Don Anderson:  

Many Thanks to all who signed the encouraging cards forwarded to me by Sharon. I really appreciate the sentiments and am glad so many of you were able to get together for the 50th reunion. I'm still waiting for several VA Departments to coordinate the upcoming surgery. They will be replacing two, possibly three cervical disks, removing bone spurs deforming the spinal cord and also removing the tumor on the thyroid on the way out of my throat. Apparently there are problems with the esophagus too so I will most likely be down for a lengthy recovery period. Your words of wisdom and friendship will be helpful in getting me back to health and on my feet again! Be Well My Friends ~ Don As long as I've planned to attend this upcoming reunion, it is going to be difficult to stay home and let you folks have all the fun. I hope it is a success for all who do attend though and I look forward to hearing about it. Golf carts in the pond again maybe...? ;D Health issues continue to keep me pretty grounded here and the latest is a tumor on thyroid gland that is restricting the air flow through trachea. Fortunately the biopsy shows it and several smaller ones are benign but they are still a problem. If anyone happens to be traveling up or down I-5 through the Willamette Valley, I'm 8 miles east of the Hwy 34 exit to Corvallis and Oregon State. Would love to get back in touch with my 'old' friends! Thanks to all of you who worked to put this reunion together. I'll miss you but wish the Best for everyone! Thanks ~ Don October 4th 2011 Not here often as usual but checking in to say that I'm leaving for Washington D.C. and return is open-ended.. Will try to keep in touch through facebook when possible ~ Don Update ~ March 18, 2011 Please contact me at Facebook. It is a much better and immediate site for keeping in touch! Re-injured back last April and docs are wanting to do more surgery, fusing all lumbar and two thoracic vertebra, adding more titanium and clamps. Decided to get back into the VA system as Medicare is not paying enough of the bill. Docs there discovered Parkinson's and prostate cancer so looks like I'm on my way out folks. Other numerous continued health issues have overwhelmed me and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to cope. ~ My Best to You & Yours ~ Don Time for another update to end this crazy year. Doc's decided I needed emergency back surgery and it went well. Am already up and playing in the snow like a six year old. Life is good if you keep your eye on the prize! = More life and time to share it with others. My Best to All for 2009! Hi Everybody ~It's been a couple years since I got into this so naturally, much has happened. Doctors have been treating many symptoms for several years now and I continued to see my health going further south. Woke one morning in early Sept of this year and found myself unable to get out of bed. The following morning pain was even worse and I was taken by ambulance to the city hospital. It took a couple days but they did blood culture and determined that I'd been dealing with a major staph infection for at least five years and the doctors were misdiagnosing the problem. It took over a month of anti-biotics being pumped into a catheter to my heart, but am finally on the mend from that. They now ...Expand for more