thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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UPDATE: My scans show I'm stable. We're thankful, but will trust and praise God, even when...
There's a song by Hillsong United titled, "Even When it Hurts". It's on my "go to sleep" playlist, It's a wonderful song. On the same playlist, I have the song by Bethel Music & Kristene DiMarco titled, "It is Well (Live)".
I never thought I'd enjoy going to a concert with thousands of people (I'm not a crowd lover), but when I heard a live recording of Hillsong and heard ALL OF THOSE VOICES raised in praise, I decided I would go. It was AMAZING! It made me think of what heaven will be like, except with millions, not thousands, of voices raised in praise.
Love, prayers and blessings to all. (Nancy, I'm thinking about you and lifting you up in prayer.)
Carol
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Carol, Praise God for the good results. Stable is good. I love your song choices, and yes, I am waiting the day when I get to sing praises to God with all the hoards of people and angels.
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Amen to Faith's prayer, praising God for Carol's stable scan, praying for Chris' scan tomorrow and to feel good for the rest of her son's visit, and a negative covid test for Nancy. Nancy, you must feel VERY loved! I am thankful for all of the help offers for you. Great scripture! 5 years ago tomorrow I had my bilateral mastectomy and I thank the Lord for no more cancer so far.
This was tonight -
Love Ade
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Chris, praying for good results on your scan. I know these infusions are not easy for you. Yes God is good in helping me know that there are many out there willing to help me out.
Carol, I am so happy that things are stable for you. Praise God. I think I have told you before that I absolutely love Hillsong United. When I bought their documentary movie I just fell in love with them and have been big fans ever since. I love Taya Smith. I don't know her married name but she is to me the epitome of a worship leader. They have been in Chicago on tour before and I would so love to see them but going into the city is a challenge and I would not attempt it in this climate that we are in right now. Of course because of Covid it will probably be a long time before they will be touring again. That is so neat that you got to hear them live. Thank you for your prayers. My Covid test came back negative so it is a green light for my surgery on Wed. I have to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am and surgery will be at 7:30 am. I have to drink my last 12 oz of Gatorade at 3 am. You all know what I morning person I am NOT so this should be interesting. Maybe being half asleep will be a good thing.
Have a good week everyone.
Love,
Nancy
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How did your two posts creep in before mine. LOL I was just about to shut down my laptop and saw Chris and Ade's post.
Yes, Chris singing with the heavenly choir will be amazing. One day we will all get to meet each other in person!!!!
Ade, congrats on five years out. That is always a great milestone. That sunset is just gorgeous. We don't see anything quite like that around here. Yes, my Covid test was negative but you already know that by now probably. LOL I must type slowly!!
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Echoing Ade’s prayer, praise God for Carol’s good scan, praying that Chris also has good scan results. Soooooo happy to hear all the offers of help for Nancy. It really takes a weight off my mind.
Ade, congratulations on your five year anniversary. What a beautiful sunset. Yes, God is good and I also am looking forward to singing his praises with the heavenly choir.
My Christmas was okay but would have been better without a bad toothache. A visit to the dentist today confirmed I will need a root canal and then a crown. The dentist gave me an antibiotic and I pray it doesn’t do bad things to my intestines, as can happen. My appointment book is filling up, not in a good way, a Pet Scan on January 7th and a root canal hopefully sometime before my DH’s knee replacement on January 21st.
Nancy, you will be in my prayers that all goes well on Wednesday and you get some sleep on Tuesday night.
Love and prayers,
Faith (in the future)
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FAITH, have you had a root canal before? I've had a few and they're not that bad. I found the hardest part was keeping my mouth open for so long. The last one I had was at a place walking distance from my house (yay). The dentist and his assistant were amazing. They hardly talked, but she kept handing him exactly what he needed. Talk about a well-oiled team. I commented on it when they were finished. I guess they've been working together for a long time.
Anyway, I wish you well. Toothaches are no fun, so I hope you feel better soon.
Nancy, you'll remain in my prayers. I'm sorry you have to be there so early, but maybe that's better than say, 11:00 AM, where you have to wait all morning. I hope you can get some restful sleep tonight.
(((hugs))) my dear friends.
Carol
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Carol, I'm glad that the scans show stability. Those are good results. I too really like "It Is Well." And that shot of the Orion Nebula is amazing!
Faith, I hope you are not in too much pain. Tooth and nerve pain are awful. Hopefully your dental appointment is sooner than later.
Nancy, I am so thankful that you have a bevy of helpers. You may not need them, but it's reassuring that they are available if you do. I'm praying that everything goes well tomorrow.
A quick update on my mother: she was able to move out of COVID isolation and back to her apartment yesterday. Praise Jesus for answered prayers! He is so good!
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Faith, praying you will not be in pain and that your will tolerate the antibiotics for your upcoming root canal. You have a lot on your plate and I will be praying for all of those things.
Hershey, so glad to hear your Mom is back in her apartment now. Praying that most of the residents will be able to get their vaccines soon. I know your Mom has to wait 90 days on that but having protection around he will certainly help.
Everyone thank you for your prayers. They mean so much to me.
I bet some you could hear me yelling no,no,no about a million times a few minutes ago. I was watering and fertilizing my orchids which I have babied along for months and most are still living. Long story short I don't know what happened but one of my repotted orchids fell on my newly mopped floor and completely came out of it's pot with very wet bark everywhere. If you had any idea how I have babied these plants along you would understand my horror. So will it live? Will my floor every look like it did this morning nice and shiny? Will I live? One more thing to be thankful it wasn't worse. One more thing I can maybe laugh at later!!
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I have only one thing to say about my surgery tomorrow. I hope non of these things happen. The bottom one may take a second to soak in.
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Faith - praying your root canal will be a piece of cake and hubby's knee surgery will be too.
Hershey - so glad about your mom. You have to be elated about now. God is SO good!
Nancy - no worries. You are in God's capable hands, He will direct your medical team and even the 'robot surgeon' for you. I do hope your orchid will survive, but my prayers are for you. Rest in God's peace and power and love tonight. You and God HAVE this! ( just heard last night that a recent UK study showed virtually NO covid germs in the hospitals' air!)
Love & prayers,
Ade
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Guessing she is out of recovery and into her room by now. Praying for pain relief and quick healing without complications. (and like you all, awaiting an update)
Love,
Ade
P.S. We (southwest Texas) are getting SLAMMED with a freak snowstorm with up to EIGHTEEN INCHES by the end of it! We don't even HAVE snow plows here, but it will all be as normal by the weekend I'm sure. Yes, there are actually mountains across the road...somewhere.
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I live in Illinois not far from Nancy, we had 3-4 inches of snow and sleet yesterday and last night. I sure hope Nancy made it to the hospital with no problems this morning. I’m sure we are all anxiously awaiting news of her surgery and praying for her.
Faith
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JO, thank you for the update! I've been hovering here, as I imagine many of us have been to check on Nancy. Will continue to pray.
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Yes Jo, thanks for the update. Will continue to pray for her complete recovery and no cancer lurking anywhere. I'm confused by the mention of caustic exposure to the lungs. Does that have to do with the oxygen saturation or a previous surgery? Praising God that the surgery is done and signs look good for her complete recovery. I hope there is someone who can check on her Cammie. I'm sure Nancy must be concerned about her.
Thanks again for the update,
Faith.
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I am praising God for this great preliminary report for Nancy and will continue to pray she receives the help she needs.
I also have a praise...my scans say stable and show no suspicious activity of disease anywhere. That is huge for us with Stage IV and I am praising God for the outcome. I will remain on this medicine to keep things stable and will have to continue to deal with the side effects which are not fun, but it means I will still be around a bit longer. I was diagnosed four and one-half years ago and attended a healing service a couple of months later. I believe God touched me then and I praise Him for His faithfulness.
Blessings on the New Year. Chris
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JO, thank you for posting the updates. I'm glad that surgery is over and the doctors are keeping Nancy in the hospital for an extra day or two. Continuing prayers for her speedy recovery and favorable biopsy results.
Chris, thanking God for your stable scan results. So happy that your medications are working well.
Ade, that is a pretty impressive snowfall. Eighteen inches, wow! I hope you and James didn't have too much shoveling to do afterwards.
Wishing everyone a safe New Year!
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So relieved to get the update on Nancy! Thank you Joanne. I pray for for swift as-pain-free-as-possible healing of Nancy's abdomen AND lungs. I had the bikini incision and it does involve a lot of pain. I know she is very limited on pain meds that she can tolerate so we trust the Lord will take her pain away. I pray too that the report is 100% correct on the benign and no cancer elsewhere, as I know that was her concern (rightly so!).
Hershey I had to laugh - we don't even OWN a snow shovel anymore...but we did broom off the porch & steps. Had to buy a windshield scraper just be fore the storm. Thanks for thinking of us.
Chris your report is remarkable and we take it as a miracle from the Lord. May it remain so until the Lord comes. We saw our oldest son when he was 10 healed of Tourette's Syndrome which is 92% permanent into adulthood when we gave our hearts to the Lord at a prayer meeting, so we KNOW God heals today. Also our dear friend had stage 4 pancreatic cancer YEARS ago and is doing well today - another miracle. We rejoice with you!
Joanne I share your feelings about the new year. But we know the saying, "I know not what the future holds . . . but I know Who holds the future."
Well our pretty snow is now melting - was nice while it lasted. I took this photo at dawn this morning. Tomorrow it will all be gone - but we are SO thankful for some water!
I pray God's richest blessings and healing for ALL of you dear sisters in 2021. "See you" next year!
Love,
Ade
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Chris, so happy to hear the good news of your scan and stable report. Yes, those of us who are stage 4 can really understand your feelings. I will continue to pray that you remain stable and the side effects will get better. I was diagnosed five years ago in January and will have a PET scan on January 7th, praying my results are as good as yours.
Praying for Nancy and her complete healing with no cancer and also for everyone here that the New Year brings healing and all God’s Blessings
Happy New Year,
Faith (in the future).
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Faith, I am praying for excellent results for you too!
Nancy, rest and heal, we love you & are lifting you up in prayers!
Blessings to you all this first day of 2021,
Ade
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HI dear sisters,
Thank you Joanne for passing the word along post surgery. I don't have email on my phone and I am surprised that I was able to figure out cut and paste on my phone with big time drugs in me. That is a miracle right there.
Okay, I know you won't believe this but it is true. When they wheeled me into the surgery room with the big lights I shared with the nurses about that cartoon I posted for $25 extra I could get the tanning lights. They thought it was funny but obviously very focused on what they were doing.
The surgery had to go to plan B. Actually they probably don't really know about my lungs for sure but my gyny said he wants me to see a Pulminologist because it probably has to do with lung function. There was an area of my lungs that showed up with some damage in all of the scans I have had recently. I was cleaning out one of my bird baths a year ago in Oct. and it had a lot of algae in it and I was scrubbing and scrubbing. It was later that night I started having a feeling like something was trapped in my lungs. I was diagnosed with reactive airway disease. My pcp thought this would be only a temporary thing and I did use an inhaler for a while but hadn't used it since Feb. when I had the sinus infection that wouldn't go away.
My gyny who assisted in surgery said as soon as they put me in at an angle they needed for the robot my oxygen level fell. They flattened me out and it returned to normal. They tried again at an angle and and the oxygen dropped again. At this point the robot had already drilled five holes in me. I now have a very large incision for the traditional total hysterectomy. I have been so drugged up that I haven't felt any relief on the very probably benign status but disappointed in the more painful and longer recovery surgery. I guess the Lord knew I need a clean house because it is going to be a long time before I can do it myself.
My friend has been an absolute angle. She stayed at the hospital until 2:15 pm after picking me up at 5:00 am. I know she wasn't planning on staying that long and I felt bad as I know what long and tedious those times are in the hospital. Then she and her husband were going to take me home last night and there was a big fiasco about getting my pain meds and even finding a pharmacy that was open. That took a long time so I didn't get home until pretty late and then my friends had to go back to pick up the meds so it was a very long haul for both of them and especially my friend. She did give me two numbers of friends willing to help with errands and I have received emails asking how I am doing. I just know have to swallow my independence and fear of imposing on others and reach out when I need it.
Faith, I got excellent care the whole time I was there so you shouldn't have any fear of your DH having surgery later this month. I hope you can have your root canal without any problems.
Chris, that is TERRIFIC NEWS you received. I know you probably feel like me. I might want to do a happy dance but I can't!!!!!
Thank you all for your love and support. It means the world to me. I am doing okay. It is very painful to move and I am trying to do stairs sparingly and that is where the only computer I can use now is. I can't use my laptops as they are really, really heavy and can't lift for many weeks.
My gyny want me to alternate with pain med and Ibuprofen which hurts my stomach. He said for three days you should be okay with the Ibuprofen. I don't have many pain meds at all and want to space them out longer than recommended.
I don't have much of an appetite but am not as nauseated as I have been the last few days.
Well I am going to lay down. I am tired after typing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope this gets easier soon.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, I am holding you up in my prayers throughout the days thankful you are home. Yes, please ask for help. I have been through that surgery and it was not easy even when I was 30 years younger! I know God will be with you and help you every step of the way.
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Nancy, it's SO good to hear from you. I'm thankful you are back home, and hope your pain is under control.
Much love and many prayers to and for you.
Carol
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Nancy, I'm so happy you are home and thankful for your devoted friend. I hope your pain is well managed. Please get some rest. Praying for your speedy recovery.
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Nancy, like everyone else here, I’m so thankful you are home and grateful for the hopeful news of no cancer. However, so sorry to hear of the much more involved surgery and the long recovery time. I pray you heal more quickly than anticipated. Thankful also for your dear friend who helped you so much. I hope you will let your other friends help as much as you need and not be shy about asking. People really do want to help, it makes them feel needed. And we all like to be needed. Maybe one of them could carry your laptop downstairs for easier access without the need to climb the stairs.
I was happy to hear you had great care at the hospital but DH will be having his surgery at the sister hospital NE of here. I’m sure they’ll do a great job too. I’m just concerned they won’t let me stay while the surgery is going on. I guess it will all work out. I don’t know when I will have the root canal but not too worried about it except for the fact, I haven’t been able to complete the course of antibiotics. I just couldn’t take the side effects any longer so stopped a day and a half short of the full course, so please pray that will be enough to get rid of the infection. The pills were giving me terrible heartburn and indigestion.
I will continue to pray for your complete and easy recovery and for everyone else here, that we may all feel God’s blessings in this New Year.
Love,
Faith (in the future
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Faith, I'm sorry the antibiotics were so hard on you. Someone suggested a long time ago, when I was taking an especially nasty one to take it with yogurt. It seemed to help. Something about the acidophilus (had to go look up the spelling on that one!) seemed to do the trick.
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Nancy we are all glad you're home now. Day by day it WILL get better, but you have to still take it easy on the days you DO begin to feel better or it will set you back. I know this from experience! Do be SURE to take the pain meds & Ibuprofen with food in your tummy (even just cheese & crackers or peanutbutter on bread) because it is hard on an empty tummy and can make you feel really sick. I think taking the yogurt gave relief (as Carol said) simply for having something in the stomach. However antibiotics can destroy the bacteria balance in your gut so the acidophilus in yogurt helps to restore the balance. You had a major surgery and anytime you are under general anesthesia like that you are fatigued for a good 6 weeks so please don't get discouraged because you're not so bright and bushy tailed, a bundle of energy ready to take on the world in two weeks. I was in my 30s when I had that surgery, and in the hospital 5 days, and it was a rather long recovery back then. Give yourself some slack and consider this recovery an opportunity to spend quiet time with the Lord, reading scriptures, and in prayer, being still before Him that maybe a busy lifestyle doesn't allow for so much. Sleep as much as you want and don't feel any guilt over it. You're probably like me and have a stack of books to read but never made the time to do it...now's the time. And as others have said, let others do for you - it makes them feel good to do it! We're all praying for pain relief, rest and healing for you and that you hear NO bad news!
Love & prayers,
Ade
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Hi dear sisters,
Thank you for all of your encouraging posts. I think I have been doing probably as well as can be expected. The hospital started me on a stool softener and my friend bought some for me as well and as of yesterday nothing so I knew this was entering possible crisis stage. Today success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My gyny told me they is a tear in my vagina. I was pretty out of it when hearing this and didn't think to ask why, how etc. Anyway doing some bleeding now after my bowel success.
I was able to manage a shower and I washed my hair yesterday and that was a good feeling. I am supposed to schedule a 2 wk follow up with my gyny and a six week follow up with the head surgeon. I sure hope I will be driving by the six week follow up because that apt may be way out of town.
I have not got my mail since Dec. 29 so I will have to ask a neighbor to get it for me. We have locked community mailboxes and my box is down the street and I won't be out anytime soon. If I did the people would think it was Halloween...........LOL
I will also have to deal with my clothes dryer that died and hopefully someone can come out asap so I can do some washing.
The message I kept hearing from the Lord before surgery was trust me. I would hear this in my spirit every time I started to get anxious about the what ifs. I had to come to the point of surrendering my future to the Lord no matter what. I really didn't have any sense of how this was going to turn out but was thinking a new cancer might be in my future. God had this all along. Now I pray that I can actually feel the relief and the release through all of the drugs and celebrate what the Lord has done for me. Yes, I know I don't have the pathology report yet but one friend said to me recently they she didn't think the doctor would have told me it was benign unless they were almost 100% certain it was. Actually he told me 95% when I asked him. I'll take that.
Have a great week dear sisters. Your love and concern lift me every time I read a post. Thank you so much.
Faith, I pray that your antibiotics you took will be enough and that you will be able to have this root canal soon.
I do have to be patient with myself and realize that I won't be getting back to normal for quite a while. Sometimes in my mind I think I am still in my 30's or 40's but the reality is that I am not and have to give myself time to heal. That may be the biggest challenge of all.
Love,
Nancy
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Hi dear sisters. I had meant to send this earlier and got distracted. Here is the good news.
Hi friends,
I just got the pathology report with the doctors notes. The "thing" was a hyperplastic polyp which he said was not cancerous and by removing it it removed the problem. From searching about these polyps they could become cancerous so I don't feel like going through all of this was for nothing.
I had to stop my Ibuprofen as it hurts my stomach and have been more miserable without it but haven't taken a pain pill today yet. Waiting on the nurse to call me back with my follow up apts. She made one in MyChart for this coming Monday afternoon. UGH! I will have to find a driver for that. She might be waiting to schedule my six week follow up with the head surgeon from Loyola before calling me back.
I am having bad gas pains which is hard to deal with. I guess I need to go downstairs and eat something so I can take this pain pill. This nurse may not be calling for a long time. I called them yesterday to set up these time and had to leave a message and no one ever got back to me.
So I wish I felt like celebrating. That will come in two months probably.
Thank you all for your prayers.
PS I have an offer for a ride to my Monday follow up and I already texted a neighbor if she could take me as she used to work in this very office until retiring last Jan. My six week follow up is way into Feb. and hopefully I will be driving by then.
I am just feeling very weak and kind of miserable today.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy I am so happy for you that it's not cancer. Recovery is challenging for sure but the surgery is done so the worst hopefully is over. One day at a time. God's got this. Love , Jean
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