New Year’s Eve fundraiser slated for the Redondo Beach Castle

At the end of 2011 I made a decision that GotBaddog.com would dedicate much of my content to promoting local businesses and non-profits. When Tanya was looking for something for us to do on New Year’s Eve, she discovered the Lady Of Magic at the Redondo Beach Castle was having a New Year’s Eve party that was also a fundraiser, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Midnight Mission, a homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles. It was then that we had the pleasure of meeting Sisuepahn Phila, the “Lady of Magic.” Sisuepahn is a world renowned and …

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Living with RA: One year later

A few weeks ago several of my siblings came into town to attend a function that was honoring my dad and a few others that attend his church. One of my brothers asked me if I was going to continue writing about life with Rheumatoid Arthritis or not. Apparently he had enjoyed reading my perspective. I explained to him that while I was continuing to do as I had promised as far as bringing awareness of RA and of the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, I was doing it primarily by donating watermarks on some of my photos to the Rheumatoid Patient …

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Personal tour of the S.S. Lane Victory

These photos are of the S.S. Lane Victory which is located at Berth 46 in the Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro, CA. A couple of weeks ago, Tanya and I were at a regional Chamber of Commerce mixer and I won a raffle prize of tickets for two to receive the President’s Tour of the ship as well as lunch in the Officer’s Mess. It was actually the one thing I wanted to win. Anyway, this morning we met with Anthony Broude, the current President at U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II, and he gave us …

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South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes

These photos were taken last week at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. Every once in a while we need to get out of the house with nothing that has to be done, and Tanya really enjoys taking photos of flowers; so we will head off to somewhere like the South Coast Botanic Garden. The place is huge and after two visits there, we have just scratched the surface. Of course, with Tanya’s limitations due to her Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease, we don’t usually get more than an hour or two there. It was a nice day; she got some sunshine and …

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Cimzia: Is it working?

As an RAD Lovegiver, the most frustrating thing is watching the woman I love be in so much pain and not being able to do a damned thing about it. On top of that, the medical professionals seem to be guessing at what drug combinations to use to alleviate that pain. I guess that is why they call it practicing medicine. This past week or two has truly sucked. As an outsider, it appears to me that the drug combination Tanya is currently on is doing very little to benefit her. I have been looking through old photos of trips …

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Tests, tests and more tests

When I last posted about meeting Tanya’s new rheumatologist, I mentioned that Tanya had been referred to an endocrinologist to investigate some breathing issues she has at times. Dr. Ishimori was concerned that perhaps there is more than just the Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD/RA)at work here. Naturally, they have to schedule all tests to be out at Cedars-Sinai, which means fighting traffic for an hour, then trying to find a parking spot followed up by trying to find out where to go to have the testing done. While we left the house with what should have been plenty of time, …

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A visit to Dr. Mariko Ishimori

Thursday morning, Tanya and I headed out to Beverly Hills and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to visit a new rheumatologist, Dr. Mariko Ishimori, MD. After Tanya’s last experience with Dr. Forouzesh she decided that she could not handle the stress of having a doctor that changed attitudes and commentary with each visit. The fact that he had been giving her Cimzia as samples that were already allocated to other patients was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was not really sure what to expect as we entered the Steven Spielberg Building and our introduction to Dr. Ishimori. As it …

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2012 Chocolate Blues & Business Networking Festival is coming to Long Beach

The 2012 Long Beach/Seal Beach Chocolate Blues is coming to Long Beach, CA on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. While this event has been running for nine years now, and happens in 40 cities across the United States, I think this is the first time that they have come to the Los Angeles/Orange County area. As such, this will be my first time attending and to make sure I attend, GotBaddog.com will be hosting the “Bloggers Circle” with my better half, Tanya of TanyaMartin.com and GeekGoodGirl.com. Having perused the testimonials on the Chocolate Blues website …

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Why isn’t your rheumatologist suggesting stem cells?

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Tanya’s rheumatologist, Dr. Forouzesh, had told me about an upcoming Frontiers of Rheumatology symposium that was coming up [at the end of April] in Marina del Rey at the Marriott Hotel. I decided that I would attempt to get a media pass so I could learn a little more about what is being talked about in the profession with regards to Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease. I will admit, it took a little doing; and while Dr. Furst, one of the co-chairs of the event, gave the okay to my attendance, if I had not …

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Back to Dr Forouzesh for test results

Tanya and I went back to see her Rheumatologist, Dr. Forouzesh yesterday; with the primary intent of getting the results of the Vectra DA blood test and the bone density test that were conducted two weeks ago. She also had an ultrasound done to check her thyroid because of nodules that are growing on it. Her neck has been swollen and swelling for a couple years now. The results of these tests were going to help Tanya decide if she wants to get stem cell therapy or not. Needless to say, it was a visit we have been looking forward …

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