For those starting chemo in June

janie44

NL,

Was she flying America West, alias America Worst by any chance? I flew them to Eugene and ended up having to land in Portland and drive to Eugene and then drive back to Portland again when I left. The other airlines were in full service regardless of the weather. It was nice she was able to make lemonade out of lemons. I also had to stay over in Phoenix and Mary was not there at the time so I knew nobody there.

Hope everyone is well. Mary, check in when you return.

I saw a t-shirt a little while ago that read "Monday is cancelled." That sort of puts a damper on my plans for tomorrow.

Later

J

mary1220

Hey girls, glad all is well with you all. We did good at the Summerfest. Hubby sold quite a bit so he is happy. He was like a school kid smiling because so many people looked at his woodwork and told him how beautiful it was. I sold a lot of my little girls jewelry and some ladies so I was happy too. Well hubby has to go to the Ortho guy this morn. so I better get ready. I am glad he is going to be on the road to less pain. Have a good day girls. Mary

janie44

Way to go Mary & Rick (Tim)! HAPPY BELATED FATHER'S DAY!

I am thinking of opening a side practice. So send any people who need psychologically evaluated to GA.

Have a great day guys. I still have on my big mitt so this is one-handed and will be short.

janie

NancyLee13

Maybe I should refer myself to you Janie!! I'm sure I could use a little psychological evaluation at this point!! My sister got to Portland this afternoon. She called me as they were leaving for Bend. She flew on Big Sky or Pig Sty as they are known here. I won 2 round trip tickets to anywhere BS flies at the Relay for Life last year for being the top money raiser--Who knew?? I don't fly, period so I gave the two tickets to my sister thinking that she and her husband could use them to come out here in August for her 40th class reunion. Then Mom got so sick and Linda decided that she'd just ride back with me after the Sara Fisher event and take one-way of the free flight back. The tickets (I found out later) have to be used before July 21st and the way it looks she will be using the other one very soon. Our mom just isn't doing very well and Linda just basically went back to get some things straightened out so she can come back when she needs to. SIGH! I opened the daycare at 6:30 this morning and actually got to leave after 8 hours like a real working person!! It's windy like a tornado out there--I had to THINK HEAVY or I would have blown away and ended up in North Dakota!! Well, gonna get some bookwork done. Bye for now Life is Good Smiles NancyLee

janie44

Nancy,

Sorry to hear your Mom is not doing well. I know this is a difficult time for you and your family. Hugs, thoughts and prayers coming your way.

Janie

mary1220

N.L. sorry about your mom. Hang in there kid. Janie, good for you with the side practice. I hope you get busy enough to just be on your own and make good money, unless you enjoy the school work. Good Luck, but I don't think you will need luck because I think you have a pretty good way with people. Hubby and I went for help at one time because he was mentally challenged and I......wasn't, and that pretty much wasn't working out to our advantage so we had to get him perfect(like me). Naw, we went for his drinking problem and I was gonna leave and he decided we would get help instead. He didn't quit and I loved my little "mind sorter" so I stayed on until she went to the school system 6 years later. She cleaned out a lot of the cockles for me. I am so greatful for that little gal because she led me to be independant in my thoughts and actions. You know how that isn't there with an alcoholic, you revolve around him(or her). That led to my piece of mind and Janie, I am telling you this to let you know that you make a difference in other peoples lives and you may not know it but weather it is a child you make feel "normal" or someone who's life has become unbearable. You may be saving someone's mind, self worth,or life and giving hope. You may never know it but they will always remember you for it. Keep up the good work. Hi to P.J. later, Mary

PJB

Nancy, so sorry to hear about your mom. I hope your sister is able to be back quickly to help out and enjoy the days you guys all have together.

Janie, boffo on the side practice. You sound so busy already, you must REALLY be an energizer bunny. My Reid sleeve is in at the PT, but I haven't picked it up. Not looking forward to it. All night with a big old gob of whatever covering my arm. I already get hot as it is.

And hey, Mary. I was just thinking yesterday when it was getting hot how I'd love a Steak and Shake shake.

On the good side, my mom now has air conditioning again, and not a moment too soon. Work has been absolutely crazy. I'm in a transition right now from running the desk of folks who design the paper to the folks who write the stories. It's gonna be fun, and crazy, and lots of work.

Later girls,
PJ

mary1220

Well P.J. come on up and have a shake. The humidity is awful! Glad Mom is getting all straightened out and I bet she is having a good time with you and Nathan. Hope things get better for you N.L. Hi Janie, better get going. Mary

janie44

First things first....... steak and shake ........ ummmmm I want one too!!!!!!!!!! A real fattening one while I am at it, with hot fudge and carmel and walnuts etc.

Now that I gained another 10 pounds by thinking about a shake .....

Mary, thanks so much for all you said. Way back before I was a shrink, I went to marriage counseling. The guy gave me oodles of self-confidence to do what I needed to do with the rest of my life. The first day, he said "Janie sometimes we need to help people part rather than stay together." It did not take long for him to know I had beat that dead horse too long. I returned to school, raised three kids and the rest is history.

I have done therapy for all ages, but in the schools I mostly evaluate, diagnose and make recommendations. It is very gratifying for an excited kid to stick his head in my office and say "Dr. J. I can read!" A lot of what I do has to do with learning problems; however, I also deal with emotional disturbance etc. I have worked in a number of settings including evaluating prisoners.

Nancy, hope all is going as ok as it can at this point. PJ, Glad your Mom is doing better with the move.

Everyone have a great day!

PJB

Whew, had to save us from the dreaded second page. Nothing up here. Went and test drove some cars today, but didn't come home with anything. Matt's too tall to fit in most of the little hatchbacks I want.

Hope you all are good. Matt's going to smoke a whole turkey tomorrow (in the smoker, that is, not like wrapped in paper and lit with a match). Should be interesting.

Hope all is well. Nancy Lee, hope you're able to spend some good time with your mom this weekend.

Paula

mary1220

Hey P.J. I am on the way, smoked turkey on the grill! YUMMMM. Hubby has been very busy doing his wood work so he hasn't even mentioned fixing anything on the house. What a break for me. Hope you aren't washed away with floods P.J. We have been getting storms the last couple days and we need the rain bad. We get lots in Spring usually but we didn't this year. It is very dry. The humidity has still been bad though. Well I better go get some more coffee. Have a great day girls, Mary

mary1220

Wow N.L. you are really out there raising a lot of money for cancer. Way to go girl, I didn't realize you were in so many different cancer-thons. Good work. Mary

NancyLee13

Hi--Mary, I'd raise more $$ if I could clone myself and be in two places at once. I went to that Relay for Life in Bowman because I promised my accountants that I'd be on their team. Friday, I visited with Mom and then left for ND in the afternoon. I went through a terrific thunder and rain storm on the way and got there @15 minutes before it started. My friends picked up my shirt and bag because I was already preregistered. I missed the picnic, but I really didn't need to eat a bunch of junk before walking anyway. I walked in the Survivor lap and then walked for the next 3 hours and then drove home to the ranch (got in at 1 a.m.) and crashed for a few hours and drove back up here on Saturday morning. I'm back in Plentywood. I spent 3 hours with my mother this morning. We sat and read the paper and did the crossword puzzles. She was feeling pretty well--the pain patch is doing its job. There is this really sweet lady, Marie, who just came to the nursing home 3 days ago and she's really confused. She sits in the wooden rocker next to my mom's recliner in the lounge and yesterday she told me that she can't find the dining room and she can't even find her way back to her room and that she just wants to go home and plant her garden! When they brought my mom her food tray, Marie said--Well, I'm hungry too, What do you think I should do? I helped her find the dining room and she told me that her name is Nancy too so we are probably sisters!! Today she said--Oh good, you're back and she told Mom--you are the luckiest person in this place!! Mom just says "I know"! SIGH..I have to head for home in a few minutes because I'm supposed to open the daycare tomorrow and I have a noon meeting scheduled. It's hard to leave here though. Hope you all had a great weekend in the sun Life is Good Smiles NancyLee

mary1220

Gee N.L. you are a busy little bee. It is so humid here I could just melt. My neighbors just came back from Colorado and said they should of stayed because of the dry heat. I told them thats why I like Az. Well hubby and grandson Bailey put up another storage shed(a small one) to store hubby's wood working stuff in. It is beside the "castle Shed", so hubby don't have to walk far I guess. He is going to have himself a little community out there. He is outta my hair so thats a "good thing" (as Martha would say). I decided to just get the bottom teeth pulled. They are getting so bad. I have to get in now and get it done. I hope to get it done next month. Hubby just mentioned redoing part of the kitchen so we can get our side by side in instead of the small frig. we had to buy to fit the built in space. Crap, now I will have a half-as*ed- frig. hole in my kitchen that nothing will ever fit in. Why don't the kids ever call him to help them? Boy; you sacrifice to raise them and they turn on you. They won't even mention the word "fix" around him. Well, I better get. Hi Janie and P.J. Get some rest N.L. Mary

janie44

Hi girls,

I am in TN. Will head back to GA tomorrow. Been working on the old home place. I am tuckered.

Later,

Janie

NancyLee13

Yikes--39 little ones at the daycare today!!!! I opened at 6:15 instead of 6:30 cuz I was tooling by on my way to the convenience store to get some hot chocolate and I looked over at the daycare and there was already a parent parked there. I drove over there and she said she had an emergency so I opened and then I couldn't leave until 6:45 tonight because we had 2 who stayed late. I think that 12.5 hours might be a little too long to stay at work I need to hire more help!! I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Glendive and check into a motel up there. Then I'm going to start the prep for another wonderful colonoscopy and check into the hospital on Thursday morning. Since I'm doing this alone, I'm gonna walk to the hospital which is only about 2.5 blocks from the motel I stay at and then after the "procedure" ,I will wait til I'm halfways snapped out of it and walk back to the motel. I made a reservation to have the room for Wed. and Thurs. I can't remember how long it took me to get unwoozy last time even though it was just a year and a half ago because my sister drove me up and back and I think I may have just slept on the way back. Oh,well, we shall see. I think that when I get up on Friday, I'll just head back to Plentywood and spend another weekend with my mom. As long as I'm 90 miles in that direction, I may as well keep going!!. It's usually dry hot here and right now it's kind of muggy because of all the rain we've had. I don't like sticky hot. Well, gonna go unpack/pack again and get some sleep. I'll rejoin you when I get to Plentywood!! OOH tomorrow I can only drink clear liquids and no solid foods all day--Think I'd better eat SOMETHING before bed just so the memory of chewing will last through till Thursday when I can eat again. Nite all Life is Good Smiles NancyLee

litig8or

3 down, 5 to go! (AC x4 and Avistan, T x4 ) I'm almost halfway there. The good news is that my cancer has split apart and instead of a palpable 5 cm mass (It was actully 10cm via MRI), I'm left with two pea sized bumps. So, we know the chemo is working!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!

I feel "OK" right now, my feet keep getting numb, I'm get hot, then cold, a tad bit tired but not too much. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I expect to very tired this weekend,so we'll see how this plays out.

Yuu girls have a great night!
Kathy

janie44

Nancy, The whooziness wore off quickly for me but they said not to sign any important documents that day because of the meds they gave me. The prep is worse than the procedure.

Congrats Kathy! That is quite a shrinkage. Way to kick BC butt! And oh yes, you will be tired but it will be over before you know it.

Hey Mary and Paula

PJB

Kathy, Fantastic to hear how that chemo is chewing up the cancer. Hope you continue to feel relatively well. If the T is a taxane (taxol or taxotere) you might ask about using B6 to try to lessen the neuropathy in your feet...

NL, hope the procedure goes great and you find out things are A-OK....

Boy, I tell you, this is the weirdest spring/summer ever. It just won't stop raining....

Paula

litig8or

Thanks for the tip PJ--I'll ask my onc about that. I had hot and cold flashes all night long last night. UGH! In the past I've felt really good the next day, but I'm kind of tired today. I've made it a habit to take off Tues-Fri when I get chemo, just in case it built up in me and got worse over time. That way I don't calendar any appointments that I might have to reschedule. That makes me feel less guilty about not working. So, I think at this point, I will move to the couch and watch some awful daytime TV shows.

Have a good day ladies!
Kathy

mary1220

Good for Kathy, you won't be as sick with the taxol. Hey P.J. hows the flooding? Hope you are staying dry. N.L. you are on the go so much I am surprised you remember where you are. I hear ya on the humid, gee, it's like the tropics here. Janie, are you relaxing yet? Hubby gets MRI Mon. and sees his Dr. 2 wks. later so I really hope we get some answers. Now since I gave him my apt. with ortho. I have to get another and that will be a month or 2. I would like some treatment options. We have to set up for a summer fest in a little farming town about 17 miles away tomorrow night and the little fair runs Fri. and Sat. so hopefully we sell a few things. Later girls, everyone stay dry. Hugs, Mary

janie44

Mary, Good luck in your sales. I do hope your ortho problems subside for both you and DH.

Kathy, as Mary said, you will not be sick, but be prepared for aches and pains. Taxol is hard on joints and bones etc.

Hey PJ and NL. Hope life is treating ya'll well.

PJB

Hey, girls,

We've not had any of that impressive flooding in our area, pretty much all around us. We've had lots of rain, but nothing dramatic like evacuations. Very. Odd. Weather.

Mary, I do wish we could see some of your creations....

Janie, so when is the move?

Hi to Nancy Lee.

And Kathy, sounds like you're soldiering on. Taxol also will play with your tastebuds. The one thing I could count tasting pretty normal during Taxol then later Taxotere: chocolate. Thank God for small favors...

Later,
Paula

mary1220

Hey girls, We were told wrong about the summer fest time and instead of just setting up yesterday we were open from 4 until 9:30 lastnight. We were not really prepared and we were both tired. We don't go today until later this afternoon. Then 9 a.m. until midnight Sat. but we may pack up about 10p.m. Sat because mostly it is just people at the beer tent after 10. We both sold some things yesterday. Ya know people have such different taste. Some times I think I don't really like a necklace and someone will buy it right up and say it is beautiful. I told hubby these Jesus clocks probably wouldn't sell very good (but they are pretty), he has had to make more because people are buying a couple at a time. Ya just never know. Then there are the people that like to gripe about the price of everything. Oh well, ya get all kinds but most are really nice. I consider it a compliment if someone comes by and makes an effort to tell us our both looks nice and we have nice things. I always like to let people know what nice work they do or how good their efforts are even if I am not buying. I better get some more coffee. If I ever get my default e-mail changed so I can scan and transport anything I will show ya some of my work P.J. Glad you are not flooded. Hey to Janie girl and hope N.L. is getting a little rest after that nasy ol test and all the mileage. Later, have a good days girls, Mary

janie44

Good luck today Mary. Hope you sell lots of stuff. It is good of you to compliment the others. I am sure you realize how much that means to people. After you pack up, you could head over to the beer tent and chill. lol.

Anyone else's sinuses bothering them?

PJ, I have about a month to move. I need to get on the stick about that too.

Hey NL and Kathy. Hope your weekend is going well.

Janie

mary1220

Hey, good morning girls. Well hubby sure sold a lot of stuff.Good for him. There were a couple guys came by our both and saw hubby's Native American plaques and started talking to hubby about doing the Pow Wow they have in our town every year. They told him he could make a lot of money off that stuff. One guy is a kinda famous Elvis impersonator(his grandpa was the funny Indian on F-Troop). He lives in our town and he coordinates the Pow Wow. He is native American too. There were so many people that told hubby how great his work was, he is just really happy. Well Janie, do you have far to move? I hate moving. My sinus don't know if it wants to run or dry up. I think it is this weather. I have to carry around tissue because it just runs whenever. I better get for now and get some more coffee. Hi N.L. and P.J. Later, Mary

PJB

Mary, glad the sale was a success. Sounds like hubby's onto something....

Got my new car today. A Honda Fit. Cute, cute cute.

Hey Nancy and Janie....

Paula

mary1220

Congrats. on the new car P.J. Boy, you can't run a Honda to death. They last forever. Those are cute cars. Hubby got MRI today so hope we get some answers soon. I go to Dr. tomorrow because now it hurts my larnyx to talk loud or holler. Somethings up in there and I don't want to wait until the end of Aug. to see what. Hope N.L. is feeling good after all that stuff. You staying dry P.J.? Janie are you moving closer to school? Gosh I can't get over the traffic around Atlanta. I think thats the worse I have seen except Chicago. Atlanta though is backed up in such a wide area around the city and the outlaying areas and towns. I know it was stop and go for about 30 miles at one point out of Atlanta, then we turned off that road so who knows how far it went on. I don't think the downtown overpasses were as bad as the roads out of town. Not the way I would want to spend a day. You would get home from work in time to head back and fight the morning commute. Well I gotta get. Sleep well my little Junnies. Hugs, Mary

NancyLee13

I'm home, finally. It was hot, hot, hot today. Okay, the colonoscopy was great--I don't remember a thing! I didn't even think the prep was as bad this time maybe because I knew what was going to happen..anyway, it was clear but when I went back to see him on Friday morning, he made an appointment for me to see an OB/GYN today. So I did drive up to Plentywood for the weekend to see my mom. She's in and out of it and I had some fairly good visits with her. I didn't drive back until today. I stopped in Glendive on my way back to see the new doctors. It's a husband and wife team and I visited with him about my options and was examined by her. Now I have to have a pelvic MRI because they are seeing something on the ultrasound that they did back in April. I finally got to look at those films today because these doctors discussed them with me unlike the snooty lab tech back in April. Let's see--3 months ago and I was told then that they were clear. Now, not so much. I had one awful moment when I thought they were going to say they wanted to do THAT again and I was gonna throw a fit. Instead they decided that they want to start with an MRI and go from there. They will call me tomorrow with the appointment. SIGH. I spent all of last July on the phone with doctors and having tests on Lefty and then finally ended up in surgery in August--remember?? It looks like this summer is shaping up to be about the same. HMMMM? Well, I'm gonna unpack a few clothes and toss them in the hamper and try to get some sleep. I need to open the daycare in the morning--Back to work Life is Good Smiles NancyLee

janie44

NL I hope your docs get things straightened out soon and everything turns out well.

PJ, enjoy your cute car!

Mary, I am moving closer to work. The commute is getting long and expensive with gas prices what they are. I live about 20 miles from one school and 30 miles from the other. Atlanta is about 60 miles from here beyond where I work. The really bad traffic has not reached this far or my work areas yet, but people are moving into both counties from Atlanta faster than we can build schools. Another reason I am moving .... the school that is about 20 miles from me is being rebuilt and will be farther away. We are scheduled to move either during October or Christmas break, during the year, not the summer. I have heard that we have to move our things out of the old rooms during break w/o pay. I think the new school will have all new furniture etc. and I am told they will not allow us to bring anything in as they want everything uniform (that will last about 5 minutes lol). Yes, I do not like to have to go to Atlanta. The reconstruction is awful. One minute you are having to drive like you are a NASCAR driver and the next you are going 5 mph if that. I do have to go to Stone Mountain next week and that is much too close to Atlanta for me. The traffic gets pretty heavy there too.