Late, but sincere, Valentine wishes to you all. Yesterday just got away from me. Today's post will be short as I am feeling really tired. I think it is anticipation for tomorrow's appointments at MSK. I am hoping for good news and trying not to be setting myself up to be disappointed.
Kate has arrived from Boston and Karen, Joe and Agnes Rose are here. We are hoping to go out for dinner to celebrate Kate's birthday which was on Friday. Who can believe our own baby is 29?
So, send a prayer up for me tomorrow. I'll keep you in the loop.
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 15, 2009
February 12, 2009
Twinkle Toes No More
I took the plunge today and went to the podiatrist. Let me begin by telling you that my podiatrist is not just any old foot doctor, he was a model in Seventeen magazine when I, and Seventeen and he, were just youngsters. Having said that, he is a wonderful podiatrist and not too hard on the eyes. However, I had done some "bathroom surgery" myself a few months ago and my big toe was kind of sore but with all else going on, I just ignored it. Then the other big toe started an ingrown and I let it alone figuring I'd make an appointment. Well, it took me until the toenail was long enough to scratch my knee before I made the appointment for today. Dr. Seventeen was not pleased with the two, hugely infected toes I presented him with expecting an instant healing. Well, he did some very uncomfortable (I did not scream) surgery on both, put me on a major antibiotic and cream and orders to soak my feet in Epsom Salts and extracted a promise that I would never ignore this type of problem again. I told him that he never hurt me before - I actually thought he was going to extract a tooth through the toe. I now have added this procedure to the five most painful things ever endured by me - right up there with childbirth, kidney stones, lung needle biopsies and tendonitis in my legs. I left out the nightmare of lung surgery without post surgical pain medication....that took the prize. He was very surprised that I said it hurt but to be fair, I never waited this long for treatment.
So, here I am with both big toes wrapped and sending off major heat. Guess they were pretty bad and now I will have to give up my career in ballet. Toe dancing seems to be out for good. What dumb things we do to ourselves! I put that in the plural because I am sure I am not alone in putting off health matters that would be almost nothing if resolved early but turn into nightmares when procrastination wins.
Fortunately he put me on Levaquin which I was taking for my chest cold and UTI as the UTI has returned and my cold is still not totally gone. Now at least I feel as though I am taking care of more than one thing at a time.
Tomorrow we head in to MSK for THE CT scan and an echo sonogram. I only hope and pray that the Miracle Pills have been doing their thing. I won't know anything until Monday when I meet with the team so don't look for any results until then.
Tomorrow is Kate's birthday. She is coming home on Sunday so we will celebrate then. Hard to believe how swiftly the years fly. We are all looking forward to seeing her.
Pray extra tomorrow!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
So, here I am with both big toes wrapped and sending off major heat. Guess they were pretty bad and now I will have to give up my career in ballet. Toe dancing seems to be out for good. What dumb things we do to ourselves! I put that in the plural because I am sure I am not alone in putting off health matters that would be almost nothing if resolved early but turn into nightmares when procrastination wins.
Fortunately he put me on Levaquin which I was taking for my chest cold and UTI as the UTI has returned and my cold is still not totally gone. Now at least I feel as though I am taking care of more than one thing at a time.
Tomorrow we head in to MSK for THE CT scan and an echo sonogram. I only hope and pray that the Miracle Pills have been doing their thing. I won't know anything until Monday when I meet with the team so don't look for any results until then.
Tomorrow is Kate's birthday. She is coming home on Sunday so we will celebrate then. Hard to believe how swiftly the years fly. We are all looking forward to seeing her.
Pray extra tomorrow!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 09, 2009
Sunday Surprise Monday Joy
Here is Agnes Rose decked out in her Sunday go to visit outfit. She looked so cute and when we complimented her on how pretty she looked, she pulled her skirt out almost as though she was going to curtsy! Even she knew how sweet she looked in her purple jumper and fancy shoes! I think she looks like a little imp in the middle photo!
I'm feeling a little better today, at least the cough has been gone for two days and nights. I am still dealing with the nose but hope that since it was the first to start, it will be the last to go - and soon.
Friday is the big day at MSK - echo cardiogram and CT scan. We'll get the results on Monday. Just reminding you so you pray extra hard that the growth on the pancreas has indeed gone away - and I would not mind hearing that the lung tumors have shrunk or gone away as well! One thing at a time, I guess.
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 08, 2009
When You Wish Hard Enough
Sunday can be the loneliest day of the week for me so I am glad you are there and we can have a conversation.
Yesterday, Eileen and Virginia came to visit. We were supposed to go out to lunch but I am still under the weather with this nasty virus. Virginia was hilariously funny and we laughed so hard at her wit. Today I was going out to brunch with the high school les jeunne filles as Janice has tried to fool me with this new moniker - I still prefer Crones and Miss Jean Brodie but what the heck - a rose is a rose by any other name......However, I have taken to the mattress (move over Don Corleone.) Tomorrow I will call BP at MSK and see if I can renew the antibiotic as I am still running, wheezing, sneezing, coughing and ..... well, I don't need to name all Seven Dwarfs, do I?
Earlier during the week, I awoke in the middle of the night and as is my habit, I turned on the TV. I flipped around and found a show called "Knit & Crochet for Today" on the PBS Create TV channel. I was inspired by an afghan square they were showing and decided to go back to crocheting which surprised Shirley as she had no idea that I even knew what a crochet hook looked like never mind used. Well, I searched all over for this program on the Internet and could not find it. I soon began to think I dreamed the entire thing up but did begin to get my hand back into crochet. Then I remembered I gave all my mother's needles to Kate and I had a few plastic ones but they just don't have the same weight and feel as the aluminum. Fortunately, Kate is coming home next week and will bring me some of the needles.
Well, today I found the show again quite by accident - I did not hallucinate it and actually got the correct web page and all the directions I need for this afghan square which looked so intriguing - as a matter of fact, I printed out several patterns whose stitches used to be part of my repertoire but need a refresher course. I have never been able to read the patterns as my mother was always around to show me first hand how to make the stitches (although mine were never up to her standards - passable but not like her's and Aunt Lou's - she said my "hand" was more like Aunt Anna's. I remember Aunt Anna always made beautiful intricate designs for table clothes and bedspreads while the other two made woolen blankets which have kept many of us warm on a cold winter night. Believe me, I would not mind having Aunt Anna's hand but I know I do not have the patience for this fine stitchery - I need to use a broader stroke and get it done before my interest wanes. Long range projects never work for me!)
Well, you will never guess what just happened! Karen and Joe called and they are in the neighborhood and are going to stop in for a visit. Guess my loneliness will disperse as soon as I see my Gingie Girl smile!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
Yesterday, Eileen and Virginia came to visit. We were supposed to go out to lunch but I am still under the weather with this nasty virus. Virginia was hilariously funny and we laughed so hard at her wit. Today I was going out to brunch with the high school les jeunne filles as Janice has tried to fool me with this new moniker - I still prefer Crones and Miss Jean Brodie but what the heck - a rose is a rose by any other name......However, I have taken to the mattress (move over Don Corleone.) Tomorrow I will call BP at MSK and see if I can renew the antibiotic as I am still running, wheezing, sneezing, coughing and ..... well, I don't need to name all Seven Dwarfs, do I?
Earlier during the week, I awoke in the middle of the night and as is my habit, I turned on the TV. I flipped around and found a show called "Knit & Crochet for Today" on the PBS Create TV channel. I was inspired by an afghan square they were showing and decided to go back to crocheting which surprised Shirley as she had no idea that I even knew what a crochet hook looked like never mind used. Well, I searched all over for this program on the Internet and could not find it. I soon began to think I dreamed the entire thing up but did begin to get my hand back into crochet. Then I remembered I gave all my mother's needles to Kate and I had a few plastic ones but they just don't have the same weight and feel as the aluminum. Fortunately, Kate is coming home next week and will bring me some of the needles.
Well, today I found the show again quite by accident - I did not hallucinate it and actually got the correct web page and all the directions I need for this afghan square which looked so intriguing - as a matter of fact, I printed out several patterns whose stitches used to be part of my repertoire but need a refresher course. I have never been able to read the patterns as my mother was always around to show me first hand how to make the stitches (although mine were never up to her standards - passable but not like her's and Aunt Lou's - she said my "hand" was more like Aunt Anna's. I remember Aunt Anna always made beautiful intricate designs for table clothes and bedspreads while the other two made woolen blankets which have kept many of us warm on a cold winter night. Believe me, I would not mind having Aunt Anna's hand but I know I do not have the patience for this fine stitchery - I need to use a broader stroke and get it done before my interest wanes. Long range projects never work for me!)
Well, you will never guess what just happened! Karen and Joe called and they are in the neighborhood and are going to stop in for a visit. Guess my loneliness will disperse as soon as I see my Gingie Girl smile!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 06, 2009
Early Valentine
Thought you would all enjoy an early Valentine present. The outfit is courtesy of Carol B. who is a maven at picking out clothing for little girls.
It is too early for me to have much to say but I could not wait to post this photo.
Not so incidentally, I realized I put a burden on some of you asking you to choose a blog entry that you felt was particularly suitable for inclusion in an anthology for the MSK writers group. Don't go back and read everything - this isn't meant as homework - just if one sticks out in your mind, please let me know if you have a chance. It isn't meant to be a serious undertaking and I don't want to feel guilty for asking. You all have enough work to do in your lives. I will pick one when it gets down to the wire. Who knows, maybe the one to be chosen hasn't been "born" yet! So, I rescind my request unless one pops readily into your mind. I really don't want to hear about how hard you had to work to find the time, etc.
Although my chest cold still lingers, I am feeling a bit better. I did sleep really well last night - must be the new view from the bed - or total exhaustion from moving all the furniture.
There may be more later, but chances are, I'm done for today! There is a chance that Joe and Gingie Girl may drop by later for lunch but it is not definite. I hope so as the antibiotics have my germs at bay. Last weekend, "Happy Feet" just happened to be on and Agnes Rose was enamored of it. She kept watching the penguin dance and we could see her smile from the back of her head. Suddenly, just as suddenly as Papa Penguin, she started to move her feet just like the penguin. She turned to look at me and I immediately began the dance (mine was more elephantine than penguine) and to Joe who also started to do the dance. She clapped and laughed and continued to dance. According to Joe and Karen, she does the "happy dance" on request! Aren't babies wonderful! When one is around how can you not
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
It is too early for me to have much to say but I could not wait to post this photo.
Not so incidentally, I realized I put a burden on some of you asking you to choose a blog entry that you felt was particularly suitable for inclusion in an anthology for the MSK writers group. Don't go back and read everything - this isn't meant as homework - just if one sticks out in your mind, please let me know if you have a chance. It isn't meant to be a serious undertaking and I don't want to feel guilty for asking. You all have enough work to do in your lives. I will pick one when it gets down to the wire. Who knows, maybe the one to be chosen hasn't been "born" yet! So, I rescind my request unless one pops readily into your mind. I really don't want to hear about how hard you had to work to find the time, etc.
Although my chest cold still lingers, I am feeling a bit better. I did sleep really well last night - must be the new view from the bed - or total exhaustion from moving all the furniture.
There may be more later, but chances are, I'm done for today! There is a chance that Joe and Gingie Girl may drop by later for lunch but it is not definite. I hope so as the antibiotics have my germs at bay. Last weekend, "Happy Feet" just happened to be on and Agnes Rose was enamored of it. She kept watching the penguin dance and we could see her smile from the back of her head. Suddenly, just as suddenly as Papa Penguin, she started to move her feet just like the penguin. She turned to look at me and I immediately began the dance (mine was more elephantine than penguine) and to Joe who also started to do the dance. She clapped and laughed and continued to dance. According to Joe and Karen, she does the "happy dance" on request! Aren't babies wonderful! When one is around how can you not
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 05, 2009
Dust Bunny Exodus
Well, either I am much better or much sicker because today I had the uncontrollable urge to clean the bedroom, unearth the dust bunnies, move the bed to a different wall and the dresser as well. I've vacuumed and dusted the heat registers and under the bed, found great treasures that have been missing for awhile....unfortunately, no single earrings whose mates wait patiently in my jewelry box for a reunion.
I think all the medication is finally kicking in and although my throat is a little sore, my sinus problem is resolved and I no longer sound like Fran Dresher (after all, I'm a girl from Flushing, too!) My chest is reasonably clear and the cough has disappeared. I don't know why I have all this energy and hope I don't pay the price of a sore back tomorrow but it will be worth it to have a different view of the room. I haven't moved the furniture around in eons. The poor cat is thoroughly confused - whether by the room change or the fact that her dust bunny friends have disappeared so suddenly, I do not know.
Kate's blog title cracked me up today...."When a Blogger Goes Bad." If you have a chance, click on Sween in the Bean. Once you start blogging and folks expect to read something from you, they start worrying if you miss a day or three! Sometimes there just isn't time or idea - and sometimes you just are sick in bed and not thinking of anything except where the box of tissues is!
Today I received an invitation to submit part of my blog to the Writer's Forum at MSK. They are having a reception and reading for the writers in April and the compositions will be bound in a book. I don't know what to do. Part of me would like to participate in this but I do not know which "baby" to pick as my submission. I'll have to go back and read all of them. If you have a particular favorite blog entry - one that was clearly reflective of my feelings dealing with this latest bout - please share your opinion with me. I guess I am putting it to a double vote...should I participate and if I do, which one should I submit. This isn't a contest but a way to help other's cope with cancer. So, please, if something in particular has inspired you, please vote. I have to let them know by March 1.
That's it for today. Got to get back to cleaning while the energy is still on high.
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
I think all the medication is finally kicking in and although my throat is a little sore, my sinus problem is resolved and I no longer sound like Fran Dresher (after all, I'm a girl from Flushing, too!) My chest is reasonably clear and the cough has disappeared. I don't know why I have all this energy and hope I don't pay the price of a sore back tomorrow but it will be worth it to have a different view of the room. I haven't moved the furniture around in eons. The poor cat is thoroughly confused - whether by the room change or the fact that her dust bunny friends have disappeared so suddenly, I do not know.
Kate's blog title cracked me up today...."When a Blogger Goes Bad." If you have a chance, click on Sween in the Bean. Once you start blogging and folks expect to read something from you, they start worrying if you miss a day or three! Sometimes there just isn't time or idea - and sometimes you just are sick in bed and not thinking of anything except where the box of tissues is!
Today I received an invitation to submit part of my blog to the Writer's Forum at MSK. They are having a reception and reading for the writers in April and the compositions will be bound in a book. I don't know what to do. Part of me would like to participate in this but I do not know which "baby" to pick as my submission. I'll have to go back and read all of them. If you have a particular favorite blog entry - one that was clearly reflective of my feelings dealing with this latest bout - please share your opinion with me. I guess I am putting it to a double vote...should I participate and if I do, which one should I submit. This isn't a contest but a way to help other's cope with cancer. So, please, if something in particular has inspired you, please vote. I have to let them know by March 1.
That's it for today. Got to get back to cleaning while the energy is still on high.
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you!
February 04, 2009
Still Sick Wednesday
Sorry I haven't been writing but I have been in bed for much of this week. Monday we went to MSK and everything was fine - except this morning they called to tell me I had a urinary tract infection to go along with my sinusitis/bronchitis misery that has been plaguing me since last Friday but came into full bloom on Monday. With a change of antibiotics from z-pak to levaquin, I should be mending quickly. Right now, I feel pretty awful and am heading back to bed. I know you have been worrying because of the e-mails I have been receiving. My mind is so blurry that I thought I wrote a blog to say I was under the weather but realized that what I had actually done was to answer the e-mails and never put it into a blog!
The big day will be Feb 13 (Kate's birthday) when I have my next CT scan. We can all rejoice if the growth on the tail of the pancreas has indeed disappeared. It can only give us hope for the future!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you.
The big day will be Feb 13 (Kate's birthday) when I have my next CT scan. We can all rejoice if the growth on the tail of the pancreas has indeed disappeared. It can only give us hope for the future!
Believe! Hope!
As always, love from me to you.
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