April 21st....2008

Back in Portland...leave for home in the morning...late flight from LA and the Long Beach Grand Prix.

What a weekend it was!.

Linda held up well and represented herself quite well....

Some pictures:

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One our first jobs was to help assemble the drivers for a group photo:

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The pole winner....Justin Wilson:

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Marilyn and Cheryl...who have posted on the Blog many times:

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Linda's friend Mary who came to visit her during the race...and was her bridesmaid also:

Driver Jimmy Vasser (our all time favorite):

Helio (Of Dancing With the Stars)..didn't have time to talk to him..I was too busy:

Linda and Marilyn on track.....

Miss Grand Prix and court:

Caught in the champagne:

The victors:

Me and Michael Johns of "American Idol":

Jimmy saying goodbye to Linda:

Sorry I didn't finish this properly last night..fell asleep...

Dave

April 18th...Long Beach Grand Prix...2008

Our feet hurt!

Today was a pretty active day for both of us....Linda sat for a while during the day..but not much...we worked on confirming VIP's for the dinner Saturday night and ran the autograph session for the fans and drivers..it was a usual wearing day..nothing different than past events....Linda did hold up well and maintains a great attitude and all.

Linda senses her coughing has reduced...and is wondering if it is on its way out...we shall see.

Tomorrow Linda is resting early as we have a big event tomorrow night....we talked again today and are absolutely resolved that it is our last event...it has been a great "ride" but we have come to the point where it is a logical decision to "retire".....and "no" we will not slip back into it...it's "done".

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Friday...Day 2 ..Long Beach Grand Prix....April 18th, 2008

The Sun is up!

Yesterday we flew to Long beach and put in our first day on track for the Long Beach Grand Prix...thursday is a set up day ..not many fans but lots to do and access to people to do it...Friday (today) will be much different...many many fans...first real day of the event...

We spent the day getting ready for the dinner we are doign Saturday night..contacts made...over 35 VIP's are dropping in to say hi to the fans and be frecognized for their contributions to the Inner Circle Fan Club...Drivers, owners, and many others will be there.

Last night a large contingency of fans met...Linda was a "hit" as many "bloggers" have seen her for the first time.....she held up well...as she had "snuck" in a nap in the afternoon, knowing it was going to be a late night. It was very late after getting our preparations done for today.

Below...yes! Paul Tracy is here........Linda at the fan get to gether last night...and Linda and Graham Rahal..last week's winner in St. Petes...and he's only 19 years old....he had just flown in from being on the David Letterman sdhow Wednesday night.
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Tuesday...April 16, 2008

Update....

Today Linda is having lunch with a friend....imagine that!

Tomorrow we start our journey to the Long Beach Grand Prix...for a busy weekend...a final for Champ Car....and us!

My brother Darron is flying down to get his motorhome stored in Oregon as the Alcan is driveable pretty soon and he wants it in his home in Anchorage for the summer fishing season....so he will be visiting for a few days.

I have a physical at the end of next week and soon thereafter Linda and I plan on flying somewhere special to celebrate her "journey".....maybe Mexico or Hawaii or...or...we have yet to decide ....but it will be nice...she deserves it!

At the Patroller memorial the other day I attended, I spoke about cancer....and it's effects on everything including relationships...and I quoted in part from the diary of a young cancer victim in Tampa, Florida (it was in the newspaper)...she said...in part... The cancer diagnosis is like a giant boulder plunging into the calm waters of one's existence. Suddenly one is soaked by a splash of fear and uncertainty. She went on to talk about how it is important to live in the present and to be current with and love the people around you....as you never know what tomorrow will bring.

How true this is and I see Linda doing this everyday....she is a winner for sure..in many ways.

Dave

Sunday...April 14th, 2008

What did we do today......nothing! We are recharging Mrs. Wood's batteries for the trip to Long Beach this week....she wants to be "in shape" for our last event.

Friday, Son Jim, Daughter in law Jenn, Grand child Jillian and Son Jeff came over to see their Mom....and to play some cards and have dinner....pictures from that event: Please note that Jenn had to leave early so the only picture we had was her losing a hand!...Also note that the "sweet" Grand child has her tongue out half the time!...Also please note the look on Linda's face as she tries to figure out why she lost!

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Saturday...Late....April 13th, 2008

Tidbits........

When Linda and I were in the Oncologist's office waiting for his arrival and the "news" from the tests.....the Oncologist rushed in and said"where's the book?".....we said "what book?"....he said "the bird book"...which was nowhere to be found in the room...he rushed out and on his way out...over his shoulder said "the scan was fine". the Oncologist is an ornithologist ("bird lover") by hobby and was identifying a bird for someone in another area of the building. Soon he returned to be a bit more specific about the scan!....

The Xrays every 4 months are to continue to monitor the shrinking of the original tumor mases (2) in the left lung which have reduced in size significantly after being radiated numerous times and then hit with an assortment of chemotherapy.....

The Oncologist says if anything shows up in a part of the body..whether it be in 6 months, 9 months or a year or whatever, whenever it is found, the treatment is the same..so no need to check for a year....of course Linda and I believe there will be nothing "showing up"....

Linda was a bit more tired today..still that fatigue factor....tomorrow we are "lying low" as the Long Beach Grand Prix trip is fastly approaching.....

Today I skiied at the ski area near us....Hoodoo....I patrolled there many years ago....there was a patroller ceremony to honor the Patrol Director who had passed away at a young age...the ceremony was very symbolic and moving. A sled with his ski gear and pack was skiied down between two rows of patrollers on the mountain. Then patrollers stepped forward with words about what this individual meant to them. Again, I was reminded of how fragile life is and the importance to remain in the present and be "current" with those around you.

It took me an hour to find all my ski gear as it has been a while since I've been on the slopes.....and on the hill, it all came back to me (pretty much anyway).

Dave

Thursday .....April 10th, 2008

Remember my dream - "Believe and you will get through this". Well, I did and I did! Thanks to God and the support and prayers of all of you, I came through this with flying colors. Both of my oncologists were very happy with my scan. Only time will tell whether a stray cell found a spot to grow somewhere in my body or a new tumor starts to grow in my lung, but I will continue to keep a positive outlook and keep my body healthy.

I will go back to see the medical oncologist every four months for a check-up and an X-ray, and I will visit the radiation oncologist in eight months. There will always be the uncertainty of, if and when the cancer will come back, but hopefully that won't get in the way of living a great life. I believe cancer was an experience I was supposed to have, and I received many gifts from it. I got even closer to Dave and my children, connected again with old friends and family. I've always believed that everything that happens to us has a gift if we look for it. It's so easy to see the negative and I feel blessed for the positive that came out of all the pain.

Thank you all again and again for the part you played in my journey. I will forever love you all for sharing your love and time with me.

Love and gratitude.......Linda

April 9th...In Oregon....2008

Someone slow this "woman" down!

Linda has caught her "second wind"...and even though she was up over 20 hours yesterday and "banged" around in an airplane all day and drove many miles...and unpacked...and...and. And then today she had ctscan tests done...and shopped for groceries...and now she's baking brownies for the Cancer Infusion Center Nurses where we are going to tomorrow.

No news today....just tests....tomorrow Linda hears the news and all from her medical oncologist at 9:20 and her radiation oncologist at 11:30. Linda states her belief that it will be good news. It's not "if the news is good" but rather "when the news is good". Her attitude and inner strength is incredible.....

I will have her do the Blog tomorrow night.

Dave

April 8th...Back In Oregon...2008

20 hours we've been up.....got up at 3 am east coast time in Florida...flew out at 6 am....in Oregon 11 am pacific coast time...still at it at 8 pm in Oregon.

To our suprise, it is 45 degrees here in Sisters, Oregon...freezing our rear ends after the 80's in Florida...but the good news is that it is supposed to get to the lower 70's by this weekend....we hear there was 4 1/2 inches of snow last week here....during spring break!.

It was freezing in the pass as we drove over today:

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Linda has taken her first dose of the pre CT scan "stuff" tonight..she has three more doses before the 10 am test....I think it makes her "glow" in the scan.

Dave

PS...Linda's niece, Denise and her family.....husband Clark and daughter Rachel...visited us just before we left Florida....they attended the race in St. Petes Sunday and then spent the night at our place.....

Also...6 of our drivers (ESPN called them "transition drivers") were in the top 10 finishers in the race in St. Petes.....Graham Rahal, one of ours, finished first...at 19 years of age!

Sunday...In Florida....April 6th, 2008

1 more day in Florida...2 more nights in Florida...

It rained like cats and dogs all day today..incredible amount of rain....the good news is we spent the day cleaning the villa and getting things packed for the trip home...it is supposed to rain again tomorrow....we can only hope for some "pool time".

We leave at 3 am on the 8th for the airport.....ugly!

Linda is doing quite well...she claims is 80% of the way back...still some coughing which she thinks is allergy....we shall see.

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We have been able to get together with friends the last few days.....for dinner...we will miss them all...

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Brian and Susan...

Dick and Ann....

Frank and Grace...

Ernie and Kim...and Bob (Anita was in Atlanta).....

Steve and Ethel...and Mike and Alicia...missed a dinner because Ethel was ill...which Steve caught.

Thanks to everyone for great evenings...see you in the fall!

Dave

PS...The many "faces of Linda"...(I think she's showing that she's more than "80%" back.....

Thursday In Florida...April 3rd, 2008

4 days left in Florida....then home to Oregon....

Linda had a good day..a lot of walking as we went to St. Petersburg and visited with Champ Car drivers and owners and all who now are "merged" into the Indy Racing League. The race event is this weekend..we won't attend as we have some "pool time" to do and watch all races in High Definition on TV. We were able to connect with drivers and all who will be attending the fan dinner in Long Beach ...

We had dinner with our neighbors in Florida tonight...Linda had a good appretite and held her own throughout the evening. Tomorrow we aren't going to do a lot besides "pool time"...and dinner with some friends.

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Pictures:

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Linda with friend Marilyn in the racing pits at St. Petes today (Marilyn and husband John are "us" at races we haven't done)

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Linda with friend Mark who works for Newman/Haas racing (yes, Paul Newman's team)

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Lunch in St. Petes
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Team activity in the Newman/Haas Paddock
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Linda ready for dinner

Our neighbors Dave and Mindy

Dave

Tuesday Florida Evening...April 1st, 2008

6 days left and 6 1/2 nights left in Florida......we fly out very early Tuesday morning......

Linda here, checking in. It was another beautiful day at the pool; so nice that we didn't even leave to go work out. We just sat and visited with friends and made some new friends. I'm going to miss all our friends when we go home. We need to move to a retirement community in Oregon, so we can find neighbors with nothing to do but visit, play cards, etc. like here.

It's raining hard out now. It was nice for the weather to wait until the day was over first. Raining should always happen at night, don't you think?

I can't believe how much better I'm feeling. Most of the time, I forget I was ever sick. I've definitely learned not to overdo, and that seems to be the secret to feeling good. I'm anxious to see how I do on Thursday when we spend the day at the track. I'm so looking forward to seeing a lot of friends there.

Thanks for continuing to check in. Remember to check in a week from Thursday when we give our good report from the doctors.

Love and gratitude......Linda

Sunday Evening In Florida.....March 30th, 2008

8 Days Left In Florida.......

Mrs. Wood is doing quite well.....walking up stairs instead of taking the elevator....working out....doing some clothes shopping.....soaking up sun.....having an appetite...everyone here is amazed at how good she looks.

Next step: Tomorrow Linda is dying her hair...so it will look like more hair...not a permanent dye but rather a wash in color. I pushed for pink...but it is a shade of brown.

We have a lot of dinner engagements this last week....then packing up for the trip back to Oregon.

Dave

Thursday Evening...In Florida...March 27th...2008

11 wonderful Florida days left!

Linda is doing well...still coughing from the chest cold or whatever it is..masking perhaps the previous cough. Her blood pressure/pulse cannot be better.....so much better. She is much more active and everyone thinks she looks good.

We finished preparations for the dinner for the Long Beach Grand Prix and all is posted on the forums and such. We are going to the St. Pete's event next week..but only Thursday to see driver friends and other folks. We are announcing our retirement from fan activites as of the Long Beach event....we are receiving much accolades for making this move. We will be attending a race or two in the future but from a "seat". It is time to rest.

Dave

Saturday Evening (Florida Time)......March 22, 2008

Not much new to report....16 days left in Florida.....we will miss it...

Linda is doing quite well (my observation)...she still gets fatigued and coughs a bit...but not as much as before....the chest cold or whatever it was seems to be clearing up. Her back still has pain from time to time...somewhat of a puzzle but could be due to sitting, etc.

After a week of sunshine and warmth....today it rained but was warm....we took a long nap and did not much else. Tomorrow we have dinner at a friend's house so we will get plenty of rest tonight.

We are working on the dinner in Long Beach...we have some exciting things planned and everyone will have a great "last" time. The dinner announcement will be posted on the 27th of March.

Dave

Wednesday Early Evening...Florida Time...March 19th, 2008

Today we have acted as if we were young again (ie..pre Linda's illness).

We drove....ran....raced...down to Sebring today to catch the prior Champ Car teams (3 of them) practice with the IRL cars they are now involved with....We walked...talked...and enjoyed our day....BUT..it was a long road back...and we still have a dinner date.....tomorrow we sleep in...except we have another dinner date tomorrow.

It was fun meeting drivers and race folks we knew..we felt part of things again....we plan on visiting with more folks before the St. Petes race and then we will be in full action in Long Beach.

What then? We think we might really retire....

Linda held up well today...worn out by a long day....but enjoyed the trip. See some pics below, including Linda with Jimmy Vasser...our favorite driver of all times....now a team owner and a great guy!

Dave

Monday Late Evening...Florida Time...March 17th, 2008

Just a short summary tonight.......

The sun and temperature have been grand! We are tanned and then again tanned!

Linda still has congestion and a cough.....a bit worrisome as we don't know where the hacky cough is as this cough might be masking the other cough....so who knows what to think. Her back has been bothering her...which gets our attention as to a "new symptom"....she has had back troubles from a fall on the ice years ago..and her remedies don't seem to work the last few days...so we worry a bit...but then again, today it was better......

Linda still is very tired....duh....she tries to do so many things....she needs to remember about the fatigue..some folks have told us it took them a year to get over it.

We go to Sebring on Wednesday to see our remainign racing teams getting ready with the IRL cars....and we are also working in Long Beach next month for the Champ Car final event before it is all IRL venues. I'll have pictures on the www.wood-eye.blogspot.com web site.

Dave

Friday Evening...Florida Time...March 14th, 2008

Sucky weather today..was supposed to be sunny and 75....it rained and was 60...BUT...got the bills paid and the shopping done...bring on good weather and 82 tomorrow.

I need help with this crazy woman....someone to tie her down...she has gone crazy on me...reminds me of the "old" Linda...it's scary. First she scubbed the shower...cleaned the grout on the tile in the house...worked out at 2.4 mph for 20 minutes...lifted weights...and the worst part is: she has a mind of her own again!...bad news!

Good news....Dave and Linda will be going to Long Beach and there will be an Inner Circle dinner...the announcement will come out the Thursday three weeks before the event. We are also close on being able to do other things too. ..look on a forum or www.wood-eye.blogspot.com for the announcements.

Dave

ps...Swee...folks are not getting thru on your email and have asked you to post it for folks in this comments section..thanks

Thursday Evening..Florida Time...March 13th, 2008

Thank you all for your best wishes today. I had a good day. I felt pretty energetic and the weather was beautiful. Dave treated me with a massage and a pedicure which felt great and we had a lot of pool time with friends. There were three people at the pool with a birthday today.

I was pretty worn out by the time we got home so when Dave suggested a romantic dinner out, I countered with the idea to a to-go pizza at home with candles on the table.

Dave just fixed me ice cream with fresh strawberries, so I'm going to enjoy it while we watch celebrity apprentice, and then I'm off to bed. I'm still suffering from my cold, so I need my rest!

Thanks again for all the comments and phone calls today. My phone battery wore out, I had so many calls

Love and gratitude.....Linda

Wednesday Evening....In Florida....Mrach 12th, 2008

Tomorrow...well almost today...is Linda's Birthday...March 13th

Tuesday Evening....Florida Time...March 11th, 2008

Janet flew off to Nebraska today....Linda still has a nasty cold.....there is less coughing....but the phlem is starting to break up...this is all good...we think.
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Linda will be a birthday girl Thursday....a young 62!

Dave

Monday Evening.....Florida Time...March 10th, 2008

Sister in law Janet's last night in sunny (?) Florida

Linda still has a nasty chest cold...so whether the antibiotics are working on her original cough is unknown.....perhaps in a day or two we will know.

Tomorrow Janet flies home to snowy Nebraska...today was a warm day in Florida..the rest of the week is supposed to be great.

Janet took us to dinner tonight....nice!

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It looks like Linda is trying to drink her way back to health..actually it's water!

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After coming home we played cards...Janet had a little trouble!

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Linda won again...of course!

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Dave

Sunday Evening...Florida Time...March 9th, 2008

Linda still has a cold...and hacking....we don't know if the hacking is separate from the previous coughing or...or...Linda is still on the antibiotic for the original cough...so who knows now what is causing what or?

A picture of Linda today...the "Lady in Red!"

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Nice weather today..clear but a wee bit cool.....tomorrow is warm and better.

Dave......

PS..the original "Lady In Red" by Vargas (note the similarities)

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Saturday Evening In Florida....March 8th, 2008

Linda has a cold today!....what energy she has is gone....she did take a walk but clearly has a drop in her limited energy. She's already in bed...we're hoping tomorrow is better for her.

Today we received sad news that Edith Santoro has passed away....a call from her daughter Nancy. Who was Edith?........Jimmy Vasser's number one fan and a great lady who attended Champ Car races in her 80's. She will be missed...always a favorite of Linda's...and many others.

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Now I guess Swee Hart is the new number one Jimmy fan. The above picture of Jimmy and Edith was taken at last spring's Portland testing.

Dave

Friday Evening In Florida....March 7th , 2008

Tonight I indicated to Linda that an indicator that's she's not doing as well as she should is that she lost at cards again tonight (she usually wins)....her only comment was "I thought you wanted to talk about something serious!".

Mrs. Wood continues to improve...appetite is up...hair is growing (slowly)......she feels eyelashes growing....she walked again today for exercise with Janet.

Yes...the cough is still there....not as bad today but she is taking antibiotics and cough medication...time will tell.

Severe thunderstorm and rain this late afternoon....toronado watch till 2 am.

Dave

Wednesday Evening.....Florida Time...March 5, 2008

Today we picked up Linda's sister in law Janet at the airport (after a side trip to COSTCO)....Janet will be viting us for a week here in sunny Central Florida.

Tonight Linda got a call from Susie, Linda's nurse practitioner at the Bend Memorial Clinic . She was checking on Linda and in particular the cough. A prescription of antibiotics will be tried and if the cough coninues to worsen, Linda will have a CT scan. She has one scheduled for April 9th, but if needed, one might be done earlier here in Florida or we might be flying home early for one to be done in Oregon.

As Linda says...it's not something we should worry about yet...the next step is to see how the antibiotics work...though we've had this cough in the backs of our minds for quite a while.

So Linda is going to enjoy Janet's visit and see what happens.

Dave

Monday Evening.....Florida time...March 3rd, 2008

A quick update...Linda is getting tanner....Linda is doing treadmill time every day....Linda is growing hair....and eyelashes....Linda's eyes are feeling better....Linda is still coughing.....Linda's sister in law Janet is coming Wednesday for one week to visit.....Dave is disappearing....one woman in the house is enough......they will have fun together.

Our neighbors in Oregon kindly sent us our battery charger for our camera...look for pictures in the near future.

We've had a series of great sunny "pool" days..tomorrow there is some rain and lightning coming.

Dave