Issue # 157 Zzajrant (post surgery)!!!
11 November 2015 – The recovery phase for my operation took (& to some degree, still is) WAY LONGER than I thought it would… I’m only getting ’round to wading back through all the submissions (both digital and hard-copy) from promoters and artists, and getting a few more reviews written each day. Now – here’s something for those who are submitting material to us… whenever a package is received, or an email press kit/digital download is sent, the first thing I’m looking for (obviously) is the MUSIC… but there MUST be a few other things in the package as well… here are exactly the things you MUST include in your submission (if they’re NOT there, you likely won’t get reviewed):
LINKS to the music you want reviewed – these MUST be downloadable, so don’t just send links to a “stream-only” site like Reverbnation or Soundcloud (if you continue to send e-mails with non-downloadable files, your future messages will be automatically routed to my JUNK folder)!
NO “singles”, or “EP’s”… I only review FULL ALBUM RELEASES!!!
Any promotional material you may have (such as a one-sheet, or press release)
Photos, or links to photos of your album cover
Solid contact information (e-mail or website – e-mail is best)
I get over 100 emails a week with various & sundry requests for music to review, and a LOT of them don’t meet the criteria above… still wondering why you haven’t heard from me? Look at the submission criteria above – if you fail to meet it, I can guarantee you won’t get a review here… if you DO, your album WILL be reviewed (as long as it also meets my “high-energy” qualifier – if you send music that lacks that energy, you may not be reviewed here).
4 October 2015 – As many readers here know, I usually use my “ZzajRant” section for live show reviews and other music-related events that I’ve been able to witness personally; many of you also know that my output this year has been significantly less than in previous years – due to having been diagnosed in June of 2015 with cancer in my prostate. After the initial diagnosis, there were a whole host of other appointments I had to attend to… extensive blood work, CT scan, bone scan & all the other tools used by the medical community to determine if the dreaded cells had expanded to other parts of the body.
Thankfully, I can report that the scans detected no spread and no other “conditions” that might lead to more problems later. Since I’m covered under military retiree medical, all of that work was done by the Madigan cancer recovery team, and I’m happy to report that they are as fine a group of physicians as you might find at some of the more prominent civilian medical groups outside of the military. After some extended discussions with the various doctors on the cancer team, I elected to have the entire prostate (+ some of the lymph nodes right around the gland) surgically removed.
They did the surgery last week, on 1 October, 2015. I’m a “virgin” when it comes to operations (never had any kind of surgery done, despite nearly 45 years of working in/with/around the military). Their check-in and clinic procedures were surprisingly well done… it only took about 20 minutes of “in-processing” before the anesthesiologist delivered his first dose to put me under… & I don’t remember a thing after that… all in all, they told me (and my son) that it took a total of about 5 hours; it would have only been about 4 hours, but once they cut the holes and inserted the robot, they found a pretty severe hernia, so a general surgeon was called in to perform that before removal of the prostate. The next thing I remember was my son smiling down at me in the recovery room, asking how I was feeling… lol. I had asked the doctor in charge of the medications to use a rather strong pain-killer (Dilaudid), so I was definitely “trippin'” when he asked me that (unfortunately, his order only covered that night, so the next morning, they changed the meds to 800MG Ibuprofen, Oxycontin & a couple others that I’m not familiar with.
The check-out (Friday afternoon, about 4:30 pm) wasn’t nearly as efficient as their check-in, but that was actually the only part of the process that was less than satisfactory. I’ve spent the last 3 days cruising here at home on the Oxy & Ibuprofen, and can say – “Thank God for good painkillers”! The only other negative is the catheter/bag they use to drain urine, but that will be pulled out on 7 October (I wouldn’t wish the catheter on my worst enemy… it’s totally disgusting to walk around with a bag for your urine, but that’s just the way it’s done). Here’s the BLUF (bottom line up front)… I’m relieved (in a B-I-G way) already, knowing that the cancer is GONE! 5 or 6 days of minor annoyance is well worth knowing that I’m free of those evil cells! My thanks to my son Andrew, my sisters & my son Arthur, all of the great folks on FB who sent me “get well soon” notes and all the rest of you who have called or emailed to let me know you were there for me! Without all that great support, I’m sure these last three or four months would have been VERY miserable and full of worry. My thanks also go out to the great doctors, nurses & other support staff at Madigan for your smooth, efficient and accurate treatment. Of course, for my readers, I’m sure I will gradually “pick up speed” in the months to come! Again – THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!!!