Starting Chemo April 2009

AmyIsStrong

Ladies - I have been reading more and more about the protestors and security concerns in Toronto where Helen's wedding is. I am so concerned about her. Let's all send her love & peace across the miles for a lovely PEACEFUL happy wedding with NO disruptions.  Who would have thought that people from across the GLOBE would gather for her son's wedding?  Well not exactly FOR the wedding, but still......

Set my first appt with the personal trainer for Monday. Am nervous/excited.

Titan

I thought the wedding was Thursday?  Hopefully everything went OK....a wedding to remember!   Hopefully Helen gets on here and tells us all about it...

hrf

Hi everyone. Well the wedding was perfect!!! After all the worries, thank goodness all went well. Since everyone is afraid to go downtown, there was no traffic at all. The downtown core is boarded up and there is a big fence around the area the G20 leaders are meeting. The protestors are out in force as of yesterday (Friday) but our wedding was Thursday and only a few small protests were going on so we stayed away from them. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful. The King Eddy is an old elegant hotel with a long history of exciting events. (John & Yoko stayed there) The room for the ceremony and the reception are amazing with lots of beautiful detail on the walls and ceiling - they just don't make them like this anymore. Lots of beautiful flowers, candlelight and perfect lighting to set the mood. The band got people up and dancing and the food was great. The couple (Matthew and Sara) just radiated love and happiness. There were great speeches (not too long and with enough enough humour to keep people interested). The bridal consultant kept us on track so the evening went smoothly. My grandkids (Hailey 3 and Ryan 5) marched. Hailey had been told to drop the flower petals and she was so committed to doing that that she stopped marching even though Ryan was encouraging her to move - it was quite funny. My older son (their father) had to get down from the chuppa to get them. Rabbi said she was the most committed flower girl ever. It added just a bit of humanity to the service as kids will be kids. They behaved very well during the rest of the evening. Matthew and Sara are leaving for Hawaii later today and are already at the hotel at the airport because the highway is being closed throughout the day to let the dignitaries get to town securely. When we were checking out of the hotel, the Saudis and the Brits were checking in. Obama is staying somewhere else. My close friends were at the wedding so I was able to share the joy with them. Thanks for thinking of me. I took a few pics with my blackberry. If someone tells me how to upload to here, I will show you a pic of the couple. They had professional videographer and photogs so we'll get lots more pictures in the next few weeks.

hrf

Today terrible violence has broken out in the area near where the G20 is occurring. At this moment major malls, transportation hubs and hospitals are under a lockdown. Lots of property damage, people hurt .... I hope with the 19,000 police that have been brought in that this stops soon. Selfishly, I am breathing a sigh of relief because all of this is happening just steps away from the hotel where our wedding was held. We got lucky by 36 hours.

AmyIsStrong

I have been watching this on the news and online and been so concerned about you. I'm glad the wedding was perfect and that it is DONE by the time this craziness happened. Now your kids can enjoy the honeymoon, and you can rest up and enjoy the memories and wait for the photographer to get the photos ready.

JudyNaomi

Hi all, hope you have all had a good weekend.

Lena - so good to hear from you! I read all of your posts and just want you to know that I think of you often. I always hated my port too. I used to touch around it when I showered too. It used to make me feel physically sick. I still have the scar but am a bit more used to it now. It was removed last August! I am telling you - this stays with you forever, there is always something to make you think about it again. I hope that you manage to get that help to clean your home.

Titan - If you can, please post a photo of your new haircut, we would love to see it.

Helen - I am so pleased that everything went well. It all sounds wonderful and most importantly, it sounds as if you had a good time and that is the most important thing to me. No disrespect to your son and daughter in law, but I was so worried about you. I wanted you to have a real celebration and it sounded like you did! Congratulations to you all!!!

Amy - enjoy your meeting with your personal trainer tomorrow - let us know how it goes.

Geri - how are you doing? Please stop by and let us know.

Chelev and Besty, sending you both hugs!

We had a really nice family day out today - we went tubing! I said to my husband, that in these hot temperatures, I just wanted to be immersed in water. It was a really fun afternoon and so good to be out with everyone having fun!

Have a good evening everyone and sending you all hugs!

Judy xxx

inthemoment

Hi all - After tomorrow, 2 more to go!  Herceptini glass is chillin'.  Had a great Saturday with my old nursing school roommate and her husband - the guys played golf, we read books and caught up on things, and then had a great dinner and stayed over at their house (about an hour away, so I could relax and not face a drive home after a long day).  Yesterday was a fund raiser for the Hospice organization that I used to work for, and the honoree was my friend Bonnie, who is the assistant director there, and who just found out she had lung cancer. It was very bittersweet since this honor has been a year in the making and then she gets this news a few weeks ago.  As always, she showed great strenght and grace in her acceptance speech, and made it about her life, not her illness.  I will go out to dinner with her next week andoffer whaever practical advice I can, since chemo seems to be the plan.  I thank all of you for asking about her, you are all so thoughtful!

Glad to hear you had a nice weekend Judy - I can relate to the hot temperatures - hit 98 here in NY today!

Betsy, glad they got your blood without too much trouble.

Helen - wow, the gods were with you that the wedding was over before the protests got out of hand - it is so good to hear you were able to enjoy the day - that's what we go through this for...the good days!

Amy - how's the training going - that's another thing on my list that I never seem to get to!

Lena - I am in awe of your sims work - can't understand alick of it, but still in awe that you understand it! The cancer society does have a program to help with cleaning - go for it, you deserve the help.

Titan - hope all is well

Chelev - thinking of you and your job search

Alaina - good thoughts for your aunt's upcoming surgery.

Geri

AmyIsStrong

Had a great day today. Saw the onc - had a very nice brief visit, he pronounced me 'cured' and said to make an appt for October.  I am dubious about the 'cured' concept, but not going back until October ROCKS!  It was a really good visit.

Then tonight was the personal trainer appt.  I was so pumped about the doctor's appt, I didn't have a chance to be nervous. I just went in and told him I was READY. I did a 10 min warm up on the elliptical and then we started. He gave me an hour non-cardio workout. We only did 1 set of each of the exercises - when I do it on my own, I will do the circuit twice or eventually 3x.  But tonight ONCE was PLENTY.  It was really hard but I was brave and pushed through.  Then i had a 20 min time on the treadmill to finsh up. I came home TIRED & HUNGRY but really motivated.  I know I always say I work out regularly, but this is kicking it up a notch. I am going to watch what I eat, and work really hard and be confident that even w the Tamox, my body is going to respond.

I have to do the workout he gave me on Wed and Fri, and do cardio in between (tues/thurs). Then I will see him one day next week for a new workout.

I am really happy & excited. I feel like I'M BACK BABY!

hrf

Amy, that sounds awesome. Good for you.

JudyNaomi

Geri - so good to hear from you! Your weekend sounds perfectly relaxing and fun. Your friend sounds like an incredibly brave woman. Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is mindblowing amongst other things and to be able to stand up and make an acceptance speech and all the while stay positive, that is quite something.

And only two more infusions to go! So exciting!

Amy - so much great stuff going on with you! First the appointment and then the personal trainer! It is a great feeling when you can finally start taking small steps towards a "normal" life. You certainly sound like you are back : )

I have been working this week and am pretty tired. Yesterday, I came in from work and just went to lie on my bed which I never do. I had a short nap, but then couldn't sleep last night : (.

I think that on the whole I am doing ok. I am beginning to think more and more about surgery now, but I am still not ready to really face it. I think it has come about because I need to go and buy swimwear for the summer and when I tried on my daughter's bathing suit, I was just too flat and realized that I was going to have to buy a mastectomy one. (I thought that I may be able to get by without, but it just does not look right). When things like that happen, I become very self conscious about myself and get down for a while, but then I somehow, pick myself up and keep going. Alot of that strength comes from having all of you to talk to every day.

Thanks for listening and hugs to you all, Judy xxx

mmcmahan

Thanks all!  Probably should join April 2010...oops!  I do appreciate your responses though. 

JudyNaomi

Just passing through quickly this afternoon - things a bit crazy at home at the moment. Had some bad news today, a friend 6 years younger than me, who has been battling leukemia for the last few years, passed away - he fought so hard, but his body attacked the new bone marrow after the transplant. Just too horrible. He had a wife and two small children.

If anyone has any good news to share, "come on down!", we would love to hear it!

On a more positive note, a friend of mine who has had reconstruction gave me her breast forms to put in a swimsuit, so now I just have to buy the swimsuit. I couldn't believe the cost of it all. So at least that saved me something and I have them to take with me when I go to buy the suit.

Hope you are all ok - it has been pretty quiet here the past couple of days.

Hugs to you all, take good care, Judy xxx

hrf

It's Canada Day today..... our country is 143 years old today. I went for a long walk with a friend and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

inthemoment

So sorry about your friend Judy - It touches us even more deeply with what we know the fight is like.  Prayers going up for him.

Geri

BetsyBuzz

Hi all...

Wow...we all seem to be having such ups and downs lately. Judy & Geri sorry to hear about your friends. Lena...I can't imagine still facing pain on a day to day basis.

Helen...such joy to hear you truly engaged in your son's happiness. Happy Canada Day! Sounds like our 4th of July.

My sister's weekend was a blast. My mom is doing ok..actually she looks horrible but I'm glad she was able to make it to the sister's event. My family is sort of like the Ya Ya Sister's...we do have fun. This year we invited the baby ya ya's...niece's for the first time. I think they enjoyed themselves. They stayed and talked with my mom while the oldies but goodies went for a walk.

On Sunday before I hopped on the train home we headed to a glass recycling shop in north Seattle. Anyway...the traffic turned out to be horrible. After waiting for about 20 minute...trying to get around the Space Needle/Seattle Center we realized there was a parade going on. Then after driving about four blocks in I rememebered reading about the Gay Pride parade. So here we were in the thick of it.. I looked over and said wow...there are even old ladies coming to the event. Then after closer observation I realize...gesh...they weren't women. We howled. About a mile later my sister said OMG..look..I missed them but my other sister said...it was a bunch of guys in their undies. So I'm thinking no matter our foobs..no matter our weight..we are still better looking then some of the people we saw. I say we love who we are...no matter how damaged.

On a side note I found the glass I wanted for my art project so it was a wonderful weekend.

Sending hugs to everyone..

Geri...woo hoo...soon very soon you will cross the finish line!

Betsy

JudyNaomi

Geri and Betsy - thanks for your good thoughts and support as always. Geri, how is your friend holding up?

Betsy - your weekend sounds like a real blast! There is nothing so good as a really good laugh with family or friends. I loved your line about loving ourselves, even if we are a little damaged : )

Helen - Happy Canada Day! It is so good to hear you sounding so upbeat these days! It is really heartwarming : )

To all the other wonderful ladies, Titan, Chelev, Amy, Lena, Alaina, how is your aunt doing Alaina?, and anyone else that I may have missed out - I wish you all a good weekend. Enjoy the holiday weekend - I can hardly believe where we were at this time last year.

Hugs to you all and thank you for always being here!

Judy xxx

Alaina

Hi Everyone!

I visited with my aunt today.  She is doing really well!  She's up and about and in really good spirits.

Will visit her again next week sometime.  Her cancer didn't seem as advanced as mine so they are not doing chemo or rads, so far.  Will know more when her full path-report comes back.

They did her mastectomy yesterday and sent her home last night.  *sigh*  But she's doing fine, so I won't rail against the insurance companies just yet.  LOL!!!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Alaina

Lena

Hello all...

I keep coming in here and reading but not posting...think I'll actually try to post.

Titan -- sure, you can ask about my iliac met. Whaddya wanna know about it? OMG you CUT your hair?!?! Ummm hmmm maybe there's a hint of truth in the idea that there really ARE women who LIKE their hair short. I just sure as shit ain't one of 'em is all!

Helen -- I'm glad the wedding went well and nobody got hurt! Now stay the hell away from that area, OK? Oh, and happy Canada Day, if you celebrate it.

Amy -- Yeah, I know what you mean about being dubious concerning being "cured" -- but for everyone in here except me, at least it's POSSIBLE. How's the exercising going, dare I ask? (OMG, did I just use the "E-word"? LOL) My original "E" program -- the walking, which is the only kind of E I can physically do (unless molesting a Pack Rat counts, but that would be the "F-word" which is a lot more fun than the "E" word) -- is still on hold due to bad leg (more on THAT momentarily GRRRR!)...

Judy -- that's terrible about your friend with the leukemia. :-( Please accept my sincerest condolences. And wow, you actually have enough confidence in your body to wear a bathing suit in public? I'm floored -- I can't even IMAGINE what it's like to like my body anymore. The times I considered my body even "just OK" were few and far between anyway (once upon a time I had a beautiful face and beautiful hair, but only a so-so body at best)...this has nothing to do with the breast cancer or my unprecedented weight gain this year, just my original 10 extra pounds in the middle and shapeless Midsection from Hell. That's what motivated me to throw out the couple of one piece bathing suits I had when I was in my 20s and despite the otherwise less than bathing suit quality body, I did have a perfectly acceptable matching set of 34Cs. Now that I'm ugly old and fat and have the misshapen cancerous right breast on top of it, well forget it.

Betsy -- what are "Ya Ya Sisters"? Glad you had fun, though and you got what you needed for your art project. :-) 

Alaina -- it's good to hear your aunt is doing OK.

Geri -- good luck Monday with your next to last Herceptin. Or is Monday your ALMOST next to last treatment? 

OK...wait till you hear THIS one... last Saturday I had an appointment at the hospital radiology department to get my right leg MRI'ed. I called the taxi at a time where I'd show up at the hospital about 5-10 mins early (this is my usual procedure). However, the taxi was late -- I was standing outside waiting for 45 mins in oven type heat, or should I say what passes for standing  when your leg/knee hurts like effin' hell cause the painkiller takes too long to kick in. And had to call the cab company back too (the cab broke down and they had to find another one to send to me!). By the time I got there turns out I missed my appointment -- so all that miserable waiting for the cab was for nothing. I was LIVID, I just totally lost it, as in I had a temper tantrum fit to do a 2-year-old proud in public. When I got back upstairs to the lobby and called the cab company to send someone to pick me up and get me home, I complained about their lateness making me miss my appointment and told them I wanted the ride home to be FREE. Thank goodness, they didn't charge me for the ride home. However, my effin' brain is still dead, screw this Aromasin crap which is almost as bad as chemo -- as in why didn't I ALSO think to ask for a refund of my fare TO the hospital? EEEESH!

The good news is that on Sunday, my leg started to feel better, I didn't need to take as much of the oxycodone. On Monday it actually felt OK enough to (very carefully) do laundry and on Tuesday (very carefully) go to the supermarket (a small trip: all I got was a half gallon of milk, fresh fruit and salad stuff). The oven weather cooled down and it got real nice this week, and although my leg is still nowhere near good enough where I'd even try to resume my daily exercise walks in the park or do errands of any kind on foot, I was OK to bring my iBook and play Sims in the park a couple times during the week.

And...Thursday I saw the psychiatrist. Wow, he had actually run printouts of the stuff I emailed him and while I was there looked up and read about the SAMe (too bad my oncologist doesn't see any value in a doctor-patient "team" approach but OK). He says he doesn't think all my dopamine cells are dead (which I was afraid of from my month on Femara) -- but we'll find out. He put me on the antidepressant Welbutrin (which is dopaminergic and does not have sexual side effects of any kind). He also prescribed Lunesta for my sleep issues. So far -- I haven't been taking the Welbutrin long enough to notice anything, but I think the Lunesta, so far, is slightly better than the Ambien CR. I mean, I still woke up in the middle of the night, but only ONCE, not the usual 2-3 times.

Lastly..."diet" is DIE with a "t" -- but, 5 pounds down, 25 to go....I wonder if I'll live long enough to lose it or why it even matters, but somehow it does, just as much as the hair which I know I'll never live long enough to grow all the way back....

Well, think I'm gonna go Sim before bed...take care everyone, have a good weekend.

 ~Lena. 

hrf

Lena, good to hear from you and am hopeful that the new drugs will help. Please continue to stay in touch. Will you reschedule the mri? Sux that the cab made you miss the appointment.

Riots in Toronto are over - everything back to normal, thank goodness.

I see the dermatologist again this week -- the one who is supposed to help me with hair (lack of hair) issues. While I do have some hair, it is very thin, very fine, and doesn't feel or look healthy. It's like old old man hair if you know what I mean -- spots where the scalp shows through. I used to have the thickest, greatest hair. I have put on 50 pounds during chemo, arimidex etc so really look like a cow. The wedding was a good distraction for me and now I am back to thinking about less than positive things. I don't think I'll ever adjust to my new normal.

But it's hot here and the sun is out. I may go for a long walk.

JudyNaomi

Lena - good to hear from you. Sorry about your appt, what a pain! Will you be able to reschedule? Even though I am going to buy a swimsuit, I will probably wear a very large t shirt over it. I am not that confident and certainly do not love myself : ) I am just trying to make the best of the situation until I can think clearly about reconstruction. I am trying so hard to keep my weight down, but I just cannot shift it. When I think of how some people walk around in public, I think we should cut ourselves some slack! I am always so pleased to read your posts.

Alaina - I am so pleased to hear that your aunt is doing ok. Our thoughts are with her.

Helen - glad that everything has settled down in Toronto. You sound sad again. Let us know how the dermatologist appt goes. Keep thinking positive if you can. Always here for you : )

To all of you other ladies - I hope that you are all spending today having lots of fun!

Hugs to all, Judy xxx

inthemoment

I am celebrating Independence Day by being free from worry - at least for today

Happy 4th of July everyone

Geri

AmyIsStrong

Happy 4th of July ladies.

Well a little update - I met with the personal trainer on Mon - he gave me a circuit of 7 exercises to do (15-20 reps of each). I did it one time thruogh as he taught it to me. Then he said to do it twice through on Wed and then 3x through on Fri and from then on. Well, Wed went fine, but I was NERVOUS about Friday.  I procrastinated but finally got to the gym and plunged in.  I could feel my heart race a little too fast at some points but then I just took a minute or two between exercises to let it slow back down. And I was able to do the whole three circuits! I was so happy. My legs felt like rubber when I came home and climbed the stairs!  So I will do it again tomorrow, and then Wed I meet with him again, and he probably has more torture planned for me. 
But I feel really great and encouraged. Plus it is easier to watch what I eat - I tell myself I just did all that hard work, dont' ruin it by eating stuff I shouldn't.

Re the wedding - you can click here and see a collage of photos on the photographers' blog. 

http://lovemedophotography.com/blog/ 

Their wedding is "Emily and Ryan" - should be at the top of the page.  It will give you a sense of what it was like. I haven't seen all the photos yet, but based on these, I can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a good day and declaring independence from worry like Geri - at least for today. We deserve it!

Amy

hrf

Beautiful wedding photos.

Lena

Well if this wasn't the crummiest weekend in a major series of crummyness, I dunno what is. What's barely left of the realist in me knows there's no such thing as an antidepressant that kicks in right away (I got and began taking Welbutrin on Thursday), and I have to take deep breaths and hold on to forcibly tell myself that this is just a temporary raging monsoon of bad biochemistry rendering my brain totally and completely broken and "all" I have to do is wait for the Welbutrin to start working...BUT this whole effin' weekend, the BEST I felt (for awhile on Saturday afternoon) was "bad." As in sad/melancholy. Like I was sitting there playing my sims, which is something I (as a rule) LOVE to do, and I'm feeling SAD while I set up and then watch my little simmies live MY stories right before my eyes, doing amazing things which are possible because *I* made it possible for my sims to be able to do these things?! WTF?! And that was my GOOD day, too. The rest of it, OMG do we even want to GO here? If I wasn't bordering on "suicidal" sad/crying my eyeballs out, I was murderously furious and slamming doors. Things that normally don't bother me, bothered me. Things that normally only bother me a little, bothered me a LOT. Things that normallybother me a LOT were totally and completely intolerable, and my reactions to even the legitimate stuff were way overmagnified -- hence the crying and doorslamming. I guess it's good I live alone -- no one to yell or throw things at, cause I'm sure I would have?  (uh-oh, here we go again. I can't even post without busting into tears...)

Bye all, I just can't do this.... 

Titan

Lena..you get back here please!   I will tell you about my hair!  Yes..I did get it cut..kinda freaked out about it but short hair looks best on me....plus I hate to sweat and short hair helps with that...My hair before BC was long, frizzy and thin and gray...not pretty....this new do is so much better...

Call your doctor about that anti depressant...sometimes they don't work...I was on one once several years ago..didn't like what it did to me..the only good thing was that I Iost weight... I would forget to eat! 

JudyNaomi

Geri - I am with you on that! Sounds perfect - being independent from worry, sounds just the way it should be! You are so nearly done - it is so exciting! Glasses at the ready here!

Amy - the photos are just gorgeous! I love the natural poses and catching the moments when no one is looking at the camera. I could feel the warmth through looking at the photos. You must have had a wonderful day! And good for you with all that new excercise, I know it will be worth it in the end : )

Lena - please come back and let us know that you are ok. It is fine to cry, as much as you want to. Depression is a terrible thing and if the meds they gave you are not working, then ask your doc for something else. I know they say that it can take up to 2 weeks for them to kick in, but there may be other options that take less time. I know it is easy for me to say from here, but we are always here for you, so keep on coming back and ranting, venting, whatever it takes to make you feel better! You are such a strong woman, we are all behind you!

Titan - we are waiting for that new photo of your new hairdo : ) I have to use so many products to tame the curls, that my hair is like cardboard! As long as I don't actually have to touch it, then it looks presentable. The only annoying thing is "your hair is so cute!!!". What am I? 12? Do you ever feel that sometimes a simple understated compliment or just no comment at all is preferable? Am I being awful to those who are trying to make me feel better? Please tell me if I am...

Helen - how are you doing?

Chelev - any news on the job? Betsy - how are you?

Hope everyone had a good 4th July. Ours was fun, spent with friends, swimming, eating and generally having a good time.

Hugs to all and have a good day,

Judy x

Titan

Judy..I like my hair now...I never liked it before..besides being glad that I have some its kinda of fun having a "change" at 50...I'm not the same person that I was "before" so why should I look the same????   I think that people mean well when they tell you that your hair looks cute...you know that you are not 12....I guess it is better that they say someting rather than nothing at all...then you start to wonder if you look bad!  

Geri..counting down those days to the last herceptin..hopefully you are practicing those cartwheels..we need to hear about it!  Just do the cartwheel first then the martini..ok?

Betsy..my favorite duck in the world....you know..football season is right around the corner!  Hopefully some cooler weather too..though I like summer..I like getting the sun tan I couldn't get last year I'm more of a cool weather person...in Ohio..it is usually 90 and humid or 32 and snowy...the days that are between 60 and 75 are few and far between...

Alaina..good news about your aunt..you are probably such a support for her..that's a good thing...a friend of mine's sister was just diagnosed...Stage 3..she had a clean mammo 6 months ago...found the lump and now Stage 3...I told this lady's sister to come on here and to not go to any other website..she is having chemo before her surgery..4 months..I'm assuming 4 ac and 4 taxol or probably something close to that.

Amy..beautiful wedding pictures....what song did your daughter danced to with her father?  My daughter and I are discussing this and can't seem to agree.....I don't want something that will make me cry all night.... I think a good Jimmy Buffett song sounds good to me...all I have to do is get her to agree! 

inthemoment

I am too tired to write very much, but Lena's post will eat at me all night if I don't write back.  Lena, do you know how much we all care about you and how you feel? Of all of us, you have been facing the most daunting task of living with Stage IV - I can't imagine (except for my friend Bonnie who did just find out she has stage IV lung cancer) having to deal with that reality every day - it's no wonder you are depressed.  But please don't shut us out - I will speak for myself...what we do to help one another, helps us all.  None of us knows if we will ever face what you are facing now, so to be selfish about it, please let us help you, if only by listening. Call your onc, even though it takes a few weeks to build up from the antidepressants, you may be having an adverse reaction to the Wellbutrin - I know I did when I took it to try to stop smoking a few years ago (for smoking, it's called Zyban, but it is Wellbutrin).  I had these vivid dreams, no, more like nightmares, and I was so anxious from just a few days, that I had to come off it right away.  There are so many alternatives, and you sound so miserable and sad, I can't stand it - Please call and tell him how you feel - you've been through too much to have to deal with this too.

Geri

BetsyBuzz

Hi all,

Lena...I don't have any special words to add to what others have said so I'm sending you a big {{HUG}}.

Summer...it hasn't happened here in the NW this year. It's been cold and rainy..sort of like winter. They say we are in for a stretch of summer soon...in the 90's this week. Going from 50 - 60 degrees to 90's will be a shock...but I'm so ready. We just got back from Point No Point...on the Kitsap peninsula in Washington. I wore two coats most of the time but we did have fun. As usual I ate and drank too much. I'm going to pay for it on the scales. Oh well...I did have fun.

Ya Ya Sisters....loud, crazy, wild and one hell of a lot of fun. Although I must say...I'm the quiet one of the bunch.

Amy...I can't believe you've made it through three reps.. I haven't even added weights to my work out. My PT said just go through the motions but no weights. So be careful... And those pictures are great. Everyone looked like they were having a blast.

Geri....Final stretch is just around the corner soon it will be time to celebrate.

Titan - didn't you practice cartwheels last year at this time? I thought of you this weekend. They had hoola hoops at the beach house. So I figured I'd try it. Actually I was going to show the young girls how it was done. So what do you think happened? I couldn't believe it but I could not swing that damn hoola hoop around this stiff old body no matter how hard I tried. My dh could do it better than me. LOL...it served me right for being cocky.  So I decided that is my goal this year...I know sort of a low bar...but hey it's a goal. My next summer I'm going to be able to hoola hoop again. Now I just have to go out an buy one and start practicing.

Helen and Lena...I hope you two have a better week.

Hugs...

Betsy

JudyNaomi

Hi all,

Lena - I stand behind everything that Geri has written. Please let us know how you are feeling today and let us know if you have spoken to your doc about alternative meds. I think about you every day and come here to see if you have posted. We are always here for you and care very much about you.

Titan - thank you for giving me a new perspective on the hair front. I never looked at it as not being the same, therefore not looking the same. I think that I need to be more patient with people and I should accept compliments gracefully. Thanks for helping me see that!

Geri - so close! How is your friend Bonnie taking the lastest news? How are you coping with it?

Betsy - I wish we were having some cooler weather, it is just so hot here in MD! There is just no relief from it, even at night. Sounds like your weekend was fun.

Alaina - how is your aunt feeling after the surgery? I am sure that you are a real source of strength and support to her, as you are to all of us.

Amy, Chelev, Helen, I hope you are all doing ok today.

I have my therapy session this afternoon, I always get a little nervous beforehand and start thinking about what I really want to get out of these sessions. Usually, we just start talking and we go in all different directions. I am not sure if I should just go with the flow, or if I should have defined aims and objectives (my personality leans more to the second one...). I have been very difficult to live with recently, I know that. We are planning a short road trip this summer and I am finding it really hard to get down to it. Anything that is a project, just causes me to shut down. I used to be so organized, that I would thrive on taking on projects, but now they just seem to send me into a panic. It is like every small challenge is a huge hurdle. I never used to be like this before BC.

If anyone can offer any advice on that, I would really appreciate it.

On the plus side though, I am well enough to go away and spend quality time with my husband and kids (if they are still talking to me by then : ) )!

Hugs to you all and thank you as always for listening.

Judy x