Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

mistyeyes

Chevyboy - your post made me smile a- I can just feel all of your energy. So glad you are doing good and what an inspiration you are ! Glad you got a new roof, I bet you have such a beautiful historic home.

MinusTwo

Chevy - I don't post on this thread much because I just can't keep up. But I'm sooooooo glad Jackie nudged you to post. I think about you often. You were an inspiration during my treatment. Glad to hear you and DH are still trucking along.

IllinoisLady

I'm glad Chevy posted too. We are like sisters. She is a few minutes older than I am though. Not to change the subject but I just watched a special ( CNN ) on Glen Campbell's life. So sad that he got Alzheimer's. He made to 81 though. Still, it was a lot for him as well as his family to have to endure with him. I sure wish they could find what goes wrong and turn it off. I recall when my daughter was about two yrs. old. We lived in another small town so you could do things differently then. Kate loved Rhinestone Cowboy and knew all the words.

I let her go to the bathroom by herself ( she loved being a big girl ) and while she was in there she sang Rhinestone Cowboy at the top of her lungs. When she came out, everyone in the restaurant clapped. She didn't really know why. So, watching that show was a little trip down memory lane for me. You know, in this day and age I'd never let one of my kids go to the bathroom alone but times were not so drastic then.

ChiSandy

Jackie, this was the second time I've seen "I'll Be Me." And it's still gut-wrenching. When, at his final show in Napa, Campbell forgot the words to his biggest hit and then suddenly went from precisely picking the guitar solo line to sloppy random distorted cacophany, it was heartbreaking. I'm glad they ended the film while he could still speak and acknowledge that Alzheimer's (though he didn't name it) steals his memories. It would have been horrible to show him in his final year. In his interview, Brad Paisley had it absolutely right: he wished they could find the gene that does this and shut it off.

The three best songs about Alzheimer's I've ever heard are Karen Taylor-Good's "She's Gonna Fly," Jon Vezner's "Where've You Been?" (written about his parents and recorded by his wife Kathy Mattea) and Campbell's "I'm Not Gonna Miss You."

Chevyboy

Yes, I loved Glenn Campbell also... Did any of you ever watch The Highwaymen? It has all those old Western singers on there... And when Glenn Campbell performed in his later years, you can just feel the love his Daughter has for him...! So sad for him and his family.

I was with my Grandma...through her later years... And Dementia... She couldn't go back to her home, after her heart-attack.. So I moved her to Assisted Living, thinking it would be temporary... But her mind just started not working. Any "trauma" can cause Dementia in some folks.

So every day was a little worse... But she had me... I would bring her little dog Patty up to see her almost every day... But she soon forgot about her dog... and so many things... I made her an album, trying to help her remember... Dementia is almost as hard on the person taking care of them, than it is on them... Just heart-breaking watching someone you love, getting lost in their own thoughts...

Thanks for the Welcome Back gals... I won't leave again.

Summertime I was just busy as soon as it got light, working in my gardens, and composting, to grow the biggest tomatoes you ever saw! So next summer I got it all figured out...And I'm trying to make it easier to keep up with ...

Thank you Minus! So sweet of you.... yes, when we are falling apart, sometimes if we just listen, or take the time to "hear" what others have gone through, it really helps. Jackie used to say.... "Give me 10 minutes.... when that time has past.... take another 10 minutes"... I know we need friends as well as family.... sometimes more!

Chevyboy

Wish it were Spring again! Also wish I could get my photo to post... Hah! Maybe it will work this time....

carolehalston

Hi, Chevy. So happy you came back! I wish I had your energy and zest for life.

kathindc

Yay! Chevt’s back. Glad all is well for you and DH

IllinoisLady

Once the soul awakens, the search begins and you can never go back. From then
on, you are inflamed with a special longing that will never again let you linger in
the lowlands of complacency and partial fulfillment. The eternal makes you
urgent. You are loath to let compromise or the threat of danger hold you back
from striving toward the summit of fulfillment.

John O'Donohue

IllinoisLady

Oh its a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Sweet Sunny Chevy is back and staying for good. And you mentioned my ten minute refrain. I didn't do chemo very well ( lots of issues and the anti-nausea meds just didn't seem to work well for me ) so I started living the worst of my days in ten minute segments with the idea that anyone pretty much could get through anything is they only had to do it for ten minutes. The picture in my mind was always accomplishing the next ten minutes. Thanks for the memory.

Sun and going to get to 60 today, but hoping. Rain will come later and we will wake up to freezing temps. Wondering if we are going to have more 'winter' rain again this yr. I do think we could have some snow dust, but amazed that it all starts with rain. Yikes. Good day to rid ourselves of some leaves.

Worked hard with my arm on Friday so Saturday was not too cool. Lots of discomfort going on -- but this is the price of regaining as much as possible. I'll be doing some extra today to make up for stunted rounds on Saturday. I am going w/o the sling. Oh, am I happy about that. Also driving which makes me very happy.

Productive day yesterday elsewise. Lots of laundry --- so I could put away summer clothes, and fill the closet with warm things. The yearly ritual. Make a roast for dinner. Usually do that on Sunday but it was a good thing for in-between all the laundry. Took my stove apart ( outside ) later and cleaned it thoroughly. May try some of the inside, but I'm not super flexible yet so will only be where there is visible dirt/caked or burned on drips. Have to choose a 'winter' purse and rid myself of the summer one. I'm late but so much going on that I've not made the time. Also have to get back on working on things I'm getting rid of which was an on-going project when I broke my arm. Sigh !! Seems to be how it works with me -- getting to actual completion on some of my projects doesn't come easy.

Hope you will all have a fantastic Sunday. Saying hi to Joan and all those who haven't posted in a bit. You are thought of all the time.

Chevyboy

Oh MAN! Jackie, I was reading your post too fast, and I thought you said you were going to swing today.... Hah! I thought, well, whatever she wants to do....

My right wrist is so sore, and my thumb tingles... Been crocheting so much.... trying to make a pretty "ocean blue" little blankets, like coverlets when you sit on the couch! One for Sheri, and one for my Grandson coming in from Encinitas for Christmas with his Mom and Dad & Brother! I'm also giving one to my oldest Grandson and his Amanda... plus a pretty pillow I am making and using their "photo's" with iron-on printable transfer paper.... With a ruffle around it... If I can get it all to work, I'll post a picture.

Snow coming in tonight.... now you all know how much I love that! Just wish it were Spring... I don't know WHAT I would do if I couldn't work in my gardens....

IllinoisLady

Yes my sweet Sunny....I'm " Swinging In The Rain ". Well, I'm sorry. I just couldn't let that one go.

IllinoisLady

ChiSandy

Welcome back, Chevy!

Bob's Aunt Gerri got Alzheimer's quite young--in her early 70s. At first, it was mild. When we'd call her in NY, she'd say "Don't just tell me your name--tell me how I know you and I'll remember." And she did. She liked to joke that the one good thing about the disease is that "I get to meet new people every day." But then she went downhill quite fast. At the beginning, she had written an end-of-life care plan: DNR, no extraordinary measures, including I.V. or G-tube feeding or nutrition. So she was gone in less than two years.

Puffin2014

Good to see you back Chevy, loved the photo of your flowerbed.

Chevyboy

Morning gals.... Snowing here, and only 19 degrees... But supposed to quit by 9, and warm up a bit... Hah!

I ordered REAL toilet-seat warmers years ago.... And we LOVE them! In this climate, sitting down on a frozen seat makes you fly right off up to the ceiling!

So we are home-bound for the day... You know what is so sweet? Our oldest Grand-son has this girl-friend... Amanda... Well we finally met her last Summer, and it's just one of those things, where she crawled right into my heart... She is the sweetest girl, and so caring! She is a Stewardess, and used to watching after people, but she is just different!

So every morning, we text... She calls me Grandma, and I just love her.... How fun to have someone else in your life that you look forward to hearing from every morning! They live in Orlando... and mostly together, but her home-base is Miami... She travels a lot, but they love their place, and time together.... Even have their Christmas tree up already! I just hope they stay together, married or not!!!

But she will always have a place in my heart....

carolehalston

Another sunny beautiful day here today, a repeat of yesterday. Then tomorrow morning a hard freeze. The weather folks are telling everyone to "protect plants and pets."

I have an appointment with my PCP at 11:30, a six month checkup. My borderline diabetic status puts me in the 6 month category. I have been intending to change doctors and may go through with it after Thanksgiving.

Happy Monday to all.

IllinoisLady

If we demand enlightenment, it hides. . . . All that we can do is make ourselves enlightenment-prone. We learn to treasure the possibility of awakening in all moments and circumstances. We learn to simplify and cultivate the receptivity of heart that can be touched by profound understanding. We learn to listen deeply and discover stillness amid the movement in our world. -Christina Feldman

IllinoisLady

Sounds like we are due for snow today, but mainly only ( if weather people are right ) a dusting. We may head out to Salem to the Denny's restaurant this morning. We are both Vets and they have a FREE breakfast. I think a Grand Slam. Most yrs. we never bothered, but the older we get the more we lean into things that are free. Seems that we tried hard to just do our part as decent citizens, never making much of the fact that we tried just as hard when we were young. Seems a bit more appropriate to accept recognition now that we are in our 70's and 80's.

I think some people are born sweet and don't lose it. I might have been, but I got a little jaded later on. All better now but I didn't get all my sweet back. Hope your grandson and Amanda hang together. The world being like it is, it is fantastic to have someone you know you can always count on, who makes life always a treasure to enjoy.

Carole, hope your appt. goes well. Changing Dr.'s is I think sort of difficult, but when you do I hope it 'takes' right away. We were really glad to get our new V.A. Dr. though we don't get to pick necessarily. It is just who applies and gets accepted -- and we can only hope it works out.

ChiSandy

3+" of snow overnight and into this afternoon, requiring shoveling & salting. The 'burbs away from the lake, especially NW & SW, got much more. 22F now, going down to 10 overnight, high of 22 and low of 6 (!) tomorrow--time to leave the taps trickling already. Can't recall "real" snow anywhere near this early, and we've been here 41 years. Our first Thanksgiving in Chicago we had snow on Thanksgiving--which was highly unusual back then. We didn't get down into the single-digits till the first week of Dec., followed by a warmup. Of course, it was a prelude to the "Blizzard of '79" winter that began New Year's Eve with 2 feet of snow, and it only got worse (including a week in the "minus 20s"). It seems like not only didn't we see an "Indian Summer," we had the shortest autumn on record. The Polar Vortex is back, and I hope it won't be accompanied by Snowmageddon.

About to dig out the strong thread, upholstery needles, hemostat & thimble to reinforce the buttons on my shearling coat. It's heavy and way too big; but considering what it cost me back in 2012 I'm not giving it away. Certainly can't afford a new one.

IllinoisLady

We went to Salem ( about 17 miles from here and on the way back drove through sleet. Went direct to the therapy office ( I get two days this week ) and while we were inside it started to snow. Snowed all afternoon and I think we have an inch and a half now. It's 5:30 p.m. so it has taken four hours. Sure made is easy to feel all the sore muscles in my arm -- and the broken spots as well. Nice to be in the warm house looking outside. With this sm. amt. if the sun is out tomorrow the snow won't last too long. Especially on the roads -- the radiation will have it gone in no time. That is if it gets above freezing. Hoping. I don't mind the snow usually, but I'll be worried now about sliping around outside.

ChiSandy

I'm terrified of falling--my last two falls--on dry floors--resulted in fractures, cartilage tear, and arm surgery. I have to go to the N. Loop at 2 tomorrow for a dental cleaning, and have Bar Show rehearsal in the S. Loop at 6. So will have at least 3 hrs. to kill. Gonna be super-cold out; if I go home from the dentist I barely have time for a coffee before heading back out. So I'm gonna look for a spa downtown. I will take a rideshare down, and a cab from one end of the Loop to the other; grit my teeth and take the train home after rehearsal.

Di2012

On Thursday, I will say GOOD BYE to my implants....I will be having surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center, the implants have given me so much pain since 2016.... Pain was getting worse, to the point I have NO "reach".... My arms only work from the elbows to the hands without pain....(then, a few months ago, I found out they are recalled).....

Hugs,

Di

IllinoisLady

I'll be thinking about you Di. I heard something some time ago now and I'm so sorry to find that the implants you have is in the recall group. I pray it all goes well and you will be able to recover quickly. I think I assumed that I didn't and wouldn't know anyone that had issues.

ChiSandy

Good luck, Di. You're in great hands at UW Hospital (which is a block from where we lived in the '70s and where Bob did most of his clinical rotations in med school).

WorryThePooh

Hi all! Back after some time away, had a nasty bout of bronchitis then recovered enough for us to have our road trip. Driving back to Sydney we came very close to bushfires which was absolutely terrifying. These bushfires have now killed three people, and still burning out of control on the mid North Coast of NSW. Today is predicted to be catastrophic due to the heat and wind, hoping it won't be!!

Good luck Di, I hope it will help get rid of the pain.

MCBaker

Di, will be praying for you. Going flat after such an experience is understandable. Upon diagnosis of righty, I said "Just cut it off." I was fed up with the years of probing and worrying.

Yesterday I had two stubs of teeth removed, and my upper partial modified. That was a relief to finally get that done. Next Monday I go back to receive a plan for what to do with the rest of my mouth.

I am two steps closer to getting the adaptations necessary to live more comfortably with my hearing loss. A high-tech alarm clock is the hub, receiving messages from phone and weather service and doorbell. Will probably get a bed-shaker.

I got a bra I like from Amazon. Stretchy cups, unpadded. Seems to persuade both of them into shapes that are more similar. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FGAOGXQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also got a shelving unit. My jams, salsa, and green tomato relish were taking too much room, which I needed for store-bought stuff.

carolehalston

Good luck with the removal, Di. Hope things work out well for you.

Brrr. It's cold and gray here. My sister and her teenage granddaughter are coming to my house at 10 am and we're going shopping for Nova, the granddaughter. We'll also have lunch. Wish it was a nicer day.

petite1

Good morning. 3 more full breast radiation treatments to go and then 5 spot treatments. Warm and sunny down here in Florida.

Beaverntx

Di, may it be a happy goodbye with good healing after your surgery.

It is 31here just now with a feels like of 18, forecast to maybe rise to the low 40s. Brrrr