J. Dawg is taking a break from travel to heal up from surgery. This is all related to my having colitis for the past 9 years.  The ongoing inflammation that comes with colitis made me more susceptible to colon cancer.
At my last colonoscopy, there were some precancerous areas in my colon. I had a full colectomy to eliminate the areas from turning into cancer. I knew that I had to have the surgery back in March. It took several weeks to get all the second opinions, several doctor appointments completed, and get a date for the surgery.
So, I no longer have a colon and instead have an ostomy bag. But, I also eliminated the colon cancer risk and no longer have colitis. For me, it was a worthwhile trade.
My surgery went well and I’m at home recovering. It will probably be 4- 6 weeks of R&R. But I am planning to be back traveling once I’m healed up.
PS I haven’t written a blog post in awhile, but I have done 3 videos in the past 2 months. Check out my YouTube Channel to see them.
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Hope you’re soon back on the road. Maybe once you get acclimated to new bodily functions you could do an insightful post on “life with an ostomy bag” because most of us probably need to be educated on this little-discussed issue!
Prayers 💪
Our prayers are with you. we enjoy your column about your travels.
God Bless
Godspeed on recovery and getting back on the road again. Enjoy your clear and simple insights to places you visit. Great blog. Thank you.
I have always enjoyed your blog and will look forward to reading it again once you have recovered. Best of luck to you for good health in the future.
Get well soon. I’ll miss your blog
Speedy recovery J Dawg. Love your blog
Wishing you a speedy recovery and more travel tales soon.
Blessings for a speedy recovery. “Ya can’t keep a good man down,” so do what ya gotta do and you’ll be traveling once again. ~~Charlie
Wishing you a speedy recovery and look forward to your next blog.
Hope you make a complete and fast recovery. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts., and hope you are back on the road soon.
Prayers and positive vibes to you on a safe and speedy recovery. Looking forward to more blog posts in the future! As you are an experienced and avid biker, maybe you could give us novices some tips and pointers on how to enjoy safe and pain free biking.
Rodney,
Thanks and that’s a great idea about safe and pain free biking. Here’s some quick tips I learned. 1. Always wear a helmet. The stats show that if you fall off your bike, there’s an 80% chance you will hit your head. 2. Get the right sized bike so you’re not sitting straight up but leaning into/towards the handle bar. When you hit a bump the shock will push your butt in the air vs. traveling up all the vertebrae of your spine. 3. Set your seat height so at the bottom of your downstoke your leg is still slightly bent. Pain in the front of the knee means your seat is too low, pain in the back of the knee means the seat is too high. 4. Pedal at a high cadence of 80-90 rpm. Don’t mash the pedals. Pedal faster and lighter vs slower and harder. 5. Never trust a walk signal on a cross walk. Always look both ways before crossing. 6. Use hand signals when turning & slowing. 7. If you do long distance biking and wear biking shorts, don’t wear underwear. The seams in the underwear will cause chaffing and the cotton will hold moisture. 8. Experiment with bike seats to find the right one. The seat should be tilted slight forward so you’re sitting of the hips and not have a lot of pressure on your crotch. I have/had Terry saddles on all my bikes.
Hope these tips help.
J. Dawg
Like so many others I enjoy your blog and look forward to each one. Good luck with your recovery. Your attitude in wonderful.
Get well soon. I really enjoy your blog and videos. Keep on travelling.
Thanks, Scott.
Always enjoy reading your blog and recommend it to others. Excellent biking tips! Hope to see you back on the road soon.
Positive thoughts heading your way. Will eagerly await your next journal entry.
I sincerely hope that you feel better soon! I have a cousin in Canada whose husband has suffered from colitis for 30 years. I would love to pass on information to them regarding the results of your operation in hopes of helping him.
Hope you will be on the road soon and feeling better. My husband and I have a 2006 Coachman Concord 24ft that we love.
Best wishes,
Marilyn and Rick
Thanks, Marilyn,
I will send you a private email with some info on my colitis and my surgery.
J. Dawg
07/17/19; just today came across your information and began reading. I expect I eventually will be reading and watching (youtube) all that you have shared. Already you have impressed me as an inspiration. Actually came across your information while researching View 24V information and pre-owned within go-look-at distance. I read about your health issues and that also is inspirational. I certainly hope you are doing well with adjusting to a new way of life. I was diagnosed with cancer spring 2018 and am recovering from the effects of chemo and radiation treatments which have both been amazingly damaging to the body. I spent about 9months with a feeding tube which was eventually removed; however, getting sufficient nutrition by mouth without the benefit of taste has proven to be a challenge. So, thanks for sharing your rv knowledge and perhaps one future day our paths will cross.