Message Forum

Hey folks, we are beginning to sound like really old people talking about their ailments. Just before Christmas, I was in Williamsburg and started to have chest, then back, and then jaw pains. Harriette took me to the emergency room. The stress test done three days later showed my heart was in great condition with less than a 10% chance of having a cardiac issue. But a CT scan showed a mass on my lung. Since then, I have been undergoing various tests to determine if I have lung cancer.

My Pulmonologist is Dr. Dan Grinnan, Jr., our classmates Dan & Kay Grinnan's son. They did a PET scan on 2/27 and a CT scan on 4/4 to guide a Bronchoscopy on 4/11. Dan and his partner compared the CT from 4/4 to the PET from 2/27 and called me on the afternoon of 4/10 to tell me the Bronchoscopy would not be necessary. The mass had shrunk, and the cancer doesn't shrink by itself. Dan had always suspected that it was a pneumonia scar and not lung cancer. They determined the area of concern was not cancer. This ended four months of not knowing, worring and wondering. What a wonderful Easter/Passover miracle. Thanks for your prayers to all of my friends on both coast and the few classmates and their spouses that knew.

04/17/25 07:57 PM

#1207

Carlyn - So sorry you are suffering with two things I suffered through! Russell is correct! Drinking lots of water would have saved me a trip to the hospital ! (I didn't figure it out until it was "too late!") I caught Shingles once long ago, & gettting the shot would have prevented that also! Hope you feel better soon! . . . Mike, I'm so glad to hear you are "out of danger!" I never know what is going on there in Richmond, unless somebody sends me an email or writes on this page! Please stay well !

04/18/25 10:27 PM

#1208

Bob Bayliss

Message to Mike Floyd. I was a teammate with Dan Grumman, Sr. (TJ basketball). Decades later I recruited Dan, Jr. for my Notre Dame tennis team, but lost out to Davidson. Not surprised to learn that he is an excellent doctor! Small world.

04/19/25 12:01 PM

#1209

Thanks, Russell , Marilyn and Mike for your informative posts. Update, I have an appointment on Thursday to have a stent put in my urethra to widen it to make sure the passage of kidney stones easier to pass. This getting old stuff is not for sissies. Glad you guys are feeling better.

Carlin

04/19/25 12:41 PM

#1210

We will keep you in our prayers. I've only had one kidney stone, but they really hurt when they are moving. Sounds like your doctor want to keep you healthy and safe. Bobby Bayliss it is great having Dan as my Doctor. Not many Doctors will give you the personal cell phone number in case of an emergency. First time I used it I texted his Dad by mistake. We miss his mom.

Mike

04/19/25 05:46 PM

#1211

Hi Carlin, I like your doctor's solution to kidney stones, widen the plumbing and the chances of the stone going through are improved. A lot better than serious surgery. Have a blessed Easter.

05/06/25 12:51 AM

#1212

Anne Ferrell Smith (Lanier)

I was very sorry to hear about Mrs. Thayer. She was one of the BEST Teachers I had at Tee Jay! She was able to reframe the subject of U.S.Government from "dry and boring" to "something living and breathing!" I remember we had open discussions about interesting topics like "Civil Rights."

She also taught "Economics," and I remember our class invested in a "Stock." She was a lively, inspiring and stimulating teacher, and I learned a lot in her class. I am sure my classmates would agree.

My Sympathies go out to her family members.

05/06/25 02:09 PM

#1213

Allan Forman

I was sorry to hear the passing of Mrs Thayer. I was in her Government class maybe senior year. She was a breath of fresh air from the north who didn't pull punches about freedom and democracy. In one of her first classes she stated that she would not vote in any election in Virginia until the poll tax was revoked, which of course it was. A great first civics class for me. Very happy to remember her.

05/22/25 05:29 PM

#1214

Belle Landrum

==years after a stroke l after aaovely placewhere IRichmondlike to say, 9 am our news."everybody know your name.

I moved here almost two years ago two ago after haaving a stroke. I am very happy here. I am oned 0f the youngest resideents zandd defitely more mobile.

Pleas send me all your news, well, not all, but recent,,A note: Cornie. plezse write me.

I am so sorry to have missed the reunion. Withe sttroke, I lost tract of you and da new computer "lost" all my TJ connections. I plan to keep up from now on. BELLE

05/23/25 07:41 AM

#1215

So glad to hear from you Belle! I am happy to hear you are in a good place and that you are taken care of there! We are all getting so old, it is hard to believe! I am in Wilmington, N.C. where I have been for over 50 years. Ir has become my home. Take care. love Anne Ferrell

05/23/25 09:34 AM

#1216

Sally Kincannon (von Rumohr)

Hi Belle, it's good to hear from you and that you're getting along ok. Age has a way of creaping up on us. Just keep on putting one foot in front of the other. That is sometimes painful, as I know from experience. Hang in there.

05/24/25 06:04 AM

#1217

Well, dear TJ classmates of mine, as I anticipate turning 81 tomorrow, I can honestly say that having this wonderful method of staying in touch has helped me to "remain young" at heart! It has been a blessing to stay in touch with those years and so many of you!

05/25/25 09:37 AM

#1218

Happy Birthday, Sally! ☕🥳💐 Hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration and a fantastic year to come. I'm with you I don't feel my age until I look in the mirror. Still having fun and feeling young. Harriette and I tried hiking Crabtree Falls . We made it to the first set of Falls.

06/08/25 06:28 PM

#1219

John Whitfield

It saddens me that there was no recognition of D-Day on TCM and only a few shows on 6/1 about D-Day. Is this no longer important?

06/09/25 04:36 PM

#1220

I agree with you John. In the Richmond Times Dispatch on June 6, they wrote about 8-10 lines on the next to last page. The Daily Press in Newport News Had the famous picture where then General Eisenhower was meeting with the 101st Airborne on the day before D-Day.

If we forget our history we are doomed to repeat it. Putin reminds me of Hitler. He has invaded the Crimea and taken it over, he has invaded the Ukraine, assassinated Russians living in England, and shot down the airplane of a rival killing all on board.

06/18/25 10:45 AM

#1221

Hello! Long Time No See ! I Fell Again & i am back in Rehab again! Sorry for all the missed birthdays !

06/19/25 01:57 PM

#1222

Marilyn, So sorry you fell again!! I know the feeling. Thank goodness I haven't fallen in over five years. I stopped wearing any sandals and only wear Easy Spirt athletic shoes now. Hope you didn't break anything.

Carlin (Cokey)

07/23/25 11:56 AM

#1223

Hello, All ! My daughter Rachael & I are leaving my Second Rehab today to see my younger daughter, Amy, and her Husband, as well as attending the "White Coat Ceremony" for the Daughter of our Friends, who is entering Medical School at the University of Arizona. (Her brother is attending Law School as well !). I am mending slowly from my Broken Shoulder & will have Home Heathcare and Physical Rehab when I return!

07/24/25 02:31 PM

#1224

Anne Marie Sheffield (Hummel)

Marilyn, you are quite the trooper!! Hope you get well soon. Have a good time with all the festivities that are going on!

Carlin (Cokey) Hanzas

07/25/25 04:14 PM

#1225

Hi Marilyn,

Sorry to learn of your broken shoulder. Had the same problem but have to admit surgery and rehab were easy compared to knee replacement. Hope you're back feeling as good as new soon.

07/26/25 01:55 PM

#1226

Happy Birthday Marilyn!! Hope you are still traveling with your daughters. Enjoy your special day today!! Stay well!!

Fondly, Carlin (Cokey) Hanzas

07/27/25 11:02 AM

#1227

Russell is taking the first of three cars to the special carwash going on Saturday until 4 at Tee Jay...football team raising money for their backpacks....

08/16/25 03:54 AM

#1228

Nobody has written anything on here since July????? WOW!!! Well, then!! I'll put in my two cents!! After 2 weeks EACH in TWO Rehab Hospitals, I have had 2 weeks of Home Health Rehab, & we managed to get away to see Friends & Family for a 2-3 days each in Tucson in July & in San Diego last week. My Doctor said to take off the Sling on my Left Arm & my Shoulder is Healing Day by Day. We went to a Bead Craft Night last night, & hopefully, I will move back to my Condo next week. My biggest challenge so far has been putting up my Ponytail each day, but Rach- says she will stop by my Condo to do that! I can type with my right hand on my computer when it is on a table, & both hands when it is on my lap. I will start Outpatient Rehab with Rachael next week at her favorite place for Physical Rehab. Onward & Upward!!!. . . .UPDATE: September 4th - Thank you to Cokey, Russell, & Anne Marie. I've gone through 2 weeks of Outpatient Physical Rehab so far, and A LOT of Shoulder Massages! I hope to be able to make my Pony Tail SOON!!!!

09/11/25 09:12 AM

#1229

Today marks the 24 anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of almost 3,000 innocent people. The only information (one small paragraph) in the Richmond Times Dispatch about the attacks is in the Today in History column, a syndicated column. If we don't remember or know our history we will never be able to learn from it and will have it repeated. I'm sure almost everyone who reads this remembers exactly what they were doing when the attacks occurred. I hope we never experience such an event again, so remember 9/11.

09/13/25 02:02 PM

#1230