thread for middle age to older Christian women.

Victoria, I am praying for your surgery on Aug. 27. I am assuming the date is still the same even though I know you were concerned about taking all of the lymph nodes. Let us know how you are doing?

Chris, how did your MO apt go? Did it put your mind at ease.

Lita, great news on "stable". Praying you can get your pain under control.

Jean, thank you. How's the new car working out?

Since my Y pool is closed for a couple of weeks I have been spending some fun outings with my camera. Here are some of my favorite subjects.

Have a great week dear sisters.

Love

Nancy

Hi Lynn,

Good to hear from you. Sorry to hear about your vertigo and headaches. That is what prompted my first brain MRI in November when a brain tumor was found. I have had four MRI's since then and my last one of the brain showed no growth so that challenge goes on the back burner finally. The month of March I had dizziness therapy so I can appreciate your challenges. I have allergies and have had sinus surgery in the past so when it comes to this stuff sometimes it takes a while to figure out. I am not seeing an ENT for the moment as I have had other more pressing issues. I hope you can find some relief especially before going to Hawaii again. Good to hear from you and enjoy all of your furbabies.

Love,

Nancy

Victoria, praying your surgery is over and you have good pain control. When you are able let us know how you are doing.

Mollie, welcome. Feel free to post anytime.

Have any of you read Picking Up The Pieces surviving after cancer by Magee? My social worker recommended this book and I ordered it.

Ade, how are you and James doing?

Love,

Nancy

Victoria, thankful you are recovering well at home. Praying for relief from the pain and for a quick recovery.

Nancy, beautiful pictures as always. My DGD loved them! How are you feeling?

Lita, praying for pain relief and ease of SEs today.

My onc visit went well. To be brief, stable for her means my medicine usually shrinks anything new that springs up and she doesn't want to change anything since there is no growth large enough to biopsy. Since I tolerate these meds pretty well her fear is a different medicine would cause worse SEs. So I am good with that for now. I get to travel to MO and visit my grandboys in October. She is letting me temporarily adjust my meds so I feel better while there (meaning I delay starting a new med cycle a few days until I return). This week I have my granddaughter home all day. We have established a routine where I don't get too exhausted. God is good.

Thank you Nancy. Both the El Paso and the Odessa-Midland shootings were 3 1/2 hours from us. Texas is a BIG state! It takes us a DAY to reach the northern border! However we travel the same highways as the shooter was on whenever we go to James' VA appointments and the VA center is NEXT DOOR to where the gunman was shot at the Cynergy theater. I am SO thankful we were not there yesterday - but will be going there on the 30th this month again. Thank you for thinking of us!

I am blessed to report that James and I have been actually WORKING these past 4-5 days! I can only manage to paint 2 doors (2 coats front and back) in one day before the pain gets too bad but am also painting the door trims before James puts them up. He is patching the nail gun holes and painting over them - all 2 MILLION of them! So little by little, as we can - we ARE making progress! Since we are into September now and have about a month more work to do we may just winter here (NO Hurry for the ice & snow up north!) unless THE house becomes available in Ohio.

Nancy - just wondering if you filed the INTENT TO FILE with your mom's VA application. The benefits are paid RETROACTIVE to THAT date regardless of when you actually submit the claim. I plan to do that today for ours. The claim form number is 21-0966. Your name & social goes on the first as the preparer and hers is the 2nd. There are some You Tube videos on that. It can be a SUBSTANTIAL amount of back pay if you do it.

I am keeping up with you all on here and praying for your needs, but just haven't had the extra energy to post.

Blessings upon your Sunday, Ladies,

Ade

Ade, glad to hear from you. I am glad you are making good progress. Staying over winter sounds like a good plan. I am glad you were not near the shooter. I was pretty sure I had heard you either speak of Odessa or Midland in the past so that was probably when mentioning the VA clinic.

I did do the intent to file and that was in June. The actual application was received just recently. The delay was actually because my advocate forgot to give me a form and by the time I got that form a couple of weeks transpired and that required my Mom's signature. So I did realize that if approved it will be retroactive to that date in June. I am praying her money does not run out before she actually gets any benefit.

I am not sure how complicated your application is but I am imagining it is quite burdensome as the one I did for my Mom. I don't know if you have the advantage of having a VA advocate who can help you on this but I remember saying to mine that I don't know how people do this on their own. There were parts of the application I could have gone down a path that would have taken me a good part of the summer to acquire documents and evidence and he basically said they don't want that. However there are new forms as of October and these were apparently quite a bit different than previous ones. I just hope he knows what he is talking about. I think my cousin did her application on her own when filing for my Mom's sister but I am not certain about that. I hope you can figure it all out. At the time my advocate told me you have one year after filing the intent to file to complete the application but I imagine you already know that. Of course I don't know if that is the same for your situation or not. My BIL ended up getting one of the State representatives involved and that really lit a fire under the VA and he got action definitely to his benefit. Praying James will be able to get the same result.

Our sisters in the path of Dorian.............praying for you.

Teka, I hope you didn't do any damage to your eye. Resting sounds like a good plan.Yesterday I was weeding on my patio on my knees and lost my balance and fell into my brick patio wall. Initially I thought I broke my pinky finger. I hit my knuckles and it looked like I had punched someone! I just have a bruised pinky but otherwise intact. I had JUST talked to a neighbor at the grocery store not an hour before and she paid her bill by using her fancy watch. I said I would like one of those too. She said you should have one in case you fall. I just said I am NOT going to fall. Oh well.

Have a safe weekend dear sisters. I am planning on facing my fears and planning a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden to visit their Butterfly Exhibit as Monday will be the last day of the season. The traffic can be hair raising for sure but I am going for it. I need prayers!!

Love,

Nancy

Teka, glad your eye is feeling better. Wow, that is some huge beautiful morning glory. I don't think I will be petting any bees anytime soon but I can get a little closer to them when taking pics without as much fear as I used to.

I did make it to the Chicago Botanic Garden without any problems other than I imagine my blood pressure was elevated quite a few times!!! I was telling my social worker what a big deal this was for me to take this solo drive into the metro Chicago area. I was the victim of a gang crime many years ago when I was on my way to my very first wedding gig as a clarinetist in a quintet. I was a passenger with my friend driving. We came to a stop light and this guy walked very slowly in front of our car. In the meantime which I didn't realize another guy was coming from behind the car and probably with a baseball bat broke the window where I was sitting and I had glass shatter all over me. I really thought that was the end of us. My friend gunned it and I remember hearing the tires squealing as we raced around the corner. She thought I had been shot but I was okay. She saw the guy grab my purse but in my reflex to protect my head I just put my hand over my head and didn't even see him take the purse. My clarinet reeds were in my purse and it was a terrifying experience which actually went on for some time as they had my car keys, apt keys and my drivers license so they knew where I lived. The police said many times they will go back and try to rob the house. I did play the wedding that day.......another long story. So going solo to this place was a huge victory over fear for me. My social worker was saying that this type of trauma can cause reactions years later.

Continued prayers for our ladies in the path of the hurricane.

Here is one photo from yesterday.

Chris, yes it was terrifying and the fear continued for a long time wondering if this gang would find my apt. at that time and do more harm.

As we see footage from the Bahamas it is just hard to comprehend the devastation and suffering. We pray for our friends in the Carolinas from this thread as the hurricane seems to be gaining strength and hitting land in the next couple of days. Praying for protection and provision.

I found out today that one of my cousin's wife had a heart attack and died. She was only 75 and we are all in shock as this was totally unexpected.

I resumed my swimming today after the pool being closed for so long. I cannot tell you how great it feels after getting in a swim session. I am so grateful as it has been a difficult summer for me.

Take care dear sisters.

Love,

Nancy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SNIJU73t8k

There you go Joanne. A good song and a good word. Glad to see you posting.

I am recovering from my second shingles vaccine I got yesterday.

Love,

Nancy

Jack-Bear, My 4 year-old granddaughter lives with me (with her mom and my DH) and I know there will come the day when I need to share with her also. She knows Nana doesn't always feel well and sometimes she can't sit on me and I can't always jump up when she wants me to. She seems to accept this fine as we cuddle and play together as often as I can. I try to stay positive but realistic. I often think of how to tell her and her three cousins someday (ages 5 and under) and pray God will lead me and give me the words when the time comes. In the meantime I pray that my actions everyday shows her my faith and that it sustains me.

Welcome Nancy B. That was a great verse to share with your GS. I am sorry for the loss in your family. Yes. the hope we have in eternity will make up for all the loss that we feel on this earth.

Feel free to post anytime.

Love,

Another Nancy

All-- Check out this Thread ASAP

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...

Beautiful, Nancy- Thank you! (Love the little fawn.)

I pray you all have a blessed week ahead and all of your news is GREAT!

Hugs,

Ade