Starting Chemo in JAN 2007

Hi gals,

Posting quick this morning while the coffee's brewing;

Nancy, WAY TO GO, that is such excellent news. I so know how you feel, for me it was like having an anvil lifted off my chest. I'm so glad you have the all clear sign. I guess the liver enzymes meant squat!



Caya I hope those headaches stop for you really soon. It's no fun taking Tylenol all day, either. Those Webkinz are kind of cute, my little nieces all have them and I even bought the tiger one as a present for a friend who collects tigers. Although I had two boys they loved stuffed animals and would take them outside and play war games with them. They even had boy Cabbage Patch dolls. I still have them. Of course they also had all the Transformers and Star Wars figures. But we used to just get on our bikes and disappear for the day like you when we were kids. It was so much fun to have that freedom. We used to play in an old quarry, put on neighborhood fairs in our back yard, and played baseball games that no parents ever bothered to attend. Unimaginable now.



And now for my hopeful news. DS2 called a trusted friend of his from college about his situation. He's a guy who needs to vent. Anyway his friend Matt told him he had what sounded exactly like the same thing a few years ago, and it was some kind of subdermal infection of something that is in those male structures, producing a small, hard lump that would not go away until he got antibiotics. Like DS2's, it was right under the skin. I immediately felt the anvil lift about halfway just to know now there is something else it COULD be, and I know DS is feeling better too. He will still get it checked out with the ultrasound of course because with our family history now we don't trust anything, but it makes such a difference to have good reason to hope.



Anyway,,. it will make the weekend a whole lot more bearable. Nancy I know it will be the same at your house. Hope it's a good one for you all too. - skye

Nancy~ fabulous, wonderful, happy news!!!!Yipppeeeee!!!!!

Skye, I will hold out hope that your DS has an 'easy fix' for that lump. I like the sound of a subdermal infection that an antibiotic could address.

Lynn, my younger daughter went through about 1 1/2 years of pure contrariness in high school. It was a time of torment for me. Truly in retrospect, I was more fearful of losing my daughter than losing my life last year.

I just held on tight, told her I was NOT going to lose her to some of the situations her cousins had fallen into and some of her friends. I would quit my job and go with her to school everyday if I needed to. I talked to a couple of her closest friends. Told them that I understood the life a teenager, the experiments and the way teenagers keep things from parents. But they needed to know that if my daughter was doing something that was truly life threatening, I expected them to come talk to me. To be a true friend, they needed to stand up for the total health and well-being of their friend, my daughter. That if something did happen and they were aware and did nothing, they'd have to face me later. And it wouldn't be what I said to them but what their own hearts would say that would hurt so much. They were totally startled that I would talk to them so openly but I was desperate.

It was shortly after that she started to come out of the dark place she was in. I don't know  what the turning point was. We've never really gone back and 'de-briefed' that time. I was just so thankful that she never did fall so far she didn't come out. I'll ask Abby and see if she has any hints.

Kids...my daughters thought Dave and I were so very over-the-top strict. We wouldn't let them watch The Simpsons. Or Married WIth Children. I told them that people in general and teenagers specifically were all too easily influenced into having snarky attitudes. Those shows just seemed to be nothing but flip conversation and attitudes. We blocked MTV from the cable because I did not want them to think that it was okay for men to do the things that was portrayed in the songs and videos. As females, they had a right to expect respect.  "But Mom, we can see these things at our friends' houses." "You do what you think is right. In our home, you know what's right."

They still grumble about some of it but they also have personal expectations, expectations for friends that reflect a level of personal integrity and health. They don't tolerate bad behavior from others. I like that.

Oh and books, I can't even get started on a book discussion. I won't stop! Let me just say that they did reissue the Trixie Belden books about 6 years ago so you might find those yet. And I loved Nancy. And Laura Ingalls.  sigh..........books, my house is overflowing now. I really need to make a donation somewhere. Or buy a couple more bookshelves.

Happy Saturday everyone. I'm going to get all my laundry done with my new machines. They're so quiet. It's fun to do the laundry. I figure that will last about a week and then it will go back to being a drag. 

hugs to everyone from here in Iowa.....

Cindy 

Hi Ta Tas,

Well after 3 rounds of Tylenol 3's yesterday the headache finally lifted late last night and I had a pretty good night's sleep.  This morning I had a manicure - my nails are so crappy from the Herceptin - but at least they look good with the polish.

Skye- So glad your DS has another possibility now- Hopefully you can get this all looked after early next week and then you can all rest easier.

Amera - yes definitely look into getting a housecleaner - even once every other week makes a big difference.

Cindy - Trixie Belden? Wow there's a name from the past.  I also loved Laura Ingalls, and does anyone remember a series of books with the heroine named Betsy, her best friends were Tish and Tacy? and she had a boyfriend named Joe - I think they all might have lived in Milwaukee. Betsy had a lot of writing ability and later became a writer.  Anne of Green Gables is practically a religion up here in Canada, and I read the entire series by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  Those are great books for girls Amera, Jan and Rebecca - I'd say around age 9 or 10.

Tonight I'm going to see a movie (Miss Pettigrew something) with a friend and then out for dinner.  We FINALLY got some warm weather, I may take a walk to the post office now that the sun is out.

Oh and BTW -  I was the "meanest, strictest" mother ever - totally did not allow my girls to wear inappropriate tight, short, low cut clothes when they were 11 - now when they're 16, it's a little more difficult to rein them in, but hey, what can you do?

xo

Hi all,

Nancy,

I am so happy for you. That is great news!! We always expect the other foot to drop, it is so nice hearing good news. Now go and celebrate.

Lynn,

Hugs to you. Those years are so hard and bumpy. I know I got quite a few gray hairs when my kids were that age. I also was a hellion. Now I see it was probably much harder on my parents than it was on me. I am glad Ally agreed to see a therapist. She might open up to her easier than her parents. We wish they would tell us everything, but sometimes it is too difficult for them to tell us. I know you can’t see this now, but she WILL grow out of this. Is she willing to get some private tutoring? I had a tutor for both my kids in math in the 9th and 11th grade and it really helped. They both didn’t think they needed it and hated it, but they went from almost failing to B’s. We also had my son tutored in chemistry in his Junior year. They would never admit it, but their self-esteem seemed to improve.

Skye,

It is hard worrying about our kids, especially their health. I am glad your son talked to his friend and he could see that it might be something less problematic. My son also had an infection a few years ago and antibiotics fixed it. I am surprised though that his doc doesn’t look at it first. My son went to the urologist first and after looking at it, he automatically knew what it was.

I thought only pre-existing illnesses had a waiting period. You should check that out.

Will write more later.

Love,

Viddie

Hi all,

Caya,

I am glad you are feeling better. A bad headache is the pits. My nails are also messed up. They are very short and brittle. It is nice to get a manicure every now and then.





I do not know if anyone recalls that I was having problems with my toenails. They hurt and I wasn’t sure if it was fungus or the results of the taxol. I went to a podiatrist last week and he said that 3 toenails were ingrown. He clipped them and now I am 100% better. He said that when I almost lost my nails due to the taxol, they grew back in an inward fashion and dug into my skin. They never got infected, but they might have if I had continued to ignore it.



I was also a very strict parent. My kids could tell you stories. When my dd’s bf slept over one night (they were Juniors in HS), I put a bell on the doorknob in the extra bedroom where he slept. That room was next to ours. Meri was so mad and embarrassed.

When my son was a senior and we found some wine in his car, we took his car away for a month and drove him to work every day. He was mortified.

My best story was when we would not allow him attend a Phish concert in Ct. All his friends went except him. We told him that if he went we would take his car away permanently and he knew my dh was serious. That weekend, he went around the house hiding all our pictures of him and us together and would not speak to us for 3 long weeks. It was so hard, but eventually he spoke to us.




One more- the hardest- we pulled him out of Boston College at the end of his Sophomore year because he only had a 2.0 cum and my dh told him when he got accepted he had to maintain a 3.0. We made him transfer to a State College. I do not know if he will ever forgive us for that. My dh didn’t think we should pay 35,000 a year if my ds could not keep up the pace. He would try to justify his marks by telling us that most kids at BC went to private hs’s and were better prepared and they used a bell scale. Interestingly, he graduated UMass with a 3,8. Once again he would never admit, but I know he felt proud.

It seems quite a few of us were “mean parents.” According to my kids, we were the meanest parents around.

I better end this. Now I am rambling on.

Love,

Viddie

Oh, God, so many things I want to comment on (what else is new?)!  Amera, I have the same exact take on Junie B. Jones.  I get such a laugh out of Jaclyn's expression at Junie's flip comments.  I didn't notice so much that her grammar was bad either.  She is just more of a "tell it like it is" girl. 

Viddie, totally agree w/Ed.  If your kid isn't 100% towing the mark, you can't be paying that kind of money for tuition.

Lynn, I did see a few therapists as a teen and the ultimate thing I got out of them was that I felt like the clock was cha-chinging.  I stil got an undergrad. degree minor in psych. because I find it so interesting, but I'm kind of a believer that the answers are within yourself.  Just my feeling.

Had a great day!  Paul had game #1 of his basketball tournament and they won!  They went on to game #2 at 4 pm and won again.  Against the #2 team.  They were #7.  Score was 25-24.  It was a nailbiter.  Funniest thing:  at the am game Paul mangled his finger and it totally swelled up.  (not the funny part)  At the end of the second game his face turned all red and he was starting to cry.  I couldn't tell if it was pain from his finger or tears of joy.  It was tears of joy.  He is succcccchhh a good kid, such a sensitive boy....and not in a woosy way.  I just love him to death!  OK....nuff bragging!

Cindy, I loved the Little House on the Prairie tv series.  Never read the books.  I try to get my kids interested in the reruns, but they aren't into it.  I could never get into Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms.  Seemed way too in the olden days for me.  That's prob. what my kids think of LHOP.

Joni, yes...  Sharon and Robbin...where are ya?  Hope all is well.  Mel, you too.  Where have you been this weekend?

OK..we've got game #3 tomorrow at 1pm.  If they win that, it's the final of four at four!  Boy, will I be so happy for him if they ever won that.  Esp. with this being his last sports season here in OH.

Hi Ladies,

Just booted the menfolk, DH, DS and Grendel out the door to visit the outlaws and get some non-bald tires for DH's car. Ah, the lovely quiet! I actually might have enjoyed going too but have work to do if I want to go to Baltimore.



Mel, I hope your dh is also getting some nice R&R today, sounds like he really needs it. Mine had to put in six hours yesterday and then take me grocery shopping as I still can't unload the cart onto the conveyor belt. I guess my arms will just always be like this.



Caya glad you are better and how was the movie? Manicure sounds nice.

Viddie that's great you got your toenail problem cleared, now you are all ready for sandal weather right?

Amera I'm like you, thinking about looking into a housekeeper. Wish I could have one come before Easter.



My take on Junie B. Jones...the year I was librarian at the K-8 school, those books were very popular and my reaction was to use them as a teaching point rather than discouraging anyone from reading something he or she enjoyed. I'd ask the kids what they thought about the way Junie talked (answers can be hilarious), why she might have used the words she did, how it's different from the way we learn to talk in school, how she might say things a different way, etc. Mostly, I think the kids recognize it's just Junie and it's what makes her funny. Although I must say I always preferred the Ramona series.



Hopefully we can get DS2 in for his ultrasound this week. He has tomorrow off so I'm going to have him try to get in, first thing. My birthday is Thursday and dh is taking off to take me to Gurnee Mills for shopping and lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. I can't even remember my birthday last year, being 3 weeks into Taxol at the time. Then another celebration when everyone comes over on Easter. Love and hugs to all - Skye

Hello Ta Tas,

Mel - great that your MRI was clear.

The movie I saw last night was "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day"  - very cute, kind of screwball comedy/romance, starring Frances McDormand as the Mary Poppinsish Miss Pettigrew and Amy Adams (Enchanted) as the silly starlet she takes charge of.  Light and frothy, a great diversion.

Mary - great that you're coming on the trip.. I guess there about 10 -12 of us going for sure.  I really am looking forward to it, it's going to be so much fun meeting in person.

Gorgeous day here today, I just picked up a few groceries this morning, I am planning to bake a vanilla cake for DD's birthday which is March 23, having the family over for dinner on Friday night.

Skye - Happy Birthday in advance, glad you are going out to celebrate this year... wishing you many more healthy and happy ones in the future.  Keep us posted on DS, the Ta Ta Fretting Posse is right there with ya'!

Hi Girls,

I took my first Effexor XR today and within an hour, I was feeling jittery.  I think I read that this particular s/e only lasts a few days?  Please let me know because I don't think I could handle it if it would always be like this.  Also, I was yawning up a storm...geesh.  That is also a side effect...not sure if it's because I didn't sleep well last night or I was yawning because of the drug.  Anyone else experience this...did it go away?

Tina,



Paul’s team was on such a winning streak. They deserved to win. If Paul is very sociable, he will have no problem adjusting, even though it will seem hard for him at first. Kids are very adaptable.

Caya,

The movie sounded like a fun relaxing movie- the kind I like.

Skye,

Happy Birthday in advance. It is fun to do something special on your Birthday.

I also love the “quiet” every now and then. Ed is home all the time, and I rejoice when he goes out.

I am sending positive energy to your ds.

Mel,

Congrats on your clear MRI. I love good news. Hopefully your dh and you had some special R & R this weekend.

Mary,

I am so glad you and your dh are coming to Vegas with us. I can’t wait to meet everyone.

Melia,

You asked about Ed’s retirement. He had a small business that he sold around 8 years ago to one of his employees. Instead of a cash buy-out, he paid Ed for five years a decent salary that would amount to what we thought the business was worth. He also paid our health insurance as part of the deal until Ed reached 62. Ed thought he could collect Medicare at that age- that was a mistake: it was 65. Oops! We made arrangements to stay on the health insurance until Ed turned 65- we paid of course. Now Ed is on Medicare and I am on Cobra until December.

Ed went back to college and got two Masters degrees- one in Spiritual Direction and one is a Master of Divinity. The plan was to work as a spiritual advisor in Boston, but he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in May, the year he graduated.

After his Whipple surgery, chemo and radiation, he was wiped out. The thought of commuting to Boston everyday was too much at the time. It still is. Cape Cod isn’t too big on new concepts, so there are not any job opportunities here in his field. I guess that is when he realized that he was in retirement. Oy- that’s all I can say.

He is doing great now, although he does tire pretty easily. He is a miracle case-the survival rate is only 2% after 5 years. This is Ed’s 5th year. He was very lucky. It was diagnosed very early, so the surgery was able to get it all out.

Here I am rambling again.

I hope everyone has a great night.

Love,

Viddie

Ed is so lucky.  I'm so glad for you, Viddie.  It sounds as though Patrick Swayze's was as well and I hope he makes out OK.  It's a tough one.  They it's pretty symptomless initially.  Oh, Viddie, I meant to tell you a thousand times that upping your Effexor to two pills just after a few days was too soon.  I was advised to wait two weeks, but waited until 3.  I was still too jumpy at two weeks.  Lynn, I'd wait a bit, esp. considering that you are having the same reaction.

I have my MRI at 10:45.  I'm stressing out and I don't know why.  I guess it's because I've been told it's totally precautionary, just "checking", etc. and that's basically the verbage I was told when intially dx'd.  I totally need an Atiman.  I've come to hate being stuck in that tube.

I think I forgot to say yesterday that the realtor called and said that the people who were here for 40 minutes on Sat. wanted to make an offer and wanted to know when I would give posession, to which I said asap.  Later found out that they have a house to sell, which blew the wind out of my sails pretty quickly.  They are supposed to make an offer today.  I can't accept a contingency, so we'll see...

Hi guys, survived my MRI.  It was very long, like an hour and surprisingly, they did both sides.  I was under the impression it would just be my reconstruction.  Sounded like machine guns going off for an hour.  Other than that, I was pretty relaxed.  I prefer MRI's where you lie on your stomach.  Easier to keep your eyes shut and forget where you are.  Prelim. results are avl. within 24 hours and a full read within 72.  I found out that Dr. Spigos, the old Greek guy, head of radiology, who read my u/s last week and my MRI last year will be the one to read this too.  I like the continuity.  I am hoping like hell that I get an all clear.

Wed. is the cardiologist but I'm not as anxious about that.  Don't know why.  Quite frankly, these days I don't know which condition I should be more concerned about.

Offer didn't come in today but their realtor asked for our property disclosure form, so...  fingers crossed.  Need to run out and do the PSR (CCD) carpool at 7:30.

Skye, sucks about DS getting tangled up in that catch 22.  The dentists in FL do that.  Won't let you get your teeth cleaned without coming in for a separate exam w/the dentist first.  Won't let you do back to back appts.  SUCH a stupid rule...used to totally p me off, esp. w/me and two kids.  Unfortunately, your DS has to play ball with them (no pun intended there)...

My BS's NP called me this am at 7:40...knocked me outta bed.  She is sooo good.  I left her a msg. yesterday to be on the lookout for my results and call me asap as I am unusually anxious for some reason.  She called to say she got my msg. and would look through out the day and get me at home or on my cell.  I love her.  So nice to have an ace in the hole in your doctors office.

Kids are doing OK, Caya, w/out DH.  They did have one "overtired" argument in the car last night on the way home from CCD.  Got out of hand and I ended up screaming at the top of my lungs at them while driving, which is always good.  Then my cell rings and it's the DH wondering what my problem is.  Good thing he was 400 some odd miles away.  Boy, they get a short memory when they get a break from the kids.

I really have a lot to do to get ready to go but all I want to do is sit and wait for the phone to ring.  Stupid, I know.  This is why we call it scanxiety.

Great news Tina.  Glad you got the all clear.  I hope your appointment with the cardiologist goes well too.

It would be nice if the house deal went through tonight or tomorrow as well.

xo

Thanks, guys.  House people countered with an April 11 close, which will be a tight squeeze.  Not gonna stress over that tonight.  I've had enough stress the last few days.  I'll figure it out somehow.