Happy Fourth of July from Action Magazine and the Kindrick family. We have glad tidings to report this July 4, much better than the doom and gloom from last year’s painful Independence day experience.

First on the good news list is the favorable medical report that just came in on my thyroid cancer. Second on the glad tidings list is my decision to rebuild the Action Magazine website into a personal blog which will carry photos, old and new Kindrick columns, occasional articles, and personal opinions – both popular and otherwise.

Now working on the new web presence is webmaster Harry Thomas, former graphics artist with the Express and News and the Action Magazine web guy who was with me from the beginning of our online presence. . There is none better in the business than Harry. We will again be on the world wide web.

At this time in 2018, I had just been informed by Dr. Robert Noland of Bulverde Well-Med that the masses in both my throat and on my sternum were metastatic thyroid cancer. It was a grim diagnosis, since metastatic cancer is the kind that often breaks loose and travels into other organs such as lungs, liver, pancreas, brain, etc. It had already moved from my throat area to my breast bone, and I knew that I was in for a fight.

First off, Dr. Benjamin Webb surgically removed my thyroid glands. Then I was administered 18 direct zaps of radiation to my sternum area. Radiation oncologist Keith Eyre supervised this procedure. And then I was given radioactive iodine by Dr. Daniel Katselnik, the endocrinologist who is now overseeing my medical recovery.

The first full body scan indicated that I may have dodged the bullet. The cancer had gone to no other areas. The first blood work following the thyrogen (radioactive iodine) showed result better than I had ever expected. Said Dr. Katselnik: “You had a lot of cancer in your body this time last year. You have a small amount in your body now. This report could be a little better, but it could be a whole lot worse. We will continue your thyroid medication with regular monitoring.” I’ll take this report with a smile on my face.

And I wouldn’t be standing upright and with my brain still in place without my wife Sharon. The late Stoney Edwards put it well. His best country song was: “She’s my rock and I ain’t gonna throw her away.”