First off, I’ll introduce myself for those who do not know who I am; If you do know then you can skip this paragraph completely. My name is Paul aka iFoggz. I’ve been with Gridcoin development since around Mid 2017. Since than I’ve contributed to the development process, worked up the ranks and gained the trust of the community. I rather enjoy contributing when I can to a community that is passionate about Gridcoin. So keep on crunching and supporting the network.
Unfortunately, this post is not a hyped post of good news. Due to certain circumstances, I feel obligated to inform the community about my health issues since I maintain a few Gridcoin services and access. This post is to inform you of what I am going through as well as my future plans with regards to my health concerns. Also, this post will address any concerns with regards to the Gridcoin services and access I have in the event I worsen in health or became deceased.
In mid March I started to develop a bump where I had recently gotten rug burn of all things. Over time the bump simply grew which led me to believe I had an abscess. Due to COVID-19 restrictions appointments with doctors did not come fast in my small town. I was finally seen in early May in which the doctor then opted to perform a procedure at our local hospital to attempt to drain the apparent abscess on my right lateral knee. While the procedure was being performed it was determined that there was no drainage and the matter appeared to be firm. Along with that fact and the numbness to touch around the mass a biopsy was performed.
On May 19th I got a phone call from my doctor who had a diagnosis for my incredibly fast-growing mass. It turns out I would now be preparing for the biggest battle I’ve had to face in my life. I was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma. For those who may not know about this cancer I’ll provide some details. Merkel cell carcinoma is a very aggressive, dangerous but treatable rare skin cancer that starts in the merkel cells of the skin. This cancer affects around 3 in a million Americans which is lottery odds in my opinion.
On June 1st I had a PET scan and the results of the scan showed I had a positive lymph node. I’m currently waiting on a biopsy date to be set to determine if the cancer is there or not. A positive PET scan does not necessarily mean it is cancerous.
On June 2nd I underwent a surgery to remove a 10-week-old mass which was about 1.5 inches in diameter. The surgeon managed to remove the whole mass as well as extra for margins and 3cm of extra skin around the tumour as per protocol for this cancer. I then had a negative pressure vacuum to help promote healing and keeping the wound healthy for a future skin graft. A skin graft could not be immediately done due to the amount of skin loss as well as flesh and muscle.
On June 5th I had a complication that was a huge eye opener for my family and me. I had a complication with the vac therapy as it managed to erode my already eroded artery in the open wound where the tumour was removed. If it were not for my 2 brave children (aged 5 and 8) to be able to get to the front door of the apartment complex to let paramedics in I would not be here today.
On June 9th I had a second surgery and irrigation to attempt to put a different kind of pump to promote healthy wound healing but with my bad luck the machine couldn’t get a good seal, so the surgeon left the wound bandaged.
On June 18th my wound had healed nicely and was granular to be able to accept a skin graft. Now I remain in hospital till Tuesday before I travel to have my first consult with the specialist the following day. This specialist at the BC Cancer agency will be biopsying my lymph node at a near future date. Also, now that my skin graft has been done I wait to find out when it will be safe for my rounds of radiation on the tumour site. Radiation is very effective against this cancer so the sooner I am able to start the better the outcome can be. As I know more I’ll happily share this with anyone who wishes to be updated.
Now that you’re aware of my diagnosis I’ll work into what would happen in the future if things do not improve for me.
Currently I maintain the following:
gridcoin.us domain
mail.gridcoin.us server (which hosts snapshot)
amazon cloudfront CDN (for snapshot CDN)
cloudfront (dns services)
Any project teams under “Gridcoin”
I am also a foundation key holder but that key will not need to be transferred to anyone as we have a 2-of-3 multi-signature address and the funds from the foundation will just be transferred to a new 2-of-3 address with a new 3rd key holder being introduced.
I do not believe this is a cancer battle I will lose. I have a strong aggressive team behind me and I am throwing everything I have at the cancer. However, if I was to start to deteriorate I would then start transferring these services over to trusted members of the community. In the event I suddenly pass away, a family member will have immediate access to contact information for Jim Owens to start the process of determining where and whom the services would be transferred to and during this time the services will be funded until this process is complete.
I have complete faith in Jim to do what is necessary to fairly distribute the services to one or more trusted members along with consensus of the matter. I’m aware there is always concern about 1 person having too much which is why the services will continue to be paid for until everything is transferred and figured out then standard compensation for the services can be paid out to my address which my family member will have access to. All accesses will not be available to my trusted family member unless I’ve passed on.
I know there will be some individuals who will be concerned about my dev payments from past work as to get those payments I will have to be contributing. I will do my best to honour that but if I’m actively in radiation treatment etc. I may not be able to fulfill that obligation and fully understand that I will not be qualified for a payment. I’m also aware that in the event that I am no longer alive that these payments would also stop and remain with the foundation minus the compensation for the services above.
Thank you for your time and keep crunching.
Thank you for all you have done for Gridcoin! Now it's time to look after yourself and your health. Much strength on this path.
thank you for the kind words. I am focusing on myself and spending my fathers day and birthday in hospital preparing for the next steps while trying to do some Gridcoin stuff. Its hard to put a passion aside that something helps you move forward as well. It is now a balance I must do and appreciate how the community has been supporting me through this ordeal.