thread for middle age to older Christian women.
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Chris, it is great you have all the decorations up and, praying that you can sit back and relax now. Also that you and your DH are feeling well.
Hershey, we will continue to pray for your pastor John. For complete healing and a peace that passes all understanding.
Nancy, I'm praying that your shoulder is doing okay now and that you are enjoying your remodeling and that PT is going well! Also, praying for your friend undergoing cancer treatment and the one awaiting a biopsy.
Teka, praying for you and your DH.
My sister is really struggling with wanting to leave the facility she is in, and followed an EMT guy out the other day. He was made aware of the situation by a staff member that he was being "followed" and he brought her back. She is very angry about all of this and mostly towards my BIL. She ran over his foot with her walker yesterday and hit his leg while visiting with the on site doctor. So the doctor wrote a script for an anti anxiety med. Hopefully it calms things down. The doctor told my BIL to "stay home" for now and not come visit. So he is staying home at least 2 weeks. My nurse friend is doing a little better sleeping she says. I think PT is helping my leg, except I really liked my therapist, but this next week I'll start having a different one because last week was her last week at this location. I'm not sure how well I'll be able to hear the new one, I've heard him talk to other patients but can't seem to figure out what he is saying.
Praying for all of you.
Love, Wheatfields
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I hope everyone is warm and cozy and safe at home.
Nancy, I do hope you decided to stay home during the Thanksgiving snowstorm and not venture out to Best Buy. Did I hear correctly that parts of Chicago received over 12 inches of snow?! I'm praying that your physical therapist can address your shoulder pain during one of your sessions.
Teka, I ordered two new fleece throws on Black Friday (one for my husband and one for me to use while we watch TV at night). What Black Friday bargains did you find?
Chris, we receive very few Christmas cards anymore (most greetings seem to be e-cards, emails, or texts). The price of cards and postage may discourage some senders. Our realtor and insurance agent still send cards through USPS, although they sometimes seem more like business advertisements than Christmas wishes.
Wheatfields, I'm sorry and sad to read that your sister faces some new challenges. I hope that the anti-anxiety drug takes off the edge and gives her some peace. It's probably a good idea that your brother-in-law avoids visitations while she adjusts to her new medication. I am praying that the transition to your new physical therapist is a smooth one.
We received 7.5 inches of wet, heavy snow on Wednesday. It was more like a spring snowfall than a late fall/early winter one. We've not had any measurable precipitation for almost 2 months, so Wednesday's snow was greatly appreciated. Temperatures will rebound midweek into the 60s, so the snow will be long gone by next Saturday.
Pastor John is one third of the way through his chemotherapy. He continues to preach on Sunday and send out his weekly video encouragement. He still has most of his hair and joked that when it's eventually gone he'll borrow some of his brother-in-law's stylish doo-rags.
My husband has been discharged from PT. His knee and calf feel so much better, and he faithfully keeps up with his home stretches and exercises. PT was very helpful and turned out better than he had imagined.
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Hershey, yes after coming home early after Thanksgiving on Friday I missed the big snow storm. They say that Naperville go 5.5 -9.2 inches of snow. I can say that it sure looked more like 9 than 5. I was very afraid that the TV I wanted to buy was going to go up $500 so I ended up calling the store and buying it over the phone as the guy could not promise it was still going to be on sale the next day. The plan was I would go to the store the next day which I did after the roads were ploughed and I needed to see this type of TV before keeping it. So I think with my research I made a good choice. A Best Buy person will come on Wed. to install the TV for me. I just have to take my old TV down and unhook it. I can reclycle at our own electronics recylcing for less money than if Best Buy took it away.
On Sunday we all woke up to a lot more snow,. Unfortunately these have been very heavy snows and hard to shovel. I usually leave around 10:20 am for church and my girl had not shoveled for me yet. When it was time to leave I really thought I could get out of my driveway but I got stuck and went side ways into my bushes that separate our two driveways and got stuck, I couldn't get out of the car either. Thankfully my neighbors across the street were outside with a shovel and a snowblower. She came over first with a shovel and that was not working as there was ice underneath the snow. With a lot of effort on both of their parts they rocked my car so I could go forward and get out of my car to get some kitty litter I use for these situations, I had almost decided to stay home from church as it was much later than I would usually leave but I decided to go and got there just in time to ask my friend who has cancer that we have prayed before how her last big infusion went, She will have surgery the beginning of Jan, She will be having a stent put in to protect her kidney that has died but maybe could be resurrected.
My other friend had her breast biopsy today on her previously treated breast for bc a few years ago.
I have grown weary of being in pain most days. I can put on a heating pad for several minutes and that helps tremendously. My shoulders yesterday were both in pain from too many exercises the assistant had me do at PT. I have run into this issue several times in the past with other PT experiences. This week I couldn't fit in my regular therapist so I only have one session with a different therapist, More than likely they won't have an understanding that this disorder is not a muscular issue but a neruological issue. That makes a huge difference in their approach.
I am temped to reach out to my neurologist about starting Botox injections which are supposed to be very effective. I don't feel like I know him very well yet as I have only seen him one time. I know my therapist has some of her patients do Botox and PT together even though my therapist talks like we may only go into Jan, I think I need much more.
I am glad to hear that your husband has done well in PT and has helped him more than he realized.
Pastor John, sounds like he is doing well. My friend lost her hair pretty early on in her treatment so she is wearing these cute hats, I told her today about Cleaning For a Reason. One of the sisters on this thread told me about it in 2014 about this company that cleans cancer patients houses for free. I took them up on it as I had a lot of fatigue and they were great . I had this very fast and effiecient Polish lady, She was serious and asked me if I lived here as my house looked so clean. HaHA, I have 11 more years of stuff now. LOL I thought I used to get three cleanings but it is only two now, I am really glad that it is still operating for a good cause.
If your temps are going to rebounding back into the 60's can I come visit you. LOL I don't think we will see those temps for a very long time especially the way this season is going, I had heard we were going to have a doozey of a winter and so far it is playing out that very thing and we aren''t even in winter yet, Yes Chicago was really wolluped with this first big snow. I did not envy the fliers when there trips were cancelled.
Have a good night dear sisters,
Love,
Nancy
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My morning venturing out to fill the seed and suet feeders and cast seeds on the ground. Also, feed the crows and squirrels.
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We have been very cold but today it is supposed to rain!!!!!!! Hopefully that will cut through all the ice on my sidewalks. Today's temp is shortlived. Sunday the high is 9!
Praying for you today.
Love,
Nancy
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For some reason I am not receiving the notifications for this thread even though it is bookmarked and not muted. Sorry to be so quiet. I decided this morning to check in anyway and found out I haven't seen you all since the 2nd. But I have been thinking of you all and praying for Pastor John. I will be more intentional in the future about searching this thread.
Nancy, I am sorry you are still in so much pain. I know you feared the PT having issues with it in the past. I will pray you can find a solution for your pain relief. I also hope you like your new TV. It is important for those of us who are basically housebound. I watch a lot of movies and British shows… My PT has stopped. I was told my oncologist would refer me again if I felt I needed it, but so far I am doing okay. I have some bone pain in my legs which is typical on this new med, Orserdu, so I don't think PT will help. I have a PET scan scheduled for Monday. My previous CT scan showed improvement but my MO is concerned because my tumor markers continue to rise. So she is approaching it from a different angle.
We are having a dryer than normal winter so far in CO Springs with only one snowstorm so far and no precipitation forcast for the next 12 days. Unusual. But it is cold. The temp ranges from 20° to about 35°, sometimes 55° on a good day. Since I stay in most days that is fine. The mountains around us and to the north are getting plenty of snow so that is good.
My Christmas tasks are finished. I meet with my SIL tomorrow to decide what we are going to do for Christmas dinner this year. She cooked for Thanksgiving and would willingly cook Christmas dinner but my DH wants to have it here. He said he was willing to smoke a brisket and a turkey breast so I may see if that works for everyone. It also means he has to help clean the house lol. I would love to hire a housekeeper like I had in San Diego, but they want more than twice the cost here and my DH said he would rather do it. Part of the low cost there was because we hired a lady who crossed the border from Mexico daily. She was legal and even hired a couple of other ladies to help. At one point she finally had to stop for family issues, so we hired from a local company and they were only $10 more per hour. Here they want almost $200 to clean upstairs only. I didn't make $50 per hour and I have a PhD! I do what I can.
Sorry to chat on. I pray everyone stays safe and warm and your family and friends receive the medical help they need. Chris
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Hi Chris,
I'm glad to see your post. I figured you were busy with Christmas things. Glad to hear you are doing okay. I hope your PET scan will be positive news. It sounds like your MO is on the ball so that has to give you some comfort.
I have good news. My good friend who had her breast biopsies and had figured it was cancer since she had quite a bit of discomfort and she has already been through bc texted me today. She starts out saying I am breathless. I was afraid to read what was coming next but she said her doctor called her and said the findings were benign and no further action was required. This poor friend has been through more trials than you can imagine so I am so happy for her. Her first comment when she knew about these spots needing to be biopsied was I am concerned that I may have to miss my missions trip in March. She reminds me of the female version of Paul in the Bible.
On a not so positive note my new TV was coming today and I knew Best Buy had hired a third party for the set up. When I got an ETA of 12:40 when my window was 2-6 that got me hopping to in a nano second. When two guys came to the door with the boxed TV they said where do you want us to put this. I said it goes on the TV stand right there. They said we are only supposed to deliver the TV. I said I paid for the TV to be setup and connected. They said we are not even supposed to open the box but they were nice guys trying to help me out. It was VERY clear from the beginning they did not know what they were doing. They did get the stand attached (after asking me if I had a screwdriver) to the TV and when it came to hooking up the cables when I asked if they knew what an HDMI arc or HDMI earc was they had no clue. I knew I was in trouble then. I had done my own research on this and told them which port to plug into. They were in such a hurry to leave they never waited to see if the TV was even working. I was still trying to type in my password for the wifi.
So long story short I have another apt with Best Buy but I have to wait until next Friday as I had PT on the days they were available. I was so unhappy with the Best Buy guy I talked to on the phone and when he said we are going to offer a courtesy call for free to fix this. I said I would not exactly call this a courtesy since the first attempt was a failure. I was told the new sound bar that I bought also was not part of the set up. Get this…………………. he said that would be an additional $469. I said that is totally ridiculous. I said are you even listening to yourself. I had forgotten how much I paid for the soundbar and I said it was under $200 and when looking later it was under $300. After he checked he said I see that is for the whole TV set up. Still ridiculous. Then he said oh I see it is $69. I said I am not paying that either. I said under the circumstances this ALL should be free. Well I got the whole thing finally for free after wasting a whole day I could have been doing many other things. I have spent a very long time trying to figure some of this out on my own. They didn't even have it hooked up to my cable box. I figured that out.
Sorry for the big rant. I am usually a calm and collected person but when I feel like I have been ripped off I turn into the Wicked Witch of the West. LOL I still am not rude but very forceful.
Chris, I am really surprised that in CO you would pay more for house cleaning than in SD. I have a wealthy friend and she taught at one of my schools back in the day. They have a very large house in an expensive neighborhood and her cleaning lady came to give me an estimate several years ago. It seemed so outrageous there was no way i could afford her. I had a cleaning lady for the last few years of my teaching carreer and that is only because the band moms got together and hired a cleaning lady for me when I had neck surgery which was a huge blessing. They also provided meals for me for a whole month. I kept the cleaning lady on and then in retirement I figured I could do it myself. However now that I am having more physical problems my PT therapist said maybe I could clean 10 min. only. I did run the vaccum cleaner and my neck is worse but it has been worse since my last PT and I had an assistant who wanted way too many reps on about everything.
My new TV has Alexa built in which will be fun once I know what I am doing. The sound bar once I could get into the settings is very powerful. The workings of the TV will be a bit of a learning curve and I will try not to make myself crazy trying to troubleshoot before the Geek Squad comes again.
I hope you and your SIL can come up with a nice meal plan for Christmas. It is great that your DH will be doing a big part of the cooking and cleaning. Can I borrow him for a couple of days. LOL
Take care. I hope you can figure something to ease your leg pain. I am spending a lot of time on the heating pad.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, great news about your friend. God is good!
I just had breakfast with my BIL & SIL and the short story they will be hosting Christmas Dinner. Apparently she promised her DD she would do an entire Turkey dinner since her DD and husband were unable to attend Thanksgiving Dinner the last three years. So we will go there and she will cook it all. I offered to cook something, but she said only if there is something my family has to have for Christmas. My DH may still do a brisket for Christmas Eve and if we do a large one, we will bring some to Christmas dinner. My DD is off work so I am sort of relieved as it means I won't have to deep clean or try to cook all day. I also can cancel the infusion appointment I had set for Christmas Eve as it was only for a port flush and since I have a scan planned on Monday with port access, I won't need it. Small joys! Maybe I can make some of the great-grandma's family cookies…
I am so sorry to read of more TV problems for you, although given your luck I am not surprised. Fortunately my BIL is a tech expert so he helps us with all our electronic issues. I need a new phone as I dropped mine a couple of months ago and it cracked. I asked him this morning how to upload all my photos so I won't accidentally lose them, and he showed me the easy steps. It still works but it is annoying. I am not looking forward to all a new phone entails, but it will be good. That is my Christmas present 😊
I don't know whether I told you my DGDs phone was turned off/cancelled. Her dad paid for it, but since my DD was just awarded full custody, he cancelled it. (He is currently in jail in San Diego for five years so can't pay for it anyways…long story.) I am saying a silent yippee to no phone! She is far too young for it and all the issues that go along with it. My DD monitored and limited it, but it was still a problem. My DGD is accepting her dad's incarceration as she doesn't see him much anyway. It has been a matter of deep prayer for our family for a while.
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Chris, I am so glad to hear that you do not have to host on Christmas day. I can only imagine the relief you feel. How old is your DGD? I know she is young and I have to agree with you thinking it is a good thing she doesn't have a working phone now even though I am sorry to hear about the circumstances.
One of our neighbor teenagers got in a REALLY scary mess with some guy from out of state who was trying to lure her into ??????? The FBI has her phone now and is using it to hopefully catch the guy. She was on one of these popular teennage apps. Not one I had heard of before and I can't remember the name.
Tonight I figured out a big piece of the TV puzzle that was making me crazy. My internet is Xfinity and it was just tonight that I noticed the Xfinity app included with all the other apps. I am not sure if that was there before. I entered my cable box serial number which maybe made it appear. When I use my old remoted (Xfinity) it works on this TV. Oh my gosh. I felt like a happy dance. LOL Who knew that the future of TV's would be mainly using a bunch of streaming apps which has been the direction for quite some time.
Maybe by the time Friday rolls around next week I will have already figured out what I need. I do have to say I really love my new soundbar now that I have tweeked that some. I just have to be careful I don't get carried away especially when I am listening to classical music. My neighbors are attached and I want to be respectful of that.
I had a new therapist today when I couldn't get in with my own. She was very approachable so I was just very honest with her in that many of the exercises were actually making my neck worse. I was able to pin point some of the problems and she noted that so my regular therapist will see her notes.
I regularly have to be in my recliner with my heating pad and I need to accept this living with pain everyday. I am so anxious to start Botox injections and I am tempted to reach out to my neurologist in how to go about this as I know it will need prior approval from my insurance. I see him again in mid January.
I hope you have a good weekend. It is funny to hear you say you haven't had much snow. That must be becasue WE got all the snow you normally have. We have had quite a bit melt but we are going into the deep freeze this weekend and to think that winter has not officlally started yet.
Speaking of cell phones I went to the movies and saw the second part of Wicked last week. I think it was the first movie I ever saw in IMAX and the scenery was great. The sound about blew me out of my seat. I had my phone in my back pocket and when the movie was over I was in the restroom and realized my phone was gone, YIKES I flew back into the theater and there were three older women still there and one of them yelled acrose the theater and said did you lose something. I said yes. I asked if they had a cell with a flash light and this one lady came over and asked if my phone was turned off and I said yes. I had no idea your phone could ring if it was off. She dialed my phone number and sure enough it was under my seat. I was SO thankful for kind people and one that had a flashlight to find my phone. So maybe you all knew you could do that with a cell but I sure didn't,
Take care.
Love,
Nancy
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Dear sisters,
As we enter the last days before Christmas let us take some time each day to spend with the Lord and thank him for all of the blessings of His birth and how he blesses us daily even in the midst of difficult situtations.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy, thank God for good people who were able to help you find your phone. I am glad to hear you are getting good things done with your TV. Sometimes it is all about what you know… My DGD is 10 and yes, too young for a phone in my opinion but her mama wants to be able to get ahold of her and to track her when they are not together. So, when I went in on Friday to replace mine because it was cracked, wouldn't you know there was a special on. We have three lines on our plan and the tech said having a fourth line is actually cheaper per month (by $30 p/mo) AND I can get my new phone free. So we added the fourth line and had the tech put the new sim card in my old phone which, although cracked, still works but now with a new number. Then, my DD went to my nephew's house who knows these things and he erased all my old data on my old phone and disabled a bunch of stuff so my DGD can only use it for calls. Probably my DD will buy her a new phone that is not a smart phone and can only be used as a phone. Sounds like a good idea. She is also happy that now her daddy's family can't call her because they don't know her new number. My DD is working on getting full custody but it sounds like it will be awarded fine. They can always call my DD if they need her.
I have a PET scan in the morning so today is all protein and no carbohydrates. This is not the way I eat ! LOL But I can do it. Hopefully it will show nothing and put to rest the worries about my tumor markers rising. We still have no snow and the forecast past Christmas shows none. It is a strange year. Yes, I heard you got it all and the NW has all the rain.
I pray this Christmas season brings everyone hope and cheer.
Blessings, Chris
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Well, the PET scan results show Interval progression of disease with increased number of metastatic liver lesions and osseous metastatic lesions. So it looks like progressio in both liver and bones. I know nothing else. I am more shaken than I thought I would be with upset stomach and dizziness. I have been through all of this before, several times. Perhaps I just walked too much today…
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Oh Chris, I am so sorry to hear this news. Has your MO responded yet or is she the one that gave you this news.?
I know you have been through this several times before but of course it is only natural for you to be shaken. I pray that if you need to switch drugs there will be one available that will work for you. I am praying dear sister.
Love,
Nancy
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Dear Chris, I'm praying that He will surround you with His loving arms and keep your heart in perfect peace. I'm sorry for the distressing news but we will continue to pray there will be a remedy and maybe a new med that will work better.
Love and prayer,
Wheatfields
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Chris,
I pray MO slows the progression in both liver and bones to a stop with a new treatment.
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Chris,
I pray that your oncology team has a new medication in their arsenal that will provide a great impact in stopping the liver and bone progression.
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My DD and I always do an annual mall hop to finish Christmas purchases, but this year we just did Walmart today as that is about all I can do. I am so thankful for my DD. We found almost everything we needed. So, I finished all my Christmas chores except for wrapping stocking stuffers… I may not wrap them. Otherwise, I'm all done. Just don't want anything left to do this year. Everything is decorated, bought, and wrapped, and those that needed it were shipped last week. All that's left is cleaning house. The way I feel right now, it may not get done well, but I'm not entertaining so that's okay. If I feel better next week I may bake a little. Otherwise I shall relax and try not to stress. From everything I read on this and other threads this has been a tough year for a lot of people. My prayers are that God gifts you with peace and joy, and supplies all your needs according to His abundant riches.
Love, Chris
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Chris, I am glad to hear that your Walmart run turned out to be great in finding what you needed. I would sit back and postpone the house cleaning until after the holidays. Getting your house decorated early was a great thing. Since I am never home during Christmas I don't do much decorating anymore. In fact this year with the TV fiacso I will have TV boxes and my old TV still sitting on the first floor. "Someone from Best Buy is coming this Friday to set up my TV but I don't think there will be much for him to do as I have figured most of it out already with the help of my AI copilot on my computer.
At the recommendation of my PT therapist I am cleaning in very short intervals esp. when I injured my shoulder. My PT was canceled on Tues because my therapist was sick. I am supposed to see her tomorrow so we'll see.
I am hoping for a free and clear day to visit my dearest friend who is in hospice and just moved to a Memory Care facility. I believe she will turn 97 in Jan. but she fell at her home and broke a hip and a wrist so she has been in the hospital. Her facility is quite a bit out of town but I really want to see if before she passes. She lived with her daughter and SIL and after her hospital stay they took her back home but that proved to be too much trying to get her up and down so they made the tough decision to move her to this facility. I think I will always consider her my dearest friend as we sat together in church for years. We talked and laughed and the age difference didn't seem to matter.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. I will be at my sister's again. Unfortunately she lost her cellphone so I have not talked to her in a few days. I was quite concerned about her at Thanksgiving and now that concern has increased. Her daughter texted me about the cellphone situation. I will probably leave on Christmas Eve and depending on the weather will stay maybe a couple of nights. We'll see.
I will start Botox infections in mid January assuming my insurance will cover it. My new neurologist has given me the green light and will start the referral process early so hopefully that will happen at my next apt with him.
Praying for all of you.
Love,
Nancy
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Nancy,
Yes, clean in very short intervals!
________________________________
Many years ago, while on the mend from surgery I took prescription pain medication before cleaning the bathroom.
I was so frisky until pain medication wore off. Lame! 🙄
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Nancy, praying you get to visit your dear friend, and that your trip to your sister is good.
Just came from the oncologist and it looks like the only treatment left for me is IV chemo. I will start in a couple of weeks. If it is not tolerable, I'll stop. Not the decision I wanted to make at Christmas.
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Chris,
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Oh Chris,
This news is not at all what I had hoped would happen. I am so sorry. I will pray that the IV chemo works for you. Praying for you dear sister.
Love,
Nancy
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The 1st day of winter.
The shortest day of the year.
My poor balance now keeps me from climbing up and/or reaching up while X-mas decorating.
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Teka, I thought today was the 20th. You actually made my day. I kept thinking if I can make it to the 21st the days will start getting longer. So tomorrow will be the start of longer days. Probably one minute. LOL Beautiful arrangement.
Love,
Nancy
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Teka, your mini Christmas tree is perfect on the tabletop. What a nice way to spread some holiday cheer!
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My son from New York just walked in the door. Complete surprise! My DH and DD knew and kept the secret. Tears of joy won't stop flowing. Merry Christmas!
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Chris, what a wonderful surprise! We are all praying for you. May you continue to rest beneath the shadow of His wings in complete peace.
Teka, thank you for sharing your little tree!
Love, Wheatfields
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Chris, I am so happy for you. What a wonderful suprise. I know you will have a wonderful time catching up. Thank you for your prayers for my neck. After a very disheartening Sunday with much pain and discomfort my new exercises are proving to be just what I needed. I sat in the Honda dealers waiting room for another 3hr wait this afternoon after doing the same thing on Friday afternoon. There was no charge today and they took this heaater blower apart and found no more leaves in the assembly. I am still hearing sounds. At this point I am not going to worry about it. I got new tires on Friday and when I get back I will get new front brakes. The guy I worked with was also into photographing the Milky Way so we shared some pictures. I don't know why sitting wears me out so much but I am pretty done in tonight. I got some bad news that one of my cousins found out last week he has stage iv metastatic cancer. His doctor gave him the option of doing nothing or chemo and he has opted for chemo. I know his family must be in shock. We cousins were close growing up with them being in our same hometown,. On a positive one of my good friends who I had mentioned before is like the female version of Paul found out her biopsies were benign. She had to wait a month before she even had them. She was so relieved when she got that news. My other good friend is done with her big infusions and will have a very big surgery on January 6. The mass is still resting on other organs and she has already lost one kidney to this disease.
Chris, thank you for your prayers. I have a pretty free feeling neck today without shoulder discomfort. Maybe I have turned a corner. I sure hope so. I am thankful for a good day.
Enjoy your son.
Love,
Nancy
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Chris, praying that IV chemo is a treatment gamechanger and adverse reactions are nonexistent. May your son's surprise visit be full of joy and many blessings.
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