Hello fellow woodturners,
As some of you know I have been woodturning for a very short period of time but completely fell in love with it. There is something very tranquil about turning a large, rough, chunk of wood into a soft edge platter or bowl, and all by hand with chisels!
I spent 27 years of my life in a high volume production machine shop, the last 20 years as the lead programmer and supervisor in the CNC Milling department. I was also the IT guy and software support and resident trainer of our Cam software. We used Gibbscam and Mastercam for programming all the CNC equipment. After a 3 year battle with cancer and never missing a day of work through all my treatments, missing minimal time after each surgery I just kept coming back, because I loved making things. We were a Job Shop, which meant we would make anything and everything, so lots of designing and programming on the fly. We also prided ourselves on short lead times so that put even more pressure on me, but I had done it for so long it was second nature.
Then as time went on, I would have trouble getting up one morning. Couldn't feel my hands or feet from all the chemo I had received. My insides were badly damaged from all the radiation I received, to keep this part short and not so gross. I would suffer from massive pains in the pelvis area and lots of blood. I would have days where I would drop my $300.00 digital caliper because I couldn't feel my hands. People would look, they knew I was struggling. I was starting to get overwhelmed with the workload, I could no longer concentrate and program as quickly as I could before cancer. I started making stupid mistakes, I couldn't stand on my feet for more than 2 hours at a time. I would get severe headaches and the spins. The days were getting rougher and rougher on me. I could now see my co-workers and ownership treating me differently. I knew my time was up, I was no longer making the company money, I would miss 3 days of work a week. I still had appointments that would consume most of my time.
It became too much for me to handle and I had to make the hardest decision of my life, and stop doing something that I loved to do for a good part of my life. I started in that company as a saw operator and worked my way through the ranks. I miss it more and more every day. I always think about going back, but deep down inside, I know I can't. I'm 48 years old and had to give up everything I worked so hard for and now most days if I can get out of bed and bring in some firewood and play with the dogs for a couple hours, I'm doing well.
The reason I'm writing this tonight is I'm sick again, my surgery is scheduled for January 29th. I've had several severe surgeries in my time and this one's a whopper. I'm hoping I make it off the table, and if I do, I have a 4 to 6 month recover ahead of me. Now I've been through these big ones before and you almost always end up with an abscess and infections, which adds to your recovery time and additional hospital stays. I will be missing from this forum for quite some time and I just didn't want you to think I was a fly by night kind of guy and he's gone now. I might be gone for a different reason, but I'll be back if I can.
Over the last several months I have developed a love for wood turning and it has giving me a new purpose in life and a sense of craftsmanship again. I hope to be back up and running by the summer time and just wanted to thank all of you that helped me along the way, and even the ones that didn't help me directly, I learned from reading one of your posts. So I thank you all very much and wish you all good health and happy turning!
Best Regards,
Dylan
As some of you know I have been woodturning for a very short period of time but completely fell in love with it. There is something very tranquil about turning a large, rough, chunk of wood into a soft edge platter or bowl, and all by hand with chisels!
I spent 27 years of my life in a high volume production machine shop, the last 20 years as the lead programmer and supervisor in the CNC Milling department. I was also the IT guy and software support and resident trainer of our Cam software. We used Gibbscam and Mastercam for programming all the CNC equipment. After a 3 year battle with cancer and never missing a day of work through all my treatments, missing minimal time after each surgery I just kept coming back, because I loved making things. We were a Job Shop, which meant we would make anything and everything, so lots of designing and programming on the fly. We also prided ourselves on short lead times so that put even more pressure on me, but I had done it for so long it was second nature.
Then as time went on, I would have trouble getting up one morning. Couldn't feel my hands or feet from all the chemo I had received. My insides were badly damaged from all the radiation I received, to keep this part short and not so gross. I would suffer from massive pains in the pelvis area and lots of blood. I would have days where I would drop my $300.00 digital caliper because I couldn't feel my hands. People would look, they knew I was struggling. I was starting to get overwhelmed with the workload, I could no longer concentrate and program as quickly as I could before cancer. I started making stupid mistakes, I couldn't stand on my feet for more than 2 hours at a time. I would get severe headaches and the spins. The days were getting rougher and rougher on me. I could now see my co-workers and ownership treating me differently. I knew my time was up, I was no longer making the company money, I would miss 3 days of work a week. I still had appointments that would consume most of my time.
It became too much for me to handle and I had to make the hardest decision of my life, and stop doing something that I loved to do for a good part of my life. I started in that company as a saw operator and worked my way through the ranks. I miss it more and more every day. I always think about going back, but deep down inside, I know I can't. I'm 48 years old and had to give up everything I worked so hard for and now most days if I can get out of bed and bring in some firewood and play with the dogs for a couple hours, I'm doing well.
The reason I'm writing this tonight is I'm sick again, my surgery is scheduled for January 29th. I've had several severe surgeries in my time and this one's a whopper. I'm hoping I make it off the table, and if I do, I have a 4 to 6 month recover ahead of me. Now I've been through these big ones before and you almost always end up with an abscess and infections, which adds to your recovery time and additional hospital stays. I will be missing from this forum for quite some time and I just didn't want you to think I was a fly by night kind of guy and he's gone now. I might be gone for a different reason, but I'll be back if I can.
Over the last several months I have developed a love for wood turning and it has giving me a new purpose in life and a sense of craftsmanship again. I hope to be back up and running by the summer time and just wanted to thank all of you that helped me along the way, and even the ones that didn't help me directly, I learned from reading one of your posts. So I thank you all very much and wish you all good health and happy turning!
Best Regards,
Dylan
