For those starting chemo in June

Gosh, I sure thought I'd posted somethign here a few days ago, but it doesn't seem to have shown up. Ah well.....

NL, wonderful to have you back on the boards.

 Not much up here. Working July 4, so I guess I'll miss out on the fireworks (but, really, I hate crowds and don't go anyway. Sometimes we watch them from the roof at work)

 Just stopped in to say hi and wish you all a great week.  

Jo-Anne,

Good luck tomorrow.  The fear of the unknown, the lst one is the worst.  After that it becomes old hat and you go to the appointment just like you do any other.  Sometimes the meds make you sleepy and you sleep through it, depending on your individual "cocktail."  Sometimes you chat with others if someone else is near and often there is.  The chemo rooms usually have individual TVs to watch.  You also can eat, drink, be merry or read.   Janie

Everyone have a great holiday!  Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi girls. Mary, I hope you have a great outing. Very cool about the birdhouses. I hope you sell themm all. Tomatoes? Yum. We didn't grow any this year since the stupid dogs always eat them. Too heartbreaking.... 

Nothing much happening here. The dog days are upon us. Hubby, son and I are headed to Fort Worth in a couple weekends  to celebrate DH's 50th. Looking forward to that. Of course, I'm obsessively "researching" on priceline and hotwire.... 

Hey girls, hope you two have great trips and enjoy it. We are off again tomorrow until Sat. night. I have been making jewelry to get caught back up. Oh! Thats Susan G.K. yea, I hit the wrong key I guess. Sometimes I get going too fast and apparently read right over things when I proof read. My brain is frazzled. I have to clean the house a bit today and pack up again. Later and have a great time girls. Happy B-day to hubby P.J. Mare

Hey girls, hope all is fine. We are busy making stuff because we have sold quite a bit. Lost an old friend again. B.C. then went to colon and last her lungs. She fought a very long and brave battle. She raised, Oh gosh, some 20 or 30 kids. She was actually a very good friend of my moms. She had a very big heart. I hope all your trips were great. I have to get busy because we start this festival tomorrow (Wed) and it runs through Sat. Later girls, Mare

Janie, have a good time and enjoy yourself. Hi to P.J. and N.L. Later, Mare

Hey all, hope everyone is fine and has a great wk. end. Janie, dad refused to see the eye specialist because he just as well shoot himself if he can't drive but I explained if he gets the surgery he can drive in the daytime in town, only until his license expire though. He agreed to go but who knows. I didn't bring up the part about the surgery may not help, he forgot about that. I will deal with that if that happens. When do you go back to school? We took next wk. end off to get a little rest from all the pack and run crap.  We have had one wk. end all summer without rain.One! its like a rain forest and the lushness makes the allergies really bad. It was cold enough for a jacket Fri. and my arth. flared up from the cold and dampness. Oh well I gripe about the snow too. I have to get laundry done so later. Hope everyone is fine. Mare

Hey Janie, carpal tun. is very painful. I have worn a brace off and on for it but mine is not real bad  and hasn't bothered me for some time but some of my friends and family have had it operated on and that really helps. I guess you get numbness when it gets bad and it can cause some shoulder  pain. Good luck with it and gosh, you have to write a lot, thats gotta be painful. Hows your shaking? Has the meds. helped? I hope so. Mine gets better when I don't use my arms as much so I think the bad shoulders may be playing a part in it. I feel a lot better since my thyroid is under control. Wow, it feels good to feel good again after all that time. Sorry I complained about it so much but I sure got the run around with it. Well, I sure wish you luck with the wrist. It is really hard to see your parents failing when they were always so strong. Not much you can do about it. Its really a head banger when they are so he#l bent on doing what they want even though its bad for them. Wasn't there a song The Head Banger's Ball or something like that? The things that come to memory are amazing and I can never find my glasses or keys! Mare

Janie,sorry about your dad. My grandma had Alz. and it was heart breaking, she died at 62 and my mom at 63 so thats kinda scary since they say you can base your life expectancy on your mom. Heck I will be lucky to make to 62 but I am a trying! This brace can be bought at Wally and hubby and I both have one. He has C.P. that flares up quite often with his sawing. It is called a wrist brace and can be worn on either hand and sometimes you have it in both wrist. It has a strap that goes over the thumb and the brace part goes over the wrist and velcros on. It hurts a little if its too tight but you can loosen it. It (and I couldn't believe it) makes it feel better in a day or two. I would wear mine for about a wk. and it would go away and sometimes a couple wks. but it really works. It won't get rid of it but mine hasn't bothered me for a couple years now. The corpal tun. is a mass that puts pressure on the nerve so when they remove it, it is gone and all back to normal. I think they say it is painful for about a wk. or 2. I think it depends on pain tollerance and you can't use it for a wk. or 2 but they come up with new procedures everyday so it may be really quick and easy by now. If you ask the Pharm. at Wally or Wallgreens they can show  you the braces. I know friends that type a lot, run cash regesters and write or lift have them. My cousin had 3 off and on, she would have one removed and get another. She was a nurse. They can cause trembling too sometimes. Good luck. Hi too everyone and have a great wk. end. Mare

Hey girls, hope all is well. We are off tomorrow a.m. and back late Sat. night. We were taking this wk. off but decided to do a fest. and take next wk. end off instead. I have to get the camper ready and watch a couple grandkids then take my dad to the Dr. in Springfield this afternoon. He has to see the endocronologist about his thyroid. Stay cool and have a great day. Hugs, Mare

You have a good trip P.J. and I get a little tired of it too. It really wears us out and I think the 100++ heat index does a lot of that. I think it is going to be 110 with hunidity this wk. end. Oh how nice! If the humidity would stay down it wouldn't be so bad. Well I have to get so everyone have a nice wk. end. Hugs, Mare

Hey ladies,

 IF you are reading this, you must be back from your trips.  I hope they were enjoyable.  PJ, yes the budget cuts were really bad in my system.  I never dreamed in a million years that psychologists would actually lose their jobs.  Others did too, but they were able to go back to other positions..... like coordinators returned to the classroom teaching.  My caseload was ridiculous last year.  It has been increased by 50% as well as other added duties regarding the recent Pyramid of Interventions mandates sweeping the country.  My role has drastically changed, but I still do a lot of report writing, thus the probable carpal tunnel.  I see about that tomorrow. 

Everyone stay well and happy.  Hugs.  Janie

Hey Mary et al,

The hand is about the same.  He is sending me for x-rays and scans.  He said he always does when someone has had cancer although he does not think it is metatasis.  I do not either because it is not constant and also, I can account for why it hurts --- to the tune of 40 page reports per child with who even knows how many I did last year.  Anyway, he gave me some topical inflammatories because I cannot take them orally by order of a past gastrologist.  So it is still wait and see as far as knowing for sure what it is.  Wish you had been able to do better, but at least you didn't go in the hole. 

Janie

Hi P.J., hope your vacation was great. Kinda lousy to come back to that kinda news though. I hope everything works out, Ops, gotta get. I have to go to eye spec. with dad. Hi Janie and all. Hugs, Mary