Projects Rusty 47 Ford Reserection

I know in the past I've commented on feeling crappy, always tired ...sore joints pains etc etc . That stuff has been going on for over 25 yrs. I have seen more Dr's , physiotherapists, specialists, shrinks , chiropractors ,councilors over the years . Never ever got any valid diagnosis , other than the most common it's in your head...you are depressed, it's just symptoms of that, or being called a liar , trying to get time off work for my imaginary illness. It gets old fast!
I've long ago given up on the great Canadian medical system when it comes to helping me it's been nothing but frustration, and medication when not required, sorry if I sound like I'm whining but it's fostered a lot of negative shit in my mind and my life ..hard to explain really. Kinda explains what I mean when I say cars have been keeping me semi sane for a long time!


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I tend to do the same thing with that same view.



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The car can not tell you what to do if you do not sit and stare at it constantly. At least that is how i justify it.

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Damn wifi !! I need to try to boost the signal .
Anyways, when I first halted on the 47 I just had no desire to work on cars, wasn't feeling great , major depression , no extra money for cars...I've only been to one car show in 3 years, never even licensed the 64 in 2015 ...five years since I went to a junkyard even, you get the idea.
I decided a couple of winters ago to start to condense as much of the junk in the yard into rolling projects, stuff I could do without much$ just rotate them through so I could randomly pick away at them. The main reason for this other than to keep the neighbors happy was to try and get myself excited about cars enough to get back at the 47.
It was working but over the last couple of years the tiredness , pains really began to ramp up plus other things began to appear, I had my heart tested over a year ago for long time random chest pains that we're getting worse and more frequent and bizarre chest palpitations ...guess what? Nothing wrong , you are too depressed lol same bullshit over and over.
In Oct I went to see my now ex dr and demanded a chest X-ray to which the fucking quack reluctantly agreed, within 24 hours my wife got a message that there was something wrong and I needed a ct scan, no explanation or follow up app even !
Some of these newer symptoms have included a cough that's been getting much worse , basically I have all the physical symptoms of late stage lung cancer plus a bunch of other symptoms . Talk about trying to keep your mind occupied for a month, impossible!


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I know exactly what you've been going through Steve. I've been on the same wagon for about as long. These are things that only someone who has been through, can understand. I know there are other Hambers here that can relate, it's helped big time to find a doctor that's a human first, Doctor second.

 

The radiologist wasn't sure what it was but told me there were so many tiny spots in both of my lungs that they could not count them .
It's called Sarcoidosis , very rare,very hard to diagnose , even harder to treat, no cure, they aren't even sure how you get it but it's generally believed to be triggered by something inhaled that once in your lungs triggers your immune system into attacking your body by forming little clumps of cells in the affected organ , usually the lungs.
In my case I'm 110% positive this nightmare began in 1988 when I started as a photocopier tech. I had allergic reactions the first while that eventually subsided, a couple of years later the joint pains began.
Needless to say it's been undiagnosed so long I'm at the chronic stage which is rare in this rare disease...I got the 32 Vicky of illnesses lol! The list of symptoms is a mile long but generally on a good day I get about 4 hrs sleep, just feel tired and the soreness I've learned to tolerate years ago, if I try anything physical I'm only good for about 10-15 mins sometimes less then I have to rest sometimes for a couple of hours ....on a shitty day add feeling like you have the flu severe chest/ heart pain , unbelievable ( even for me) joint pain , something called brain fog like I'm half out of it , forgetful , chronic fatigue and exhaustion , headache , it's absolutely unbelievable the different symptoms it can cause and it can be different in every case, they call it the snowflake disease because every case is different and it depends which parts of your body the mini tumors have formed in..you can also get excruciating joint pain in areas but have none of the cell cluster tumors.
Despite how horrible I feel, sound and look my lung function test I did really well probably cause I never smoked, so they won't give me any meds before the biopsy and that's the day after my birthday at the end of the month yay! I know it's in my lungs , lymph nodes and spleen but they have to biopsy the lung for analysis, if they don't get a good sample( no guarantee ) I will need to have surgery to get a lymph node. The main treatment is prednisone which has horrible side effects if you use it long term and when they wean you off it the symptoms come back worse . The lung specialist doesn't want me on it until my lung function becomes extremely compromised cause I'll never get off the drugs once I start. Not sure how good a job I'm doing explaining a disease I had never heard of a few months ago , but if you want to know more it's what killed comedian Bernie Mac , there is a foundation on line in his name that explains it well, it also killed a famous Nfl player ( I don't know shit about sports ) Reggie White I think was his name. Bernie knew he had it for over 20 yrs and it still killed him ,so I'm kinda lucky having it for so long and not knowing it( well I knew I had something !) . Oh yeah it's a rare disease that most common in African Americans for some reason they don't understand .
I've been off work since Oct and will likely never work again so I have the whole disability nightmare yet to deal with, and no scientific way to prove is work related. At least my employer has been fantastic looking after me, I still have my company car and phone and he's been paying my full salary until the work disability kicks in in March , he won't be able to let me keep the car due to insurance once long term starts... Gotta get the Pontiac fixed up abit, for me and Nadine's 99 Camry with 415,000kms needs to go, not sure what's gonna happen but I'm trying not to worry, apparently stress is very bad for me now lol !
Sarcoidosis or complications from it is likely gonna kill me, could take a year or I could suffer for another 10 or 20 years it's absolutely unpredictable what it might do , although the likelihood of "remission" after so many years and the long long list of symptoms I have Is a pipe dream !
I am researching some alternative treatments , and will yet again remove more things from stuff I eat, basically anything inflammatory, I have to try something but I'm still dealing with trying to comprehend it all, it's like the mat that was my life has been yanked out from under me and I'm never getting it back...

I know this is a bit of a long winded post but I needed to get it off my chest! No pun intended ! I need to try and start interacting abit with humanity. I was hoping to surprise you guys this fall with some pics of the Merc , I was hoping to thrash it to drive to the Atlantic Nationals next year since I had about 90% of what I needed , to do with it what the original intention of this thread was, build a fun , rough, year round beater...instead I have it about half finished and am working on it 10 mins a time and dumping all this crap on you guys instead. I was even gonna start a new thread for the Merc but I don't have the energy at the moment. I've been wanting to do this for weeks but have cringed because of how mentally stressful it gets when I have trouble thinking , and putting thoughts down , this took forever so I'm gonna post it before this phone dies



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Oh and not long before I really started to go downhill in the fall my brother helped me get this, first project sedan delivery I've seen since coming to Nova Scotia, it's bad! Frame is Swiss cheese. Not sure if I will ever get to it but I enjoy seeing it in the yard .


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Sorry to hear this Steve. I'm sure it took a lot out you to post this. Hopefully you will be able to fight it for a few years.

 

Thanks Brendan, this is why I told you I needed to post here ...When I'm having a shit day I try not to obsess about how shitty it is...on a decent day I like a quote from Monty Pythons Holy Grail ( in my best high pitched fake female British accent) " I'm not dead yet !"


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Interesting side note, Reggie White had a really slick '48 Buick Sedanette that got sold to a local guy here near Green Bay.

Not sure what else to say, other than I've really enjoyed watching the progress of this project right from the start and look forward to seeing more in the future.

 

Hi Steve...very sorry about your situation. May you have good days going forward. It would be nice for some friends to get together and help you get that beast together. I hope You and your Missus are spending time being close. Fight the Fight its the only option and keep on wrenchin. Great to see you back...

 

WooHoo! Glad to see you back Steve! Looking forward to more of one of my favorite builds.

 

I'm trying to find some positive in it , not very easy ! At the very least I now know I'm not crazy after all these years I was fucking right something was wrong with me! Too bad it took the clowns 28 yrs to figure it out ! I don't have many friends around here, my old buddies are back in Ottawa where I'm originally from . I've really drifted away from the scene here over the last 5or 6 years . It's hard to get in with the locals here, it's rural Nova Scotia they don't accept outsiders to quickly lol!


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I did some trading with Flatheadfever last summer, ended up with this 283 ( supposed to run great) and a 200r overdrive . I want to put them in the 47, and yank the 305/350 trans to use in the Merc . I also have a manual steering box I want to try out, and some decent 50 Merc tail lights


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It is good to see you back. But not good news. It was about 14 months ago that I got my biopsy back. We were able to go with surgery. But it is still hard. Good luck to you. I assume you have an oxygen concentrator? I love mine.

 

My Missus helps me out with the Hotrod on occasion even though its really not her type of thing but she knows its my passion. Perhaps this is an option. Get one of them suckers goin spring is near upon us. This will help release some positive ions there Steve. Remember we're in this big thing called life together...Positive as possible thoughts to you...and as I read to all others here fighting their own fights.

 

No meds at all right now, I cough an awful lot . Only surgery when it gets bad is a lung transplant , but you are usually too sick by then . Despite the pain and discomfort my lung function is pretty good, so they told me lol! I'd rather the pain and discomfort with good function than no pain but needing oxygen .


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Thanks ! I drag her out but not often , she's stuck working a shitty back shift job . She might become my full time driver real soon! That's exactly why I'm here, I need some positive vibes and to try and occupy my overworked brain !


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Do whatever you have to do your in our thoughts man...and poke your nose around here lots going on always.

 

Thanks man I appreciate it.There will be more progress, not sure how much or when but I'm gonna start picking at some small things . It's funny my minds kinda messed up along with memory issues , I'm gonna need this thread to refer to putting it back together lol! Kind of ironic .


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It's hard to explain to someone what it's like eh ? I have a new young female dr who seems to care, she listens , the total opposite of the last pill pushing quack . I have a 28 yr chip on my shoulder now to deal with..a lot of resentment and anger with the medical system , down to its very western core . Do I sound bitter lol? I wouldn't wish this garbage on anyone. I guess persistence pays off eh [emoji23]


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I love it ! I've been talking to the Merc for a few months now, usually about 3 or 4 am when I can't sleep... I'd rather stare at my cars and listen to Pink Floyd than watch tv.


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good to read you back, Steve, i enjoyed your thread so much and worried about what happened. i red your courageous lines about your health status, ups and downs, man, that sure were hard times and still are. i hope that the H.A.M.B. is a little source again to speed up your recovery and esp. the mental health.
good you're back, dude.

Carsten

 

Jeez . . . alright, I'll be the first to say it . . . here's hoping you suffer for another 10 or 20 years! Hey, you'll need that much time to unload that chip from your shoulder! Hell of a face slap to your Inner Buddha, man that sucks! But then, knowing what it is has to be some sort of relief, like you say, at least now you know for sure you aren't crazy! (Right, Steve?)

 

Thanks, I appreciate this!


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The way my luck seems to go I'm pretty sure I'm destined to suffer for quite awhile ! It's gonna be awhile before I know the full extent of things, after the biopsy I will need more scans and tests to look for it in other organs. It's nice having free medical here in Canada but it can be so damn slow, the system is always overloaded , and I'm already sick of dealing with them. I will feel better when I know 100% where it's located. I feel like I can't plan my counter attack without knowing everything. I'm trying to look for something positive to come out of this, but it's hard so early on I'm hoping that becomes more clear as time moves on . Worst case scenario to me is being so sick and broke that we end up in some tiny apartment , staring at the walls. I'd rather die lol!


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Thanks for explaining your health issues with us. I think that verbalizing your thoughts and feelings to friends can be helpful. At least they (we) know why you approach and react to things the way you do. My father when asked how he was doing in his later years would always say "doing the best I can with the parts I have left" In saying this he accepted his declining health as a fact he could not change but yet moved on as best he could after each surgery or chronic illness doing as much as he could do.

I have adopted his attitude as best I can. Working in the shop daily is good therapy for what ever is bothering me that day. I hope you have many more therapy days in your shop (working or just hanging out).

Sam

 

Steve...
There is an old saying that goes something like: "I complained I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet".
Here I am... off work for another 6 weeks with (apparently) "only" stress dragging me down, a bunch of ailments and a boss who is "unfriendly". I've been tested for lung and brain cancer but they never found anything (ya ya... no brain. I know). I've pulled away from most people and have little push.

But reading about your health issues, I feel that I simply have no shoes.

Do what you have to do to cope, whatever it is.
Vent when you need to vent. Back away when you need to.
If 10 minutes is all that you can deal with at a time on your cars then that is 10 minutes to enjoy.
People say "one day at a time". I've taken to say "one hour at a time". Pick your amount of time to cope with. If it it ten minutes, so be it.

I have come to learn that life is what happens between each crisis. I've had a few.

I will be driving through your area during March break. I'll check first to see about dropping in.
Email or pm me anytime.

 

Well , Steve , man what can I say that hasn't already been conveyed by others ? When I first started reading your symptoms it sounded like Fibromyalgia . My wife suffers from this debilitating condition, but then you went on to say they found issue in your lungs I thought shit , I guess not . Needless to say read up on the symptoms of Fibro and you will see the issues of brain fog , depression , chronic pain , joint pain , exhaustion , weakness , chest pain , uncanny similarities but if the experts agree on your diagnosis then Fibro is out of the equation . I pray for you that with the right approach from the medical profession that you live long and well and get back to a somewhat normal life and start enjoying your passions again . Stay strong and carry on ! Andy..