Fear of what may be....

Many of you have no idea that I have been battling nasty cancerous tumors in my right arm for the past 2 years.  I’m definitely not looking for any sympathy, just jotting down what I am going through as I find it helpful and maybe just something that can help someone else that may be struggling with a similar situation.

2 years ago, I found lumps in my right arm, around my tricep muscle.  I went to my family doctor and he suggested that I see an orthopedic surgeon.  Long story short, he was not sure what to do so he went in and removed it and part of my upper arm.  Found out that it is a localized but very nasty, aggressive & rare type of tumor that attaches itself to the nearest muscle, bone, nerve whatever. Ain’t I special??

After the post surgical testing, he found out that he missed margins.  For those of you who don’t know, margins are the bad cells around the tumor that were not removed and will most likely cause another case if not taken out very soon.  He recommended me to a specialist in Oncology and Orthopedics that did remove the margins and thought this was enough.

WRONG answer, a year later (Early Spring 2009) I found another lump in my arm. Same surgeon, same type of surgery and he said it would most likely not return..  By this point, I have been through 3 pretty nasty surgeries on my right arm.  I have very little tricep muscle left and my arm is in pain most of the time.

WRONG again Dr.., this time I found another specialist that I am currently seeing.  Had an MRI 7 months ago and it came back negative, no new tumors even though I thought I felt something abnormal in the arm again.  Went back 2 weeks ago for my 6 month follow up MRI and this time it was not good, AGAIN.

It now appears that I have up to 3 new tumors and must undergo a 4^th surgery.  After surgery he is going to be more aggressive than my previous doctors and do some radiation as well.  I’m a bit scared and worried this time more than ever.  Not so much scared for my life but scared to lose the ability to do some of the things that I love.. 

Pool is a very big part of my life and I love to play and strive to come as close to perfect as I can.  I work hard on the fundamentals, love to learn new things and I really enjoy competing at the highest level possible.  I’m afraid that the possibility of losing the function of my arm might come true.  Hitting the wrong nerve or God forbid having to lose my arm completely would be devastating.

I’m aware and cognizant that many have dealt with much worse and I can only hope and pray for the best.  Like I said initially in this blog, I’m not looking for sympathy.  It helps to share what is going on in this little pea brain of mine. 

One day I’d love to share my knowledge and hard work with students and become a highly rated instructor in the sport of pocket billiards.  Thanks for listening to my rant.  I’m not sure anyone reads my blog but that’s ok, I still enjoy writing my feeling and adventures down.  It makes me feel better.

God bless and peace to you all. Feel free to comment if you do happen to read my ramblings.

Joey

Stan's the Man!

This past Friday I had a lesson/clinic with Stan Shuffett. Let's just start off by saying that his instruction far surpassed my greatest expectations.  Stan is a tremendous communicator, great man of integrity and a fantastic teacher of pocket billiards.  Not only can he teach the game but can play at a super high level as well.  Not everyone feels that this is important but I find it to be of value when a teacher not only knows but can do as well.

Let me start of by saying that our day was worth so much to me as far as my pool game is concerned.  Stan was instrumental in figuring out the hitch in my stroke.  Just figuring that out and now having a game plan to fix it is of value beyond measure to me.

Stan helped me to identify some fundamental flaws in my game that I never even knew existed.  I feel that these are the small things that have been holding me back from reaching the next level, I feel as if I have been "stuck" for years without the understanding or knowledge of how to fix them.  Thanks to Stan, I now have the tools to reach my goals.

He also taught me the Pro One aiming system as well, this alone is absolutely amazing.  I'd highly recommend anyone going to Stan for help with this.  To be honest, I could have never learned it from a book or through a simple phone conversation.  Stan did a great job of demonstrating this and kept going over it until I got it.  With his help, it did not take long for me to get the system.  I now use Pro One along with Perfect aim and find that using the two together gives me the confidence that I need to progress as a player.

In the 9+ hours with Stan I gained so knowledge and insight, it is insane.  I'd say that anyone that wants to step up their game must see Stan.  His prices are reasonable, he's a fantastic teacher and a great guy too.  You cannot go wrong.  He can be contacted through justcueit.com

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have by simply leaving a comment on this blog or emailing me.  If you want to know how Perfect Aim works, you'll need to take the lesson though.

Peace out!

Trying to figure it all out..

I am on the everlasting mission to figure this game out.. I sometimes have flashes of brilliance and play at an almost unconscious level.  The problem is, I don't think anyone out there can draw upon this state of being in "the zone" for lack of a better term, whenever they choose.

Fundamentals are the key to success in all situations when it comes to any sport, in my opinion.  If one works hard on the fundamentals and can master what works for him/her, they can use these in high pressure situations with confidence that they will get them through.

I find it difficult to do the same things over and over.  What I am looking for is something that is repeatable, consistent and what works for me.

In the past I have tried to emulate what I "thought" the top pros were doing.  Problem is, they are not all doing the same thing.  I believe stance, head position etc. change depending on body type, weight, height etc.

One thing I focused on for the longest time was my grip and trying to hold the cue very loosely but had very little success because I could not really hit the cue ball where I wanted to consistently with this loose grip.  Watching a few top players, I noticed that they were appearing to use their whole hand and it got me to experimenting.  I find that for me, using my whole hand with a firm, consistent grip from start to finish works best for me.  Now I'm not talking about choking the cue, just a firm grip.  You could not pull it from my hand easily with this grip but it is not tight enough to harm a baby bird or a hamster either.. 

I find with this grip I have more accuracy, better control of my CB and a much stronger break as well.  I have just started using this and REALLY like it.  I found this information from CJ Wiley's web site.  He has some good information there and does not look at everything like the typical instructor might do so.  YMMV

That's enough rambling for today, I hope to take my new grip to the tables tonight. Last night I played lights out, I hope it continues.  I plan to play very well at next years DCC..

Peace and God bless!