SpyderLovers.com New Ownership
It's with great sadness and tears in my eyes that I have decided to turn over this site because of health issues. AnthonyG will be running everything like he has been. I'm out of the picture.
In 2018 I was diagnosed with liver cancer and soon after was admitted to the hospital fighting hard for my life. It was determined that I needed a new donor liver. I was put on a list and was offered a liver in 2021. During that time in the hospital all my responsibilities were dumped on my wife Joan and my good friend and manager of Lamonster Garage, Jacob. After 2 months in the hospital I knew that life as I knew it was never going to be the same. I had just about every complication you could have and it was later determined that the donor liver had a blocked bile duct that they hoped they could fix with stents. That procedure failed and as a result my only other option was a new donor liver. As a result of a blocked bile duct I've been itching head to toe for 3 years. Very little sleep during this time. After trying everything on the market we were told to see a Doctor that specializes in itching. The first $4000 shot only worked when I was on high doses of steroids during my chemo treatment. The new shot seems to be working and I'm very happy about that. I'm not sure what waterboarding feels like but bile acid leaching through your body is pure torture. 
We got back on the list and in 2024 I was told to grab my bags and head to St. Louis and that I was number 3 on the list and it could be any day now. Having experienced the last transplant we knew that we didn't want to stay in a hotel again with two puppies so we found a nice airbnb and rented that.

It was just miles from the hospital. While we were there we got up to number 2 on the list and then number 1. We were never called to come in for the second liver so we headed back home to wait. That was a 4 hour drive one way.
All this time I'm getting bloodwork done and I was told that I need to schedule a PET scan because something was going on with my numbers. Sure enough I got stage 4 large B cell lymphoma and it was a very aggressive cancer but treatable. This was last year (2025). We tried immunotherapy at first but the tumors not only doubled in size they also had spread to other parts of my body. I was headed the wrong way. In the meantime I got a call from my liver team and was told I was taken off of the liver transplant list because I now have cancer and I was no longer a candidate for a liver. After waiting all that time and moving to St. Louis thinking I was getting a new liver it was a real gut punch. The reason I got the cancer was because of my lack of an immune system and the anti-rejection medication I was taking. If they would have given me a new liver back in 2024 when I was really sick and at death's door we could have avoided all this. Apparently there's no warranty on faulty livers. So from 2021 to 2026 I was sick because from the bad liver they gave me. Last year (2025) we spent all year fighting PTLD lymphoma cancer with chemo and were able to get a clean bill of health on that (Praise the Lord) and now I'm literally waiting for a miracle.

I was told I have to be cancer free for 2 years before I can be put back on the list but my current liver is failing and I was told by my oncologist that my liver is hanging by a thread. This liver is not going to make it 2 years. My bilirubin is 21 and I'm very jaundiced, normal is 1.0. I've lost over 50 lbs and pretty much all my muscle mass. I don't know the man I see in the mirror.
I was able to get to the shop on my good days. The shop bought a new Can Am Spyder Canyon and I was able to design a few new parts for it. It gave me a reason to get up in the morning and put some excitement back in my life, I really needed that. I did a little riding but not much.

