“Meltdown, No Cancer!”

How's that for a headline?! Over the last couple of months, I've heard from friends and listeners "Where have you been? You ok?" and the like because I haven't been to many shows or events. I can honestly say that I am OK!

I went in for a physical in early December. I was feeling great...playing hockey, getting decent workouts in, the whole thing. About 4 days after my visit the doctor called me. My PSA (prostate-specific-antigen) levels were very high. Twice where they should be. She suggested I go see a urologist about the possibility of prostate cancer. I made an appointment for the following Monday. I was a nervous wreck. I lost 5 lbs in those few days.

After the physical the doctor told me he thought I was okay but wanted to make sure, so he ordered another blood test. My next appointment was after the holidays in early January. The test results came back the same so now he wanted to do a biopsy. I do not suggest those! I've been to funner events for sure. That took place the day after the Super Bowl. I told him I had a vacation planned for the end of February and to tell me something positive. He told me I'd be fine and that he thought it would be negative or low grade, but it's still nerve-racking.

He sped up the test results day so I could go on vacation knowing what had to be done if anything at all. The day of finding out what was going on was finally here, two and a half months after my physical. As I sat in the waiting room area, flipping through my phone, my palms became greasy. I was nervous. Person after person came and went. I was told at the front desk that he'd take me last to talk about the results. That didn't make me feel great.

Finally, I was called into the room. I was in there for quite a while as the doctor took care of other patients. My nerves were on edge. Then the doors opened. He came towards me holding his hand out to shake mine, and said the words I'll never forget "Meltdown, No Cancer!" (Yes, he called me Meltdown) A giant weight was lifted. The words I'd hoped for most were what came out of his mouth. I could breathe again.

"This Too Shall Pass" was a verse I had in my mind through this whole process. It gave me hope and let me know that one day, good or bad, this would be over. That being said, I'll have to go back in another six months for a check-up, but I'm good with that. The doctor who once told me "I got you" will be checking on me periodically.

I don't want to get too personal by naming my doctors and whatnot (I will be doing something with my urologist in the future on here) but a huge Thank You to them! I would like to thank Brent Smith from Shinedown. He posted a video last year about the importance of getting your yearly physical, which had been a few years for me. That got me off my ass to get it done. I've kept him abreast of my progress, as he's been a huge source of strength.

Also a huge Thank You to my neighbor, whom I also won't name. She kept me calm with her vast knowledge of what I was going through. I wouldn't have made it without her.

I wasn't sure if I was going to post this or talk about it, but I wanted to share to perhaps help other men, and women, get off THEIR asses and get checked out as well. Make 2024 the year you get in shape, improve your health, or just get checked out. I'm glad I did!

-Meltdown-

After hearing of the possible closure of Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, I decided to take a trip there and see it for myself. It has been years since I was last there. If my memory serves, I believe the last time I was at Marvin's may have been in the late 90s, I can't recall. It had been so long that when I pulled up I didn't realize that you can drive under the sign to parking right in front of the entrance.

Last week the city of Farmington Hills city council voted unanimously to demolish the building to make room for another Meijer store. I mean, how many Meijer stores does one region need? I guess we need more.

According to their Facebook page last week "Yes, the city voted and the mall will be torn down but from what I understand we have our space till the end of the year. We will be moving, not closing! Where? I do not know as of yet but I hope to stay within the same general area and will keep everyone posted as things progress but again WE ARE NOT CLOSING!" I hope not. Places like this are hard to find.

As I walked, I noticed a couple of things right away. First off, there were a lot of kids in sight. As I walked into the place a little more I came to realize that it was an arcade from about 8 feet down, and from 8 feet up it's something you might see on American Pickers. All sorts of classic tapestries from years gone by. I found myself marveling at the old posters promoting everything from old fairs and circuses to sayings, to magicians, and so on. I also took note of how small the place is. Just 5,500 square feet of a step back in time of game-playing goodness.

Personally, I was drawn to the older machines. Some of them are from a hundred years ago. Yeah, there are modern games like pinball and others, but I wanted to see some of the vintage machines. Fortune tellings, to all sorts of crazy machines that came from the mind of the founder, Marvin Yagoda. In the words of his son, Jeremy, he said his father was a "very interesting character." who fell in love with coin-operated machines when he was a little kid.

If you get a chance, take a stroll to Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills and make some memories with your family. It would be sad to see a locally owned family business disappear.

Check out some pictures I took from my visit below.

-Meltdown-

https://wrif.com/shows/meltdown-on-wrif/

https://wrif.com/shows/meltdown-on-wrif/