I am really making great new strides. This weekend I finally picked up my tennis racquet. While I only hit for about 15 minutes, it was really fun and I cannot wait to get back to playing. My summer team starts practice tomorrow night, and I am going to try to go down and hit with them some. I don't think I will be really ready for play this season, but I am getting there slowly.
I think I've mentioned that I have been going to the gym and walking about 40 minutes on the treadmill. I have not been trying to get my heart rate up at this point and havebeen working on endurance more than anything. And I have been walking with no incline at all. Sunday morning I was headed for the gym, and it was such perfect weather friend Rita and I decided to walk outside instead. We walked down towards the river and then around my neighborhood which is quite hilly. All in all, it was about a 1 1/2 hour walk and about 4 miles. While that is a pretty slow rate, it was quite an accomplishment for me. After that, I worked in the yard, cleaned some deck furniture, and had friends Joe and Debbie over for dinner. I don't think I sat down for more than 5 minutes the whole day. This was probably the most "normal" day I have had in 18 months. I felt like I was back to my normal "warp speed" weekend (except the walking speed of course). By the time I laid down last night about 10:30 I was whipped and achey, but it felt so good.
And if all that was not enough, we bought me a little convertible today. I have wanted one forever but could never really justify it in my head. I have a company car, and it seemed just sort of foolish. So what do I do -- when the economy is the worst ever, gas out the roof, etc., I go buy an extra car! What the heck - I wanted it. Actually, we have been talking about it for a while but I just kept putting it off. I was scared it would jinx my recovery. I decided a couple of weeks ago I would not buy one until after my June scans to make sure I was ok. Then, since we are going to England in July, I decided to put it off until we got back. The real truth was I was just plain scared I would have a recurrence of the sarcome and would not be able to enjoy it. This week I mentioned the whole thing to fellow sarcoma patient Carol Lynn, who just did have a recurrence and surgery. and she gave me the courage to just live in the moment and do it. (By the way, she is recovering well from her surgery, and I am so happy and relieved for her.) Bob and I went to the car dealership on Saturday and test drove the car. He really drove it the first time around, because we decided to buy a manual transmission 5-speed, and I have not driven one of those in about 25 years. It just seems if you are really going to enjoy a convertible it should not be an automatic. Also, whenever we are in England, we always have an manual transmission car as you do not see a lot of automatics there. I have never driven when we were tin England because not only did I not know how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, but I was not confident enough to drive a 5 speed. So now I am forcing the obvious. I did drive it today, and I did pretty well. It only conked out on me once right in the beginning, so I am no longer afraid of it.
It is a Mazda Miata MX-5 and a cute little thing... and I mean little. My tennis racquet will fit in the trunk, along with a light shopping trip to Publix. I will never be able to go to Costco in the thing -- their stuff is just too big. There is absolutely nothing practical about this car, and that is what I love about it. I am pretty rational, practical, predictible, etc so this is pretty much nothing like me. But I do look so hot in it -- especially since I have grown a little more hair. (The hair is still pretty short and certainly not long enough to blow and be in the way when I have the top down. Now I have just another reason to keep my hair short.) My friend Pat from Memphis is coming here for the weekend on Thursday. I cannot even pick her up from the airport in the Mazda. Maybe if she just has one of those small roll on suitcases it might fit, but I am afraid she may pack like me. However, I am going to start packing light so we can take it on weekend trips .
So, it was a great holiday weekend--tennis, long walks, friends for dinner and a hot new car! And best of all my legs work well enough to do it all. What more can you ask for?
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A nice time
First of all, there is good news for Carol Lynn. Her cancer was contained in a small area and DocO was able to get it all out and have good, clear wide margins. They do not think she will need further treatment, and she has decided to get a 2nd opinion at MD Anderson in Texas. I am not sure what that involves, but it starts with a email with and a lot of information. I don't know if they just review the medical, scans and tests, or if you actually go there. I am on her email list so I should be kept up to date. I hope I never need that information, but it is good to know just in case.
We had my "Department of Transportation" over for dinner last night. There were 13 of us altogether, and it was really nice to get them all over here. Of course, there was way too much food, so Bob and I will be eating it for weeks. Fortunately, it was really good (I can say that since I did not cook it) so we won't mind. I get out of fixing dinner for a couple of nights anyway.
Bob worked himself to death before the party. I had a list of things I wanted him to do and some of them were not small tasks -- like pressure washing and painting the front porch. I gave him the list and promptly left town for work for a couple of days. He was so good --even though he was still working the list Saturday afternoon just a few hours before the party started, he finished it and then some. I came home on Wednesday to find him painting our den. That had not been on the list all -- nor had we ever discussed a color. My women blog readers understand how this could have been a major issue had the color been all wrong. I am very appreciative of the effort and very lucky (or he is) that I liked the color! He could have been painting it twice! He does not quite get what a big deal this could have been! Having a party was a good way to get some things off our "to do" list. We need to have another one next week in our basement, garage, office etc.
We've been pretty lazy today which is perfect for a Sunday. Have a nice day!
We had my "Department of Transportation" over for dinner last night. There were 13 of us altogether, and it was really nice to get them all over here. Of course, there was way too much food, so Bob and I will be eating it for weeks. Fortunately, it was really good (I can say that since I did not cook it) so we won't mind. I get out of fixing dinner for a couple of nights anyway.
Bob worked himself to death before the party. I had a list of things I wanted him to do and some of them were not small tasks -- like pressure washing and painting the front porch. I gave him the list and promptly left town for work for a couple of days. He was so good --even though he was still working the list Saturday afternoon just a few hours before the party started, he finished it and then some. I came home on Wednesday to find him painting our den. That had not been on the list all -- nor had we ever discussed a color. My women blog readers understand how this could have been a major issue had the color been all wrong. I am very appreciative of the effort and very lucky (or he is) that I liked the color! He could have been painting it twice! He does not quite get what a big deal this could have been! Having a party was a good way to get some things off our "to do" list. We need to have another one next week in our basement, garage, office etc.
We've been pretty lazy today which is perfect for a Sunday. Have a nice day!
Friday, May 9, 2008
Way too long
It seems like I have not blogged in months, but it has only been a couple of weeks I think. I have been really busy with work, planting flowers and just usual chores. I feel pretty good and most aches and pains are just "normal" aches and pains.
We've made plans for our summer trip to England. Bob leaves about a week or so after my June MRI and CT scans. I am going over 9 days later and will be gone about 2 weeks. I am pretty nervous about the scans and what happens if the result is not good, but we are not putting our life or vacation on hold (unless it is an emergency of course). This week I did get news (not about me) that has made me a little more worried. When I was in treatment there were only two other sarcoma patients (Carol Lynn and Tony) being treated. They both started chemo a few weeks after me. We developed something of a kinship because our cancer is so unusual and always looked out for each other. I have been in touch with both of them even in the last couple of months as well. I had just talked with Carol Lynn about a week ago, and she had just had a lung scan and seen Doc O. She did not mention at the time that she had some swelling around her knee. I just learned that she had an MRI and biopsy and found out yesterday the sarcoma is back in her leg -- hers was in her quad area and she had about 90% of that muscle removed. I have to admit it did freak me out a bit. While I am surely worried for her, I did make it a good deal "about me" and that it could happen to me too.
I have to keep reminding myself that I am not her! We had different cell types. Carol Lynn had a hard time with the chemo and was only able to take 3 treatments. I had twice that much. She had her surgery before chemo, and I had chemo first. My tumor was "more than 99% dead" when they removed it, so chemo and/or radiation did something to kill it. I am not sure of her stats. I am working hard to try not to compare, but it is so hard. There was some really good news today for her-- the tumor is small and it can even be removed on an outpatient basis. DocO said she could even plan a vacation for later in June, so he must think her recovery will be quick. And best of all, she will not need futher radiation or chemo. Her surgery is Monday so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
There is so much each day that I am able to just go on with my life and not even think of any of this or how I spent last year. Yet, it is always out there, hiding in the background, and I guess it will be that will for at least 10 years when I can be pronounced free and clear. 2007 and all we went through seems like years ago, yet it has been less than 6 months since my lung surgery. 2008 is just flying by so maybe 10 years is not that far away. Hey -- it is already just 9.5 years now!
I heard from Nurse Kathy (remember my home health care nurse?). She called this week just to say "hello" and check up on me. She was with me 3 times a week for about 12 weeks, I think, so we really did develop a relationship. I also hear from Marva (one of the chemo nurses) every few weeks. It is so nice of them to stay in touch. There really is a special bond. As I have said before, not everything about cancer is bad.
There are so many people I need to "re-pay" for their kindness and generousity. You may remember some friends that called themselves "Geri's Department of Transportation". These folks picked me up from chemo each day -- there were 24 days of that! Anyway, we are having them all over for dinner next weekend. This is the first entertaining we've done in a year and a half. I really have just not had the energy to do any thing of the sort until just recently. I am excited about getting everyone together to show my appreciation. By the way I am running around to get ready, and the mile long "to do" list I have given Bob (of course I need to "re-pay" him forever), you would think I was planning a wedding. It is just dinner for 13 (hopefully not unlucky) and I am not even doing the cooking!
I still have not played tennis yet. I am not sure why I keep avoiding it because I really do want to play. My physical therapy ends this week so maybe that will give me more time to try to play.
I promise not to wait to long to blog again --if anyone is out there even still reading this! Have a nice weekend. I am planning a busy one!
We've made plans for our summer trip to England. Bob leaves about a week or so after my June MRI and CT scans. I am going over 9 days later and will be gone about 2 weeks. I am pretty nervous about the scans and what happens if the result is not good, but we are not putting our life or vacation on hold (unless it is an emergency of course). This week I did get news (not about me) that has made me a little more worried. When I was in treatment there were only two other sarcoma patients (Carol Lynn and Tony) being treated. They both started chemo a few weeks after me. We developed something of a kinship because our cancer is so unusual and always looked out for each other. I have been in touch with both of them even in the last couple of months as well. I had just talked with Carol Lynn about a week ago, and she had just had a lung scan and seen Doc O. She did not mention at the time that she had some swelling around her knee. I just learned that she had an MRI and biopsy and found out yesterday the sarcoma is back in her leg -- hers was in her quad area and she had about 90% of that muscle removed. I have to admit it did freak me out a bit. While I am surely worried for her, I did make it a good deal "about me" and that it could happen to me too.
I have to keep reminding myself that I am not her! We had different cell types. Carol Lynn had a hard time with the chemo and was only able to take 3 treatments. I had twice that much. She had her surgery before chemo, and I had chemo first. My tumor was "more than 99% dead" when they removed it, so chemo and/or radiation did something to kill it. I am not sure of her stats. I am working hard to try not to compare, but it is so hard. There was some really good news today for her-- the tumor is small and it can even be removed on an outpatient basis. DocO said she could even plan a vacation for later in June, so he must think her recovery will be quick. And best of all, she will not need futher radiation or chemo. Her surgery is Monday so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
There is so much each day that I am able to just go on with my life and not even think of any of this or how I spent last year. Yet, it is always out there, hiding in the background, and I guess it will be that will for at least 10 years when I can be pronounced free and clear. 2007 and all we went through seems like years ago, yet it has been less than 6 months since my lung surgery. 2008 is just flying by so maybe 10 years is not that far away. Hey -- it is already just 9.5 years now!
I heard from Nurse Kathy (remember my home health care nurse?). She called this week just to say "hello" and check up on me. She was with me 3 times a week for about 12 weeks, I think, so we really did develop a relationship. I also hear from Marva (one of the chemo nurses) every few weeks. It is so nice of them to stay in touch. There really is a special bond. As I have said before, not everything about cancer is bad.
There are so many people I need to "re-pay" for their kindness and generousity. You may remember some friends that called themselves "Geri's Department of Transportation". These folks picked me up from chemo each day -- there were 24 days of that! Anyway, we are having them all over for dinner next weekend. This is the first entertaining we've done in a year and a half. I really have just not had the energy to do any thing of the sort until just recently. I am excited about getting everyone together to show my appreciation. By the way I am running around to get ready, and the mile long "to do" list I have given Bob (of course I need to "re-pay" him forever), you would think I was planning a wedding. It is just dinner for 13 (hopefully not unlucky) and I am not even doing the cooking!
I still have not played tennis yet. I am not sure why I keep avoiding it because I really do want to play. My physical therapy ends this week so maybe that will give me more time to try to play.
I promise not to wait to long to blog again --if anyone is out there even still reading this! Have a nice weekend. I am planning a busy one!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
