Prayers for Thomas Carmichael

[Admin]

Hi Clinta and Ron,
In regard to the pictures you have, I would be happy to scan them for you and post them in this thread.  Even if you end up scanning them, you'll have to email them to me in order to post as you need a server to store the photos.

If you would like me to do this, please contact me at [email protected] and I'll email you my postal address.

Karen
Webmaster

[tmc3c]

Hi Karen;

Thanks for your offer to post pictures of Thomas.  When I referenced the "pictures," I was referring to scanning and posting them on caringbridge.com.  Thomas has already had a great deal of exposure on the POG site, but again I appreciate your offer to help!

Have a great day!

Clinta



Thomas Carmichael


1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler

[firstturn]

Just talked to Thomas via the cell and is he the Great fighter.  He is so determined to fight and is so Happy for all the support from the POG.  Thanks to everyone for your Prayers and Posts.

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

Just talked to Thomas and he had some questions that maybe Jack, Doug or Dane wouldn't mind answering.  This comes from the great poster of the CycleLiner that POG sent to him.  Thomas was wondering about how and where the bikes were were stored during a trip and where the guys rode in the cab.  He also wanted to know the color of the Bus?  Any input would be appreciated as Thomas' Wife Clinta reads to him every evening.  Thanks to everyone who has posed on his website.

Ron Carbaugh

[Doug Wilford]

The cycliner was Green and white the first two windows are over the bunk beds.  We had 2 besides alot of floor space The center (fore and aft) was for the parts wash and had to leave space for tha floor access to the engine, the engine layed on it's side about even with the window just ahead of the side door.  I think the largest load was during the Inter am series.  Wecarried all of the factory huskys plus the americans bikes, only one time did I see the back completely full and that waa because the Ramada Inn Orlando lost all its pool furniture (Sunday night got a little wild some times)  Everyone had a nice place to set for a few weeks.   Going to go play golf tomorrow ( first time this year) Oouch back hurts already.  Love to all

[tmc3c]

Hi Doug;

I'm sorry that we've never had the opportunity to meet, Thomas talks about you all the time, he thinks the world of you!  Thank you for taking the time to give Thomas his answers.  He is fascinated with the Penton Cycleliner and since we've hung the 2' X 3' picture right in front of him in his room, he looks at it many times a day!

Thomas said that ProV1 golf balls have been known to help out with a back ache!  

Have a wonderful day,

Clinta Carmichael, (Thomas's wife)



Thomas Carmichael


1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler

[DKWRACER]

Hi Thomas, hows it going?. Thought I might share a Golfing Poem/.......
Golf Poem.
 
In My Hand I Hold A Ball,
 
White And Dimpled, And Rather Small.
 
Oh How Bland It Does Appear,
 
This Harmless Looking Little Sphere.
 
By Its Size I Could Not Guess,
 
Of The Awesome Strength It Does Possess.
 
But Since I Fell Beneath Its Spell,
 
I've Wandered Through The Fires Of Hell.
 
My Life Has Not Been Quite The Same,
 
Since I Chose To Play This Stupid Game.
 
It Rules My Mind For Hours On End,
 
A Fortune It Has Made Me Spend.
 
It Has Made Me Curse And Made Me Cry,
 
And Hate Myself And Want To Die.
 
It Promises Me A Thing Called Par,
 
If I Hit It Straight And Far.
 
To Master Such A Tiny Ball,
 
Should Not Be Very Hard At All.
 
But My Desires The Ball Refuses,
 
And Does Exactly As It Chooses.
 
It Hooks And Slices, Dribbles And Dies,
 
And Disappears Before My Eyes.
 
Often It Will Have A Whim,
 
To Hit A Tree Or Take A Swim.
 
With Miles Of Grass On Which To Land,
 
It Finds A Tiny Patch Of Sand.
 
Then Has Me Offering Up My Soul,
 
If Only It Would Find The Hole.
 
It's Made Me Whimper Like A Pup,
 
And Swear That I Will Give It Up.
 
And Take To Drink To Ease My Sorrow,
 
But The Ball Knows ... I'll Be Back Tomorrow.
 
 
Stand proud you noble swingers of club and losers of balls
 
A recent study found the average golfer walks about 900 miles a year.
 
Another study found golfers drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.
 
That means, on average, golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon.
 
Kind of makes you proud.  Almost feels like a hybrid.

lottsa birdies, ur way!!!!
Tom...............
 
 

 


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[firstturn]

Thanks for everyones input.  Today was a great Day for Thomas!

From Clinta - We have had a good day, a 7.5 kind of day.  Although Thomas slept a good bit of the day, when he was up, he was in good spirits.  He has talked to a lot of friends today on the phone and that has lifted his spirits immensely.  

We met with our new oncologist this morning and loved her.  Her name is Dr. Gardziola and she was cheerful, spunky and most of all, very focused on Thomas and his needs.  I can tell that we are going to like her a lot.  When it appeared that things were running behind in the lab, I shared with the technician that we were used to up to a 2 hour wait at the Eastside office.  When Dr. Gardziola came in the room, the first thing she asked was if we would prefer that we waited another hour and a half and come back then!  She has a great sense of humor and everyone was warm and friendly.  I think Thomas feels more comfortable with a female doctor anyway.  

Mike Gasque came over and brought a dinner prepared by his wonderful wife Susan.  Oh my gosh, it was awesome.  Baked ham, homemade macaroni & cheese, fresh tossed salad and brownies.  Thomas called Mike tonight and asked him if he was trying to kill him, the brownies are so addictive!

Tomorrow starts the first day of his new treatment protocol.  We are so glad that we are down to only 7 more treatments but we have been warned that these last 7 are going to be very tough.  So please be very focused on asking God to help him get through the very worst of the treatment plan in the next 10 days.  His last treatment will be next Wednesday and I anticipate that he will be doing a lot of resting.  The doctor told us today to expect most any kind of reaction.  She told Thomas that he may feel like crying, getting angry, screaming or just being very quiet.  So, I'm a little scared of what to expect but Thomas has come through so far as such a champ and he remains worried about the kids and me.  He told the doctor today that he feels so bad about how much he's putting me through.  He became very emotional and the doctor handed him a kleenex and told him that when we married, just short of 26 years ago, the vow was for better or worse, in sickness and in health.  She said Thomas, if it was her lying in the bed, would you be there for her?  He said, "of course."  She responded by saying, "then why do you think she would do any less for you?  She loves you so much!"  (Do you see now why I think this doctor is so great??)  She was just so caring and compassionate.  

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Tuesday and has at least one special blessing in the day!  Thank you, as always for your support, we are grateful for you!    


Ron Carbaugh

[Admin]

[Paul Danik]

Hopefully these pictures will help to answer some of the questions that Thomas has about the Cycleliner.

I am pretty sure that these pictures are from 1974.

The top picture is just a shot out the windshield as we traveled down the road. Looks like the bus was on autopilot

The next picture is of the Cycleliner sitting just outside the Penton R & D building. I think that is Doug's van behind the bus and in front of it I think is the front wheel of Jack's van.

The next picture shows Tom Penton under the tent getting his bike ready for impound. It also shows how the front door opened, just like a bus.

The next picture shows the rear garage style door open and the ramp in place.  I think the ramp was stored inside, maybe someone will confirm or correct that fact.  The ramp folded in half length wise if I remember correctly. That is Bob Brooks from Michigan working on his bike. The bus had a slight smoking problem so the exhaust was moved from a lower location to the top of the roof. The exhaust from the bus could be seen for a good ways behind it.

The last picture was taken from behind the bikes with my back against the rear door. I crawled thru all the bikes and stuff to get that shot. The guy on the bunk looks like Penton cousin Chris Kovach, but I don't remember him being along, maybe it is Dane? If you look closely you can see part of the windshield in the front.

Anyone with any corrections or additional information please jump right in.  

Paul

[brian kirby]

The Cycleliner has to be the coolest team hauler ever. You guys really were ahead of your time with that rig.

Brian

'72 Berkshire

[tomale]

I agree, I have often thought that these days with races being so far and cost being what they are having something like that would work really well....

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)

[Doug Wilford]

Great pictures  The first one must have been taken while going on I-44 going south thru MO.
Thomas, you didn't miss a very good day to play golf yesterday up here anyhow.   It waa my first league night and it was COLD  about 44 degrees and a 20 mph wind from the north (off the lake).  A couple of Aleeve helped.  It was really border line as for the designated Fun category.  I finished 9 at 7 under my age[B)]
Saving the Pro-V1s for better weather.   Prayers and wishes for
you all.
Doug

[tmc3c]

Written by Hannah Carmichael via Thomas Carmichael

Save those Pro-V ones for later on in the year! I look forward to playing golf with you later in the year. I hope to set up a cycleliner #2 in a pace featherlight, but we will be making restroom stops. Hope you and Dot are doing well. Thanks Paul for posting the pictures! I now know that its red white and green, not red white and blue! I was looking to see if anyone parked their bikes in a lucky spot, but I see that can't be the case. Anybody got any team rider names to put on the outside? Or any other stickers that need to go on the outside?





Thomas Carmichael


1970 125 Six Day
1976 250 Hare Scrambler

[firstturn]

Tough day for Thomas.....I did talk with him earlier and he had Prayed for my Wife who is have some minor problems with Skin Cancer.  We had a Great report yesterday that I had shared with Thomas.  It is unreal that Thomas is so concerned and Prayed for my Wife when we all know hi situation.  Thomas is a Great Person.

From Clinta - Hello dear friends and family; I wish that I could joyfully share with you that Thomas had a good day, but unfortunately he didn't.  Today was a 5, a new low on the Thomas Richter scale and even though it climbed for a short time this evening when Dale Allison visited, after eating dinner, he asked to be laid back back down to sleep.

I am cognizant that what Thomas is going through was predicted and to be expected at this stage of his treatment.  What we are unable to determine is if his behavior and physical status is due to the radiation, chemo, the cancer or some combination of any of them.  I am choosing to believe that it's due to the treatment.

This morning, he remained weak with all of his transitions and his confusion, (delusions) have gotten worse.  He called my daughter at 2AM and asked her why she sent him flowers.  He is seeing things that aren't there but at other times, he's completely lucid and very sharp.  Before I left to go to Spartanburg today, he started kicking the railing of his bed and trying to get out of the bed himself, which would be a very dangerous thing for him to do.  I gave him a Loritab to help calm him down and from what I understand from the sitter, he didn't rest at all, but he did calm down.  

As I mentioned earlier, Dale Allison came over and brought ribs that he had smoked today.  He put a rib rub on them last night and they were delicious.  Besides working together, he and Thomas are golfing buddies and they have had some real adventures out on the courses.  He is such a great guy and Thomas always enjoys his visits.

I'm very happy that tomorrow is our last radiation treatment this week and then we will have a radiation-free weekend.  On Saturday, my daughter and I will be setting up the salt water aquarium.  This is not a project for the faint of heart, it takes a good deal of time.  With the cost of salt water fish, you have to make sure that everything's set up properly so you don't kill a bunch of costly fish!  So, until we know the water is correct, I guess I will have an only fish.  Hopefully, he won't become too spoiled until I'm able to give him brothers and sisters!  

Hannah set the tank up in the dining room with Thomas.  I think having the aquarium close by, will give him another form of entertainment.  I'm hoping that it won't aid in his confusion or delusions.  

Thanks so much for being a part of this journey with us.  This has certainly been the most challenging experience of my life and I know that there are yet more challenges to come.  Knowing that we have such a tremendous support network, as strange as it may seem, has been so helpful and I want you to know that our gratitude is infinite.  Please pray for Thomas's strength and stamina.  We love you!

 



Ron Carbaugh