thread for middle age to older Christian women.

bandwoman1234

LIta, you are always in my prayers. When I think back to over a year ago when you had decided on hospice and then decided to keep in treatment it has been amazing what God has done in you. I know it has been very difficult. God will give you grace to face whatever is in front of you.

Ade, I was wondering if Elowen could pass this. Praying that she will without any damage to any organs of tissue. Pray for her poor Mom. Lord touch this little 4yr old and allow this magnet to pass without any damage. I pray that you would give her Mom a healing touch as she is already enduring the anxiety of the situation with her daughter.

Cindy and Lisa, how did your treatments go?

Joanne, praying your LE exercises are working!

Faith, continued prayers for you and praying you have seen the last of the hives.

Debbie, praying for you and I always am blessed by your posts.

Love,

Nancy

Cindymb

Hi Nancy,

My first treatment of TC was this Monday. Had flu like symptoms the second day. Thinking it may have been from the Neulasta shot. Other than that, not bad. My son and husband went and helped me cold cap. We will see how that goes. I pray for you and all the others here often! ❤

Cindy

bandwoman1234

Cindy, it sounds like you are doing quite well. Others may have tips for you for your chemo SE. Praying the cold cap works for you. Let us know when your treatments are next and we will be sure to pray for you.

Love,

Nancy

ohio4me

Cindy, my pharmacist recommended Claritin for 3/4 days beginning with Neulasta day. I never had those flu symptoms.

My niece used the cold cap. She was 34 at the with thick, long hair. They worked well. She had some thinning at the hairline, but only noticeable to her.

ohio4me

Cindy, my pharmacist recommended Claritin for 3/4 days beginning with Neulasta day. I never had those flu symptoms.

My niece used the cold cap. She was 34 at the time with thick, long hair. They worked well. She had some thinning at the hairline, but only noticeable to her.

bandwoman1234

Thank you Ohio for responding to Cindy. I thought Claritin might be the solution from past posts but I didn't want to say without knowing for sure.

Love,

Nancy

Teka

Good Morning,

I am now lame from weeding my 3 flower beds, but reclining Labor Day weekend.

The following quote is why I come here to seek faith and support from members.

Sometimes, when I say, "I'm fine", I want someone to look me in the eyes and say, "Tell me the truth."

Always in my evening prayers one and all.

bandwoman1234

Amen, Joanne. I believe your light at the end of this long tunnel will be coming soon.

Teka, I sent you a PM.

Ade, continued prayers for a successful flush with Elowen and for Mom to quickly recover.

I had a definite God encounter this week. A long story which I won't go into but I am continually amazed at what God can do and how He weaves our lives together in the most amazing way.

Have a great weekend dear ladies. For those in this area it looks like an indoor weekend with all the rain. I needed to do some inside cleaning so it works for me.

Love,

Nancy

Teka

Joanne, not so well.

My strained achilles tendon (R) heel continues to be sore since Spring.

I shared the following with Nancy in a PM............

I managed after the heat wave broke to weed my 3 flower beds and make myself lame.

May 14, 2018 was my annual bilateral 3D mammogram. *NED*

August 31st...okay MO office visit, but NP wants me to put a hold on early Fall clean-up for 2 weeks. Probably tore scar tissue up under left breast from cyst surgery (2011) caused by severe radiation burn infection (2010). September 10th...PCP office visit and want to be on the mend. I no longer bounce back overnight from overdoing yard work.

Chemo, Avastin and Radiation sucked the goodness out of my bones and whatever holds me together.

I feel 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

Reclining is easier on my decrepit body.

Lita57

Teka, alas, yard work is one of the joys of my life I've had to give up, sadly. My back and balance issues jeopardize me too much.

I took a fall in the yard last year at around this time when I was pulling weeds, and dr and DH said enuf is enuf. Had to hire a gardening service. (Don't tell DH, but I still sneak out and dead-head the rose bushes now and then...). So no lovely flower beds anymore. No new annuals or bulbs. I just have to live w/ what I have. I went out and got a couple of succulents for the yard, but that's about it.

I walk around like a decrepit old woman now - looking 20 years older than I really am, but that's my reality. I'm not complaining as it could be way worse, and I know it WILL get worse as things continue to deteriorate in my spine (I have shrunk a whopping THREE inches from lytic lesions and compression since this beastly guest decided to move in). But I am grateful just to get up in the morning and still be able to see and hobble across the floor to the bathroom ).

L

P.S. Teka, try bone broth. I make my own and try to have some every week. The minerals and nutrients are supposed to help keep one's bones strong. Ask your dr about calcium supplements, too. I don't take them because I get my blood work done every week and they monitor my calcium. It has stayed in the high normal range, so I'm ok. You don't want to take too much calcium or it can cause problems, stones, etc., too.

Teka

Lita,

Thank You for the information.

I went from hours to an hour a day working outdoors this Summer.

Love to dead-head annuals in my plant containers.

I'm not going to tell your DH. ;o))

Teka

Joanne,

Oh, cute and true!

zjrosenthal

Oh ladies, I could have written all of the last posts. I feel so silly complaining but I really have little energy or ambition. Gardening this year consisted of planting a few geraniums in 3 hanging pots on the deck! I went to a birthday celebration at a friend's home on Friday and fell down on the stairs carrying a bag with some fruit because I was stressed and feeling overwhelmed. Then hubby and I stopped by my daughters with some birthday flowers and a card for her! Her family is having some serious financial problems causing more worry. This after hosting a weeks visit from our foster son and his wife from Oregon. I spent most of today in bed or on the couch. The good news... I only sprained a toe and bruised my arm in the fall. Silly me, thinking I could handle all of this. Love, Jean

IntoLight

Jean, so glad you weren't seriously hurt in your fall. Rest can be good. Life goes on all around us and we try to be encouraging but we sometimes forget about ourselves.

Your stories resonated with me today. Tomorrow I know I will tell some well-meaning people at church that I am "fine" since I haven't attended in a few weeks bypassing all of the medical reasons. The real reason is Sunday is the best day for our family to sleep in, but no one really needs to hear this either. Not a good excuse, but rest is needed in my household. But choir starts back tomorrow and I need every excuse I can think of to get my DD back in church. She goes if I do as the granddaughter loves church and my daughter has no other excuse. Being raised as a PK leaves her with few excuses since she still lives at home. I selfishly ask for prayer for her.

I am jealous of all of you gardeners. I live in a 4th floor condo and can barely manage a few potted plants! I tried to grow some herbs in my kitchen window, but I guess the sunlight is all wrong as they all are failing. So sad as I really wanted a growing supply of fresh cilantro for my pico. Cilantro is cheap anyway so I will just have to keep buying it.

I am praying for God to rain down many blessings on all of our families tomorrow. Chris

Ade

Oh sisters! I pray for God's grace and mercy, healing, strength, comfort and peace for every one of you! There's an old saying that "misery loves company" but in that we know and understand what one another goes through (some not to the fullest extent - but the compassion is certainly there) and we intercede for one another more effectively because of it. I praise and thank the Lord for each of you and lift you all up to the Throne of grace.

Regarding the "How are you" question - my grandfather always said, "I'm in good shape for the shape I'm in!" and I often use that. It makes others smile - but they understand I am not 100% - and I refuse to lie (not even in politeness, mind you) and say I'm just peachy when I honestly don't think I EVER will be again this side of Heaven. People do care but I don't want to go into the full report and sound pathetic - so I make light of it and they still understand...and pray.

I don't think my daughter knows IF that blasted little magnet passed or not through the barrage of laxatives that poor child endured. Elowen feels ok - so if it did damage one would think there would be negative symptoms of it by now. On Tuesday she gets another MRI (no contrast) WITH an x-ray prior this time! Emily (daughter) is just fine now - in just 12 hours! God DOES answer prayer! Thank you who prayed for Elowen and Emily.

Nancy - so thankful for your God encounter! How those strengthen our faith - and the Lord knows just when we need them too! For those of us unable to garden anymore - we will just oooh and aahhh over your flower pix and imagine we can 'smell the roses'! You have a flower ministry to us. :0)

Blessings upon your week dear sisters!

Ade

bandwoman1234

Wow, Teka. I guess your story resonated with many. I love to garden and have always been limited by my fibro but thankfully I can still do it. I have had to cut back since my BC. I feel bad for so many of you who are not able to anymore.

Jean, so sorry to hear about your fall. Glad you didn't break anything.

Joanne, I love that banner and I really believe what it says. I believe we will both look back on this summer and say thank God you got us through the loooooooooooooooong trial.

Chris, I can grow flowers outside but inside I have the same issue of poor lighting for indoor plants. I have found on top of my refrigerator is the only place I can grow anything indoors. I wish I had a suggestion for you but I can't think of any unless you actually used a growing light. Have you heard results from your PET scan yet?

Ade, I have thought of this awful situation with Elowen and wondered if they could even do an MRI because of the magnet possibly still inside of her. Apparently they can. Yes, figuring out if she passed it would be an unpleasant exercise for sure in the light of all of the laxatives. The poor thing. Praying it did pass and thankful she has not seemed to have any negatives from it so far.

I have share something that will give you a smile. You all probably know Cammie by now! I bought her a new cat tree and put it up last week. She loves this thing. I also reintroduced catnip to her and now remember why I stopped using it when she was a kitten. She already had an aggressive streak and the catnip made that worse in her early years which I had forgotten. I bought this catnip banana and put it up in the cat tree last week to encourage her to use it. This morning as I was eating breakfast she could still smell that catnip on the cat tree and was trying to eat the fleece off the cat tree. She was rolling all around and rolled right off of the tree onto the floor. She was pretty high up in the air. She did land on her feet. Then as cats do she indignantly walked away with their dignity in tact and was probably saying what fall I didn't fall, did you see me fall?

I want to share some of my pics from my last outing. I am still in this ongoing competition with this forest preserve district. I was hoping to shoot some lotus flowers or egrets but that didn't happen. I did find some of these subjects instead.

Love,

Nancy

Cindymb

Ohio,

Thank you for that advice. I took Claritan, but I think I will begin the day before on my next infusiion.

🤗

bandwoman1234

bandwoman1234

Ade, how did Elowen do yesterday with her scans?

bandwoman1234

Ade

Nancy, my Booey cat was a "mean drunk" on catnip. She would roll in it then guard it from the other kitty, Kate by laying on top of it. Glad Cammie likes her tree. Will you share a pic of her on it please? LOVE your flower pics and the butterfly is lovely!

Elowen's x-ray showed NO magnet so they went ahead on the MRI which is NORMAL! Praising the Lord! THANK YOU for praying!

James planted our container garden and spends an hour every morning watering his plants. He did a little rock ring around each tree & bush and in the front planted some flowers which are now beautiful in the sunshine. Notice that every bloom has a butterfly! I shot a million pics - just couldn't stop they were so photogenic!

Blessings upon your day, Sisters!

Ade

bandwoman1234

Praise God for no magnet. Poor little thing. Glad that is over for your family. What a nightmare!

Ade, I LOVE your flowers and butterflies. Wow. They obviously love those flowers. How fun.

Love,

Nancy

bandwoman1234

Okay Ade, per your request. Here is Cammie in her new cat tree. Luckily I took the pictures last night because if I had taken them today you might have seen that rope around her little neck. She did #2 on the floor today. She has been so faithful up until today. I was NOT happy but tried with every ounce of control I had to NOT get angry with her as the experts say this produces more anxiety and makes the matter worse. We had two play sessions today and she is knocked out tonight.

Love,

Nancy

Lita57

Is she part Siamese?

Cats from that breed can be VERY stubborn with minds of their own. No wonder you're having these issues with her ;o).

L

bandwoman1234

Lita, she is a Ragdoll which is a cross of Persian and Birmese. This breed is supposed to be very docile but she has been none of the typical characteristics of the breed. I had issues with her from day #1. She was a little hellion when she was a kitten. Most would have given up on her back then. She is 10 yrs old and has come a very long way in socialization. She came from a breeder which I found out later was known for breeding cats with behavior problems. The lady was a vet and a breeder. How could you go wrong? She is a wonderful cat in her adult years until this issue. I am still thinking there is something physical going on. I have to have her sedated when going to the vet so I am very reluctant to do this again since we just did this in June. The vet did not perform all the tests as he should have looking back on it. She has her shots in November and will be sedated again so I am really not sure what to do. Normally I would take her to the vet pronto but with the sedation issue I am waiting.

Today another disappointment with her. My resuming swimming after the pool was closed for two weeks could be the trigger in a big schedule change for me and therefore for her too.

Right when I thought I had her all figured out this is a big blow for sure.

How are you doing? Still praying for you.

Love,

Nancy

Ade

Nancy she's beautiful - and obviously loving her tree! I'm sorry she had a relapse, but maybe it will be a one time thing in her new Good Girl regime. Thank you for posting her pic.

James took his second injection Wednesday with no side effects! Praise the Lord! He has 2 more samples left so we HOPE the nurse HAS put in the paperwork for getting it free for real this time so he can get his prescription started. Also hoping this med WORKS! He will have bloodwork in November to see.

Blessings upon your day, Sisters!

Ade

IntoLight

Nancy, Cammie is beautiful! Such a lovely cat.

Ade, so happy to hear James is doing well on the new meds. That is a real answer to prayer. Will continue to pray the paperwork has gone through and worked as it should.

Jo, Yay on the good news for Elowen!

It is so good to read of all of the answers to prayer. I met with my onc yesterday and there is a "subtle" change noted in my PET scan in a couple of places. We are not changing anything yet, but need more monitoring and more prayers. I sense that a change is on the way... This morning I don't feel well, but it is probably from the flu shot.

Happy Friday!

Lita57

Nancy,

Our very first Bulldog, Tiffy, had "behavioral" issues, too. She'd climb up on the couch, look at us defiantly, and just SQUAT AND PEE!

She absolutely knew what she was doing. We'd try not to make a big deal out of it, b'cuz that can make it worse, as you know. We had to ban her from the couch and crate her at night so she wouldn't pee all over the house - despite being potty trained!

Our current Bulldog, Sofia, is an angel. No accidents, no aggressiveness, etc. God meant for us to have Tiffy first. She broke us in and has made us appreciate Sofia all the more. Sofia has been "immortalized" on the cover of my third, and last book, which takes place in the 1970's. (The book launch party is in November...hopefully I'll still be okay for that.) Tiffy was the model and inspiration for the first two Bulldog books, which take place in England in the early 1800's and chronicle the horrors of how they used these dogs in the dogfight pits and how this reprehensible practice was finally outlawed by Parliament. The first book in the trilogy was a finalist for the ASPCA Henry Bergh Award for Young Adult Fiction ).

Good luck with Cammie, she's a beautiful cat!

As for me...LOTS of diarrhea on Gemzar (Imodium to the rescue!), and I've been SO TIRED these days. Lots to do, before the party and our trip to Arizona, so that's kind of bumming me out, but OUR LORD will sustain me and give me the strength and energy I need.

Praying for all of you,

Lita

bandwoman1234

Dear ladies,

Thank you for your nice comments. Cammie is beautiful and she won't let me touch her with a brush if you can only imagine that after seeing her. She has to be shaved when at the vet on her tummy and behind.

I had to take Cammie to the vet at the last minute today. She had not urinated in her box since early on Wed morning and I was really concerned. They had a cancellation as I was talking to them otherwise I couldn't get in until Monday. Long story short and $450 later the vet thinks it is still a behavioral issue and the devastating blow was her bladder was pretty small meaning she had gone SOMEPLACE in my house. AT least she now has her shots and will wait for blood work but the vet really felt like it would come back normal. I guess cats can hold urine for quite a long time but if a male cat would do that it can be serious.

I had a serviceman in on Tuesday and that could have been enough to rock her world in a bad way. My resuming swimming this week was another thing. Cammie hates change. So I would appreciate your prayers for both of us because I am feeling pretty beat down at this point.

Ade, I used to tell people that what Cammie lacks in good behavior she makes up for in good looks! So glad to hear James is doing well on this second shot. Praying this nurse will follow through on the paperwork.

Chris, praying for you as well and that these minor changes will prove to be nothing of concern.

Lita, congrats on your book. That is awesome! Sofia is a beauty. Did you paint that picture of her? My first cat was so sweet so Cammie came in like a lion from day one. Believe me it was hard to take. I had my first cat for 16 yrs and then Cammie for 10. From my reading anything that rocks their world in a bad way and causes anxiety can show itself in litterbox issues. So I can't be as mad at her as I used to be before understanding how this all works. She really is a sweet cat believe it or not.

Praying for your SE's. Thank goodness you can take Imodium.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Love,

Nancy

Lita57

No, I didn't paint the book cover. The artist who painted it is Leslie Hoops-Wallace from Georgia. She did all of my books, and the chapter illustrations as well for the first two books.

L