We got back from England on Thursday night. My two weeks there flew by, and while I am always happy to come home, the trip was just too short. We had a great time with Bob's Mom, kids, sister & brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, aunts,uncles cousins and close friends. We spent a lot of time visiting, and it was great to catch up with folks. Even though we were just there at the end of the year, that whole trip was sort of a blur for me. You probably remember, I was just a few weeks out of lung surgery, so I did not have much energy then. And while I am still not running marathons, I am so much better than I was 6 months ago. I was really able to enjoy this trip, and since all the test and scans I had just prior were good, that made it even better.
When I blogged a few weeks ago I had been kind of down because of the Sarcoma Support group I went to and all the patients that were there because they'd had reoccurances. Before I left, I went to see Dr. Saba, my chemo oncologist, just for a follow-up. We had the best talk I think we'd ever had. In the past, our discussions were pretty much just him relaying tests results, treatment plans, pretty detailed clinical stuff. This time we had a chance to talk about how I was feeling emotionally and my concern about reoccurance and the support group. He was very encouraging and positive about how my treament had gone and prognosis. While he can't promise me anything, he made me have a lot less fear about the whole thing. I thought this was really strange and had never thought about things this way- he said, "You really had a tough time with the chemo and that probably means the cancer did too." He seemed to think that meant the chemo really attacked the cancer. Also, as I keep reminding myself, the tumor was "more than 99% " dead when they removed it. Something killed it (either chemo, radiation or both) before it left my body. I guess that means the chances that a live cell escaped and is still out there are not as great. So I am going with this and keeping a positive attitude. Doc Saba also told me to not go to the support group if it was getting me down. I want to go to one more of the meetings and see how it goes. My whole intent was to be able to do something for others, and I am not ready to give up on that yet. So I will go the August meeting and go from there. By the way, July 16 was my surgery anniversary! So it has been a whole year since that nasty tumor has been out of my body. My last chemo day was Sept 20, so I have until Sept 20, 2008, to continue to blame any stupid thing I do (and there are a lot!) on "chemo brain". They say that lasts about a year. After that, the stupid stuff is just me!
Bob and I both still have a little jet lag. We are crashing early and waking up a bit early. Actually, I hope we stay in this mode a bit. We both have some "night owl" tendancies, especially Bob. He usually has a later start to his day, and it is really hard for me to get going when he is not up and moving. Funny though - when we got back from England I told him I was going to really enforce the "last person out of the bed makes it up"rule, and he has gotten up before me every day since we've been back. I think we really both get up because we are hungry. If we sleep till 7am our body thinks its lunchtime, and we are usually starving at breakfast. Each day seems to get a little better, so I think we will be back on schedule by Monday. I am traveling most of this week,so I need to get back into my regular routine.
I will try to keep blogging every couple of weeks. No scans till Sept 17. I go back probably next week to followup on my bloodpressure problem but I think things are going ok with that. Thanks for checking up on me!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A little update
When last I wrote,, I was in a bit of a funk over seeing so many people with sarcoma reoccurance. I am working to get past that although it is always in the back of my mind. I've been concerned because I a few times each day my energy just bottoms out. I think the hard thing is that I don't know what I should assume is because of getting over all the chemo and what I went through last year, or when something is really wrong. I decided to quit guessing and went to see my family doctor last week. All blood levels were good, but my blood pressure is high. I had that problem before cancer, but after chemo and losing a lot of weight, the problem went away and I got off medication. I did get back on BP medicine a couple of days ago and hopefully my energy level will improve. I am still taking some light pain medication. There is supposed to be no connection between this medication and my energy level, but I know when I take it regularly my energy level stays high. Anyway, I am going to cut back on it and get myself off. Most of my pain is related to bursitus (sp) and a little tendonitus, so I thought. When I tried to cut back on the pain medicine I found, there is still a bit of pain associated with all my scar tissue in my leg and still my rib cage from the lung surgery 6 months ago. While I will probably never be pain free (who is?) it should continue to get better. I see Dr. Saba, my chemo doctor next week just for a little check up. Since my scans were good two weeks ago and my bloodwork fine, I am not sure what it is he is really going to do or look at. But I am not anxious about the visit since there should be no suprises. I am just two weeks shy of the day they removed the tumor from my leg. So, since they got it all and no reoccurances so far, I guess I can say I have been "cancer free" for a year! Every day is a blessing.
Bob left for England yesterday, and I will join him there next week. I took him to the airport and drove on to Warner Robins last night so I would be there for my morning appointment. I had dinner with my agents which was nice, but when I got back to my hotel I was so lonely! You know, I am in hotels by myself all the time. Usually I am okay for a couple of nights. After about the third night I am very homesick, but last night was really unusual. I guess I knew Bob was flying, and I could not even call him if I wanted too and no one was at home. I got busy with some work to get my mind off it, but I was really glad when Bob called at 7:15 am this morning to let me know he had gotten to his Mom's okay. He had been traveling about 16 hours from the time we left home, so I know he was tired.
I have a lot of things planned and work to keep my busy during this next week. My friend Jill from Knoxville is coming tonight till tomorrow, and I am going to visit Syd and her family for the 4th of July. The bad news is that I have not been able to see much of Wimbledon this year because I am so busy (and I saw every minute of it last year) but the good news is that I am well enough to be busy and not at home watching TV! That is what DVR's are for!
I will try to update after the Saba appointment and before I leave for England. Have a great 4th of July! I know my will beat last year's hands down!
Bob left for England yesterday, and I will join him there next week. I took him to the airport and drove on to Warner Robins last night so I would be there for my morning appointment. I had dinner with my agents which was nice, but when I got back to my hotel I was so lonely! You know, I am in hotels by myself all the time. Usually I am okay for a couple of nights. After about the third night I am very homesick, but last night was really unusual. I guess I knew Bob was flying, and I could not even call him if I wanted too and no one was at home. I got busy with some work to get my mind off it, but I was really glad when Bob called at 7:15 am this morning to let me know he had gotten to his Mom's okay. He had been traveling about 16 hours from the time we left home, so I know he was tired.
I have a lot of things planned and work to keep my busy during this next week. My friend Jill from Knoxville is coming tonight till tomorrow, and I am going to visit Syd and her family for the 4th of July. The bad news is that I have not been able to see much of Wimbledon this year because I am so busy (and I saw every minute of it last year) but the good news is that I am well enough to be busy and not at home watching TV! That is what DVR's are for!
I will try to update after the Saba appointment and before I leave for England. Have a great 4th of July! I know my will beat last year's hands down!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Less freaked out
I wanted to wait a couple of days and try to gain a little perspective before I blogged again. The support group was quite shocking for me to see so many folks whose Sarcoma came back. I had to remind myself that the patients who were not having reoccurances did not even know about the support group. And as you get further and further away from treatment you do tend to start seeing yourself seperate from the "diease" and not one of "them". Of course a couple of weeks before the next set of scans, the fear does start all over again. I am still debating whether the support group is a good thing for me. I am going to go a few more times and see how I feel. I do think I do need to get more educated about this diease, and meet some people that may be experiencing the same things I am thinking and feeling. But I do not want it to be all consuming either, so I have to make sure that does not happen.
I am going to go to the "Celebration of Living" program tomorrow that Emory is putting on about cancer. I was not going to go at first, but I started talking to Virginia, the woman I met at the support group, and we decided to meet and attend some of the seminars together. She really seems like someone I would enjoy getting to know, and maybe by reaching out to her, I can help both of us. I have no idea how, but somehow this seems like the right thing to do. I still have not figured out my way to "give back" but maybe developing new friendships with folks going through a difficult time like this ( and something I could go through again myself) will spark some ideas. And it never hurts to have more friends. I am a little afraid of developing relationships and watching some of these people going through horrible times, maybe even death. It is so much easier to stick my head in the sand and stay away from it all. Then I can go on pretending that it may never happen to me. I don't know how much reality I am ready for, but I think this is something I want to do. Please don't think that I have resigned myself to thinking that the sarcoma is going to come back. I have not given up and am still feeling very positive. I am so grateful my scans are good, and I am going to do everything I can to continue to have fun and enjoy my life each and every day.
Enough of all that. Bob and I are getting excited about our trip to England. I have so much to do with work and stuff around the house before we leave. I am traveling a little for work next week and will also head to south GA for work for a day or two when I drop Bob at the airport when he goes to England a week or so before me.
We got a chance to really drive the convertible last weekend. I had gone to Amelia Island for a convention and flew back from Jacksonville, FL last Saturday afternoon. Somehow, a man on the bus I took from the airport to the parking lot, got off the bus with my suitcase and left his. I did not realize it until the bus driver pulled up to my car. Not only did he have my clothes, but he had my car keys too. My purse strap had broken, and I put all purse items in my suitcase. To make it worse, we only have one set of keys to the car I had at the airport (not the Miata). And, the man who took my suitcase did not have a luggage tag on his. It was a whole big mess, but in the end I found the man. He did not live far from us, and I got my suitcase and keys back. Bob had to come and get me, take me home to meet the man with my keys and then take me back to the airport. That is how we got to drive the new car with the top down a lot. It was a cool night, and it made the whole horrid experience a lot easier. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have really good kharma with "lost" items. I've lost my purse at least 3 times since Bob and I have been married and gotten it back everytime all in tact. Once was at the airport in Brussels, Belgium, and I got it back from the lost and found when we flew through there the following week. Another time in Leicester Square in London while purchasing tickets to the theatre I left my wallet (a big travel wallet with our passports in it) on the counter. Someone turned it in right away. And not long after that I left my purse in a shopping cart outside the grocery store. When I got home and realized it, I called the store and some honest person had turned it in. I was not really suprised when I got my suitcase back easily and totally in tact. I hope I have just not jinxed my whole Kharma by telling you all this. By the way, I have really bad kharma with staplers. If one runs out of staples, and I put new ones in it always jams and break the stapler. I will trade staples for my purse any day of the week.
Take care! I will blog again soon!
I am going to go to the "Celebration of Living" program tomorrow that Emory is putting on about cancer. I was not going to go at first, but I started talking to Virginia, the woman I met at the support group, and we decided to meet and attend some of the seminars together. She really seems like someone I would enjoy getting to know, and maybe by reaching out to her, I can help both of us. I have no idea how, but somehow this seems like the right thing to do. I still have not figured out my way to "give back" but maybe developing new friendships with folks going through a difficult time like this ( and something I could go through again myself) will spark some ideas. And it never hurts to have more friends. I am a little afraid of developing relationships and watching some of these people going through horrible times, maybe even death. It is so much easier to stick my head in the sand and stay away from it all. Then I can go on pretending that it may never happen to me. I don't know how much reality I am ready for, but I think this is something I want to do. Please don't think that I have resigned myself to thinking that the sarcoma is going to come back. I have not given up and am still feeling very positive. I am so grateful my scans are good, and I am going to do everything I can to continue to have fun and enjoy my life each and every day.
Enough of all that. Bob and I are getting excited about our trip to England. I have so much to do with work and stuff around the house before we leave. I am traveling a little for work next week and will also head to south GA for work for a day or two when I drop Bob at the airport when he goes to England a week or so before me.
We got a chance to really drive the convertible last weekend. I had gone to Amelia Island for a convention and flew back from Jacksonville, FL last Saturday afternoon. Somehow, a man on the bus I took from the airport to the parking lot, got off the bus with my suitcase and left his. I did not realize it until the bus driver pulled up to my car. Not only did he have my clothes, but he had my car keys too. My purse strap had broken, and I put all purse items in my suitcase. To make it worse, we only have one set of keys to the car I had at the airport (not the Miata). And, the man who took my suitcase did not have a luggage tag on his. It was a whole big mess, but in the end I found the man. He did not live far from us, and I got my suitcase and keys back. Bob had to come and get me, take me home to meet the man with my keys and then take me back to the airport. That is how we got to drive the new car with the top down a lot. It was a cool night, and it made the whole horrid experience a lot easier. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I have really good kharma with "lost" items. I've lost my purse at least 3 times since Bob and I have been married and gotten it back everytime all in tact. Once was at the airport in Brussels, Belgium, and I got it back from the lost and found when we flew through there the following week. Another time in Leicester Square in London while purchasing tickets to the theatre I left my wallet (a big travel wallet with our passports in it) on the counter. Someone turned it in right away. And not long after that I left my purse in a shopping cart outside the grocery store. When I got home and realized it, I called the store and some honest person had turned it in. I was not really suprised when I got my suitcase back easily and totally in tact. I hope I have just not jinxed my whole Kharma by telling you all this. By the way, I have really bad kharma with staplers. If one runs out of staples, and I put new ones in it always jams and break the stapler. I will trade staples for my purse any day of the week.
Take care! I will blog again soon!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The best news
Today was scan day -- MRI on the leg and CT on the lungs. I have been pretty much a wreck about it for weeks. I am like a kid with ADD. I was unable to focus on anything very long, restless, anxious, every ache scared me to death.
But I got good news from DocO. Everything looks great and lungs and leg are all clear. The trip to England is on, and I have no restrictions. I see him for lung scan in Sept. I will probably see Dr.
Saba, the medical oncologist, just as a follow up in the next week or two.
But I feel like I went from the sublime to the ridiculas. I went to the Sarcoma support group tonight. I've been feeling like I need to "give back", and this was my way to start. I thought there would be a lot of first timers, and I could be their Queen or something. I figured they'd be in treatment and see me all healthy, tan, happy, working and give them "hope" they could be me in 18 months. Well, who was I kidding? While some of them were new patients, many were reoccurance patience where the cancer had gone back to original site and/or lungs. I went in there feeling like a million bucks and left feeling like an ignorant, but very lucky so far, lady. One person I was particulaly interested in, Virginia, was diagnosed with some sort of skeletal sarcoma 19 years ago in her leg. It is now back in her leg and lungs. She, in fact, had her leg amputated (there were 2 amputees in the meeting.) She was just darling, in outside sales like me, had her laptop, making sales call form the chemo center, just like I was. The spots on lungs have not grown since August, which is good. But I realize now this is never go to leave me. It is always going to be a part of my life and could come back any time. I really am going to make an effort to really live life to the fullest while I can. The bad news was that Virginia had this reoccurance after 19 years clean . Good news is that she so far has had 19 years! I'd sign off on that number today! She has a great attitude and was interesting to talk too. There were others I hope to become friendly with but there was not much time for individual conversation.
So I went from being "freaky happy" to just being "freaked" out. I am gaining some different perspective and will probably blog more soon on that. Thanks for all the emails and calls today. All is well--thanks heavens! Love, Geri
But I got good news from DocO. Everything looks great and lungs and leg are all clear. The trip to England is on, and I have no restrictions. I see him for lung scan in Sept. I will probably see Dr.
Saba, the medical oncologist, just as a follow up in the next week or two.
But I feel like I went from the sublime to the ridiculas. I went to the Sarcoma support group tonight. I've been feeling like I need to "give back", and this was my way to start. I thought there would be a lot of first timers, and I could be their Queen or something. I figured they'd be in treatment and see me all healthy, tan, happy, working and give them "hope" they could be me in 18 months. Well, who was I kidding? While some of them were new patients, many were reoccurance patience where the cancer had gone back to original site and/or lungs. I went in there feeling like a million bucks and left feeling like an ignorant, but very lucky so far, lady. One person I was particulaly interested in, Virginia, was diagnosed with some sort of skeletal sarcoma 19 years ago in her leg. It is now back in her leg and lungs. She, in fact, had her leg amputated (there were 2 amputees in the meeting.) She was just darling, in outside sales like me, had her laptop, making sales call form the chemo center, just like I was. The spots on lungs have not grown since August, which is good. But I realize now this is never go to leave me. It is always going to be a part of my life and could come back any time. I really am going to make an effort to really live life to the fullest while I can. The bad news was that Virginia had this reoccurance after 19 years clean . Good news is that she so far has had 19 years! I'd sign off on that number today! She has a great attitude and was interesting to talk too. There were others I hope to become friendly with but there was not much time for individual conversation.
So I went from being "freaky happy" to just being "freaked" out. I am gaining some different perspective and will probably blog more soon on that. Thanks for all the emails and calls today. All is well--thanks heavens! Love, Geri
Monday, May 26, 2008
Great holiday!
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?
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?
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!
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