[bigwill51534]

Long story short, I've been gone since February 5th. I got word that my grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer (small cell cancer) and got my welder training finished early. The Navy let me go home for 30 days. Over a period of 3 months, my grandfather's cancer spread from a 1/2" circle on his left lung he has had for over 25 years to a grapefruit sized tumor in his lung, a golf ball sized tumor on his hip (hindering movement of his legs), as well as spots on his prostate and liver. He was in so much pain, he opted to take Chemo (he said it would either kill him, or make him better, either way getting rid of the incredible pain). The doctors decided at the last minute that they wouldn't do chemo, but would instead send him home under hospice care to die. I made it home to talk to him one last time before he died, and seen him at his worst. He weighed nearly 160 lbs, at 5'6", but had lost weight to the point of 110 lbs (reminded me a of a holocaust death camp survivor). He was on a constant morphine regiment, but was still in a ton of pain. Anyway, he died two days after I seen him, and I got to attend the funeral.

To get home, my wife and I drove the 22 hour trip straight nonstop. We made it home, got through the death/funeral, then I finally got to enjoy some time with my family. I spent a ton of time with friends/family, as I am not going to be home for another 2 years (at least). To sum it all up, I had a good time in spite of the circumstances, and came back with a few fun things.

To begin with, I got the tattoo I wanted. I got it from a friend's cousin. He ended up outlining it, shading it, and coloring it all for $100. It took just over two hours, but came out awesome. He said that if he ever had to do it again for anyone else, it would be a $275 job. Here's a rough pic of what it looks like. Sorry, my wife's still in bed, so had to take a mirror pic.



Next, I also bought my wife another dog... We ended up getting a 5 1/2 week old Yorkshire Terrier from the local breeder. We looked all around the kennels at them, and they went for anywhere from $700 on up to $1200. I called up a breeder who lived near my house, and ended up getting this puppy for $350 with full papers. He's furry, cute, and fun to play with. Here are a few pics (sorry for the quality, he moves every time I try to snap a pic of him, and the lighting is horrible...).








It was a fun trip, but VERY tiring... I ended up driving the entire trip home. We got stranded out in Eastern Iowa (alternator died), and also our bank reset the PIN's in both of our debit cards leaving all our cash in the bank with no access to it except using debit cards as credit cards, but it all ended well. We got home this morning, after driving 19 hours straight (thanks to Yellow Swarms and Sobe Power), at about 6:00 am. I'm tired, and kind of in a dull stupor. Please forgive me if I made any mistakes in this post.

EDIT: Pics resized as clickable thumbnails

~Will Courtier~

[Alpha]

My condolences for your loss.

The dog doesnt want to have his picture taken... he just woke up..... at least let him fix himself up first..... man.....humans are so inconsiderate......

lol

good pics

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by Alpha

My condolences for your loss.

The dog doesnt want to have his picture taken... he just woke up..... at least let him fix himself up first..... man.....humans are so inconsiderate......

lol

good pics

heheheheh.... He still has his puppy fur (extremely thick...). I think that he will be a really cool looking dog when he grows up.

~Will Courtier~

[basketofkittens]

I'm sorry for your loss.

That puppy is criminally cute.

Also, on a related note, please please please resize your pics. It's hard to make out anything when it feels like I'm 2 inches away from it :P

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by tremblay

I'm sorry for your loss.

That puppy is criminally cute.

Also, on a related note, please please please resize your pics. It's hard to make out anything when it feels like I'm 2 inches away from it :P

Sorry, didn't even think about resizing 'em. I will do it next time.

~Will Courtier~

[czechrboard tassia]

Holy resize, Batman!

Cool tattoo... I'm ultra jealous that you have such an adorable puppy.

Sorry for your loss... were you close with your grandpa? ++comfort

[Nothing.]

Nice Tattoo.

And you have a cute puppy!

Sorry for your loss.

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by czechrboard tassia

Holy resize, Batman!

Cool tattoo... I'm ultra jealous that you have such an adorable puppy.

Sorry for your loss... were you close with your grandpa? ++comfort

Thanks. Yeah, I was the closest grandkid. He was asking all the time until I showed up if I was going to come see him.

Oh, another fun event from the trip... The night before my brother and I went to get out inheritence (a collection of Danbury Mint 1/16 scale 1930's cars), the house was broken into and the thief stole everything my brother and I were supposed to get, as well as a bunch of china dolls, the VCR, cordless phones, microwave, and my grandfather's wheel chair. The funny thing was that they left 4 random dolls, and even found the cars that weren't being displayed (still new in boxes) that were behind the display case. It was as if the thief knew where everything was in the house, as if it was an inside job. Makes me wonder who I can really trust in my family... My brother and I ended up getting back just a few knick-knacks from around the house, but not much of any value. I'm just glad that I got the better part of my inheritence nearly 10 years ago. I ended up getting an antique Railroad Regulator's pocket watch (used by railroad conductors, 21 jewel silver plated nickel watch) and a silverware set that is known be from the civil war era at the latest. My grandfather got the silverware set as a kid back in the 1920's. I'm not sure where he came up with the watch from. I know that I was offered nearly $1,000 for the watch with that watch fob, as it is an original watch in working order. The silverware set folds up to be carried in a pocket, and folds out to be used. They are all made of solid nickel, and the insets in the handle are real steer horn (can tell by the pits from parasites boring into the handle). It's some pretty cool stuff.

Here are some pics (resized, clickable thumbnails).







~Will Courtier~

[superman]

sorry about your grandfather, atleast you got to talk to him one last time, i never even had the change to meet my grandfathers, they both passed away before i was born. and nice dog, i have a yorkshire as well, they're extremely hyper when they get older.

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by superman

sorry about your grandfather, atleast you got to talk to him one last time, i never even had the change to meet my grandfathers, they both passed away before i was born. and nice dog, i have a yorkshire as well, they're extremely hyper when they get older.

That's what I've been told... He's hyper as hell (when he's awake) right now... He'll go on a binge for like 20 minutes rampaging around the house, then pass out wherever he falls and sleep for like 2 hours. Then he'll wake up, eat, then go back to sleep. The cycle just keeps gonig and going and going......

~Will Courtier~

[saint seiya]

sorry about your grandpa man. cool tattoo

[mistawiskas]

That's a tough break about your granpa. How you doing with it?
Yorkies are cute when they're wee lil' pups, but they bark like mad and bite ankles when they get older.
They're either dogs you love or dogs you love to not like (imo) I feel the same about Poms. Personally, I've never met a yorky I didn't like. Small dogs definately make up for stature with their personalities.

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by mistawiskas

That's a tough break about your granpa. How you doing with it?
Yorkies are cute when they're wee lil' pups, but they bark like mad and bite ankles when they get older.
They're either dogs you love or dogs you love to not like (imo) I feel the same about Poms. Personally, I've never met a yorky I didn't like. Small dogs definately make up for stature with their personalities.

I'm doing alright with the whole ordeal, as my grandfather is better off not suffering. He was in so much pain in the end, and had everyone helping on him hand and foot. My grandfather always wanted to do everything on his own, without help. He never depended on anyone else for anything. So, he hated the fact that he had a nurse, had to wear a diaper, and couldn't move from bed. I'm depressed that he's gone, but it's better considering how bad he was doing in the end.

About small dogs, I absolutely love 'em. I had never had a dog with a personality until I got the Chihuahua I had as a kid. Then, I got my pit bull who is a complete 70 pound person in herself. She gets mad, depressed, anxious, and everything else. She watches my every move and follows me everywhere. I am really hoping the Yorky will do the same, as I love including my dogs in my everyday activities (cooking, watching TV, working on the computer, etc...).

~Will Courtier~

[Griffin]

Sorry for your loss my remaining grandparents live next door tome and i cannot imagine losing them anytime soon. It wold just crush me. Cool dog. Enjoy it puppydom while itis small.

[bigwill51534]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Sorryforyourloss my remaining grandparents live next door tome and i cannot imagine losing them anytime soon. It wold just crush me. Cool dog. Enjo it puppydom while itis small.

Thanks. As you said, my remaining grandparents live(d) next door to me before I joined the Navy. They're still around, but my living grandfather was diagnosed (loosely) with Alzheimers. He's alright now, but I guess time will tell...

~Will Courtier~