 2014. Mary and I were hanging at the lake ( it's not really on the lake, it just sounds so much cooler than hanging at the trailer) on a Monday. We had saved a little extra and met a lady who had a "newer" trailer she wanted to sell. We were going to make her an offer at 4:00 and figured she'd probably take it , so we were cleaning and putting away stuff from the old trailer in anticipation of having it removed for our new & improved vacation shack!!! As I dried the dishes, we talked about this & that. Mondays at the lake are quiet and nice. I stepped out the door of the trailer and felt the strangest sensation. It was a Deja Vu moment! I was trying to explain to Mary, "this is so weird, I am ... " but then nothing came out and I passed out.

      When I came to, their were two large men with blue shirts with badges standing over me! " Oh Shit Skip! You done messed up now! What was I being arrested for? I have only one jail experience and trust me, it's enough to scare the pee wodden out of you, I wasn't up for this. I tried to sit up. "Mr. Long? Please lay down and relax." "What's happening?" I asked. You passed out and we are just taking you to the hospital to check you out" " Where's Mary?" I asked. She is following in the car behind us. I lay down, in a virtual cloud of fogginess.

       Emergency was a blur, the staff asked me questions, my name, the date, who was the President. Slowly all started to come back a bit and I was happy my daughters showed up. Eventually, they took me in for CT and MRI scans and decided to admit me for observation. It was later that night that a Doctor came in and told us that I had a tumor in my right temporal lobe. It was a unique type of cancer, fairly rare, not known what it's caused by, and called Glioblastoma. He suggested we go in and remove it asap! I agreed, I want no tumor homesteading in my brain! Mary and the girls went home and I slept! Having a seizure, going to the ER and finding out you have a brain tumor will wear a guy out.

       The next morning, after what tasted like an exceptional breakfast, hospital food has come a long way since I was 13, I got brave enough to visit my old friend, Mr. Bing.... Glioblastoma.... a word I'd never even heard of. " OMG Skip! Glioblastoma is , is,it's fricking Cancer! Not only is it cancer, its big ugly mess up any plans you might have cancer!" I was kind of numb. Jenae ( my Nurse daughter) came in. The beautiful part about having a nurse in the family is that they are knowledgeable and truthful. " No, it's not good, but they can get it out." I will have to trust that to them, because even though I have a great set of tools,and I am very good at cutting drywall, I will leave the cranium to the experts. Because of a delay in surgery, and Jenae knowing the best Nuro Oncologist's in Seattle, we opted for a second opinion. That girl is smart!

      We came home on Wednesday, with 2 days to wait to remove my "little friend" hanging in my brain. The only way to describe the mood was dense. Mary was sad, so sad. Heather was sad, very deeply sad. I would get a beer and sit on my porch. I watched the Parasailers. I watched people go out to dinner, get their hair cut, take their kids for music lessons. As they all went on with their everyday lives, I knew ours had changed forever.