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

Thanks Carole......will do....quality time with one of my daughters.....and my Grandson who just moved from Chicago to Dallas is coming back home for a wedding that he is in, and then to the shore, so I will get to see him too..............and a possibility of my grandaughter (daughter's daughter, and grandsons sister), might be stopping down too.......she is the one that is expecting in August.....should be a nice week......so thanks for the "have fun" send off....h;ugs

A greater poverty than that caused by lack of money is the poverty of unawareness. Men and women go about the world unaware of the beauty, the goodness, and the glories in it. Their souls are poor. It is better to have a poor pocketbook than to suffer from a poor soul. -Jerry Fleishman

Jackie, the cancer-cluster is not in Bob’s office, but that of a competing cardiology group. (Perhaps because of substances used in construction & decor of a much newer building and fancier office suite).

Okay, I am so disgusted with my Chicken neighbors! You KNOW I always feed their cat, when they leave for the week or week-end.... I used to also feed the Chickens, but I got really sick one time, feeding, and watering them in their dirty coop.... They never clean it!

So I still take care of their cat.... I take her old blankets, and even the warming mat, from my seedling tray, AND a couple plastic crates for her to sleep in. I buy her wet food, & treats, and take her left-over Salmon, etc.....

She can only go in their garage.... But NOW, Mama Chicken got a new car.... And the cat gets "paw-prints" on the car.... So now she will be locked out....!!! Even in the Winter!!! She is the SWEETest old cat.... And I've always loved to see her.... She stays in her yard... and no matter how much I've tried, she will only stay there, and not come across the ditch to visit!

WHAT A BUNCH OF AIR-HEADS! They built a whole Chicken-coop for the 8 damn Chickens, but won't let their cat in their house, NOR the garage now. Before, the excuse was "The Raccoon's come in through the cat door & eat her food".... To which I said, "Can't you just keep her food in the house & take it out to her?" THEN they started locking her in the garage at night, and letting her out at night.... Maybe her paw-prints made them mad???

They just brought over some cat-food, and treats.... We will go over through Tuesday....

Should I ever say anything??? I would buy her a covered little box to sleep in for the Winter.... But I just feel bad.... I would LIKE to say... "ARE YOU GUYS NUTS? YOU WON'T LET HER IN THE GARAGE EVEN WHEN IT IS 5 DEGREES OUT????" Or should I just let them ignore their cat, and not say a word?

There are some good instructions online for how to make a winter cat box out of a foam cooler. You might also check on the kill rate for the shelter there. I volunteer for our city shelter. Cats are not put to sleep unless they are ill or in pain. My current foster cat is 15 and we have gotten 20yo cats adopted. I don't think you could report them until it's actually cold weather. But then the authorities might be very interested. At 5 degrees the garage is not a suitable place either. You could also ask the health department about uncleaned chicken coops.

Pretty day here if overcast a bit now and then. A/C is coming on a lot so I know it is warm and muggy outside. We are going to my BIL's tomorrow. The brother-in-law who is in rehab right now for having had quad by-pass will get a pass and attend. Will be nice to see him away from the facility. I'm sure he will enjoy spending some time in familiar surroundings. A change of scenery about mid way or so should be a good inspiration for the rehab work.

Chevy -- some of our neighbors don't make it easy do they??? You got some good advice and I hope you are able to figure out the right approach so you have as much success as possible.

I'm making some progress around here -- it has been slow going but I hope like taking off weight slowly that it will have lost lasting benefits.

We went over to feed "Edith" this morning, and I'm going back just to see what else I can do... I did give them a plastic crate, a few years ago, which they kept in the garage.... I COULD move it out to their front porch, and put another pillow/blanket in it! But for the Winter, that Styrofoam cooler is a great idea! GREAT idea!

I am first going to ask them "You aren't going to lock her out of the garage in the Winter, are you?"

And no, they don't care... At least their little Chihuahua dog gets to stay in the house.... even has a sweater when she goes out in the Winter!!! I'll just take that heat-mat back that I gave them, if they won't let her in the garage.

I will fix her up a nice little house, out of a styrofoam cooler, and keep it on their front porch!

You know, she wouldn't stay, even if I catnapped her! Her Mother ran away a few years ago....

We don't ever ask for money.... they used to give us a few eggs once in awhile... but they are so scatter-brained, they probably have an attention span of 4 seconds, and can't remember when one of their thoughts get going! So it's okay.... As long as they are neighborly I don't care.... Thanks guys!

Sandra, Glad to hear Mike is doing well on the chemo, but it seems you guys don't get a break(no pun intended!) You're gonna have to get him a padded suit! Hope you are doing all right with all this. You two are both definitely survivors! Gentle hugs, Jean

Giving love, attention, and respect to the individuals who share our lives and to the people who cross our paths by chance will smooth our own passage day by day.The effects of our goodness will often be felt quickly.A smile elicits a smile.Kind thoughts bless us as well as the receiver.Life events do come full circle. -unattributed

ChiSandy, Mike has a rollater (walker with seat and wheels) but it hasn't prevented the falls...merely gotten in the way as he hit the ground. Contact with it on the way down has produced numerous gouges and skin breaks but without it, the falls are worse. Although he does sometimes simply lose his balance, most of the falls are related to lightheadedness and disorientation. He doesn't move after sitting up or standing until he is sure he is ok, but it can happen minutes later for no apparent reason. He cannot respond to commands and then a few seconds later, his legs start to buckle. If I see it happening, I can grab him and hold him up. (He is so light now.) Getting him to the nearest chair or bed is a challenge because he can't walk so I drag him. He perks up 30-60 seconds after sitting down or lying down, but is weak and "wrung out" for hours afterwards. If you can ask your cardiologist husband what he thinks, it might be helpful.

Our Houston MD Anderson leukemia doc suspects the long term steroids have caused his adrenal glands to fail to come up to speed after the steroids were slowly discontinued. His Anderson cardiologist (Dr Duran) said his heart rate will go up to 188 - too high - with mild exercise so he put him on metroprolol to regulate it, but after two months the leukemia doc (Dr. Alvarado) took Mike off it. He thinks that the drug made it worse. Being off has not helped. Some days he is fine, feels strong, and can take a walk outside for a block or two. Other days he feels exhausted. Mike has never had high blood pressure. He's a 110/65 guy but has had some serious low blood pressure incidents since his brain hemorrhage 8 months ago that have caused him to be transferred to ICU twice. Our local military hospital in San Antonio transfers to ICU when it's 80/45. He's been there many times and even lower. Last November it took 5 units of fluids to get his bp up and to stop his heart from bigeminy, PVCs and PACs. Our transplant doc here in San Antonio says we should be prepared for Sudden Cardiac Death. How does one prepare for that?

Sandra, Your description almost sounds like a mini seizure. Sometimes people are just "spaced out" for a couple of minutes. Your catching him means you have gotten very strong. It's not easy, even with someone who is lightweight. I would ask the doctor how you prepare for that. What is he thinking? You guys deserve a period of no drama and peace. Hugs and healing thoughts.

Sandy.... Thanks for that added info.... My DH had just THAT happen..... Felt light headed, sat down, fell over backwards.... Then sat back up, and fell on his face.... His friends brought him back home, all bloodied, and sort of out of it....

ER told us the same thing.... Dehydration, causing all the problems... THAT and not eating right.... Filled him full of fluids, and sent us home... All the tests and scans showed nothing more... Thank God!

The tea party was a lot of fun. I had never been to one before. These are all former co-workers. Our hostess is the young woman standing second from the left.

Quiet morning here as we await our 80% chance of rain. A bit of muted sun but doubtful it will be here long. Sounds like possibilities exist for at least a week beginning today for rain. Highest chance though is today.

I will be busy with several projects and one of those is extra exercise to diminish the 4th. of July's feast of too many calories. There are some left-overs which hopefully can be spaced to keep calories at bay I hope. We enjoyed ourselves though and I do think some dietary indiscretions timed well is good. I read that somewhere and it took me all of a millisecond to believe it heart and soul.

Love all the tea party hats. What fun !! I'd have to buy a hat though if I went to a 'tea' party. It has been yrs. since I had hats of any kind. All I have are those bands with a bill/brim attached to keep the sun out of your eyes that don't crush your hair. They are perfect for this part of the country.

Hope you all had a fun or quiet happy day yesterday.

Wren, when we lived in Seattle 40+ years ago, for special Sunday occasions we used to drive all the way south on I-5 to Chehalis. There was a restaurant there called Mary McCrank's Dinner House, and it was open only for Sunday dinner. Family style—chicken, salmon, veggies, cornbread and an insanely wonderful blackberry pie (I miss those blackberry vines—we have black raspberry canes and mulberry trees, but they're not the same). Mrs. McCrank presided over it herself, hair in a bandanna, going table to table. Price was great (at least for a couple of poor grad students). The other special-occasion place was in West Seattle: Skipper's Galley. Wally Fisher (formerly exec. chef at the Olympic Hotel) was chef-owner/sole waiter. Dinner began with a bottle of bubbly (Cook's, I think), and we were given insane amounts of food to start: hors d'oeuvres galore, a bucket of mussels, shrimp, half a rock lobster each…and then out came the menu (in a large looseleaf binder). No wine list—that champagne had to last. Everything had French sauces, cheese or both. Then out came dessert: a flaming Baked Alaska. All for $20 per head. No leftovers allowed. Of course, in retrospect we're horrified by the wretched excess (this was pre-Nouvelle, much less cuisine minceur). And we usually couldn't even think about food till the next afternoon. We went back during a PNW vacation with Gordy in 1989 when he was four. Same lavish spread, by then $30 per, but by then we'd become used to Nouvelle & Spa cuisine, and felt sort of uncomfortably bloated. Not sure when the chef retired and the place closed, but when I returned solo for a SU Law Alumni meeting in 1997, it was gone.