September 12, 2009

I guess that my plan to post blogs only when I feel good is now obsolete. I do, however, feel a bit less bad today, which I guess will be the new criteria.

The indecision is gone, and I am coming to terms with the inevitable sacrifice of some body parts. I am trying to accept the idea, that sometimes, bad things happen, and when they do, anger is useless. My plan is to do this as well as I can, and learn to live with the result. I didn't really choose this plan, it just seems to be the only one available.

I have spent the last 3 days playing lawyer, which actually took my mind off of health issues. I produced, and filed with the Bankruptcy Court, a motion for “relief of automatic stay”' and an “opposition to confirmation of the Chapter 13 Plan”. Each of these were about 75 pages, and were necessary to protect my interest in the property that I sold 3 years ago, which is currently in foreclosure. The opposition motion is asking the court to deny a reorganization plan that pays me far less that I should receive, and the relief motion is asking the court to kick the 2 houses out of the BK, and let me go forward with the foreclosure. I have high hopes for both of them.

I don't like being in this legal battle, but I do find it very interesting, and am getting a reasonably good education. I have discovered things that they probably don't teach in law school. Every thing that you need to defend your self is available on the internet!!!!! I just root through existing cases, (public documents all, at cabc.uscourts.gov) and find one that is similar to my case. All of the pleadings are there; motions, notices, caption pages, declarations, exhibits, and forms...... They are all there! The pleadings and forms contain the arguments used in similar cases, and all reference the proper sections of the code. The US Civil Code itself, is there as well.

This is stuff that other people paid high priced lawyers, tens of thousands of dollars to produce. They paid their lawyers to research the law, make the arguments, and produce the paperwork. All of that stuff is available for 8 cents a page in the comfort of your own home, or in my case motor home, or for free at the court house. You just substitute your name and the facts of your case. I mostly used paperwork from the legal department at “Country Wide Home Mortgage Co.” I figured that they must certainly know what they are doing. What a country.

The hard part, I find, is that you actually have to read the code sections, and really understand the arguments..... This becomes easier with time.

Oh yes, the “Rules of Procedure”, there are United States Rules, 9th District Rules, Central Division Rules, Santa Ana Rules, and ….... each Judge has their own special rules. They spend a lot of time in law school teaching these things, and I was a bit worried about the consequences of screwing up some procedural rule, and costing myself a bunch of money. Then I found this rule...... drum roll...... “these rules shall not be enforced in a way that would cause someone to lose their rights”. I think that these rules help cases travel through the system in a predictable way.

I know that my paperwork is not as polished as that of a top law firm, but am hoping that my Judge will see me as “poor but honest” and trying hard to do the appropriate things. The Judge in my last case took on this attitude, and I hope this Judge will do the same. I did, however, pay particular attention to the time allowed for various actions, and to the proper service of notice on the opposition.

I should pause at this point to thank my ex, Sherrie, who brought a frivolous lawsuit against me regarding a property that we jointly owned. That is when I discovered these little known techniques. I guess that there really was a silver lining to that drama.

Also a special thanks to my brother in law Tim Esq, who looks over my shoulder, and offers encouragement and advice as necessary.

While I am in the thanking business, I should thank Claudia as well. She visited for a couple of weeks of no fun, all work, tired, dirty, and crabby. I was gone for 7 months, and had a lot of catching up to do. The surprising part, is that she has offered to return for the upcoming medical festivities.

I should also thank all of my family and friends out there that following this blog, and offer your support. It really does matter to me.

Thanks also to all of my local friends that are offering to help me through the next few months.

Back to the medical future..... they are going to remove my bladder and prostate, harvest about 4 feet of intestine, and craft a new bladder for me. At least that is the plan, however, they could find problems that would prevent this procedure. It won't be the same, but may allow me to live a fairly normal life. I am very thankful that this technology exists.

My doctor, Dr. Boyd, is head of the department at USC Norris, and was one of the team that developed this procedure back in the middle 80's. Let's all wish him luck.

For those of you who are interested in the gory details, just google “neobladder”.