CRAZY TOWN WAITING ROOM - TESTS coming up? All Stages Welcome.
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Eggroll, the only way you can keep up, is to VISIT MORE OFTEN!!! (really, that's only a mild suggestion
!!). You could always tell 'em that you are going to do rads, then run! I wish I would have. My feeling was I would rather save rads for a recurrence. But I was swept up and rail loaded so quickly, I didn't have time to look or research or anything. I was so naive. I still find it hard to believe that they radiate for DCIS, like our very own proudtospin... it's DCIS, fer crissake! Awesome that you don't have to do chemo. Dodging that one is just perfect!katy, love that you are thinking of it as 'get to' instead of 'have to'. Sea change. You have such a great place now, ocean walks and gardening, too. I may have to come see you one day! I don't think you would be able to peel me off the beach, even when there's a storm! Storms on the beach are great, huge crashing mother nature!!! Just tell me when. My ribcages hurt every.single. Day. I even thought they dropped me off the table during surgery. Then later, a nurse friend of mine who passed during my rads from this bitch-ass disease, told me exactly what happens in the OR during lumpies/masts, I could not believe it. I will only tell if you want me to in a pm, or maybe if i get busy/clean up my much neglected blog, I keep meaning to write about everything there. I keep running out of day, before i get everything I'd like to do, done!
Proud, I loved that you described Ducky's little man as "squishy" Yes!
Cubbie, I love that you thought of a crazy town countdown of worrisome symptoms! I do that in my head sometimes, brilliant that you put it down here for us! I LOVE LOVE LOVE crazytown moments/stories.
Where are you, little non-skunk friend??
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Tomboy- I LOVE big weather. The beach in winter here is better than summer, IMO. You are welcome anytime. With or without boymanfriend. I would show you lots of wild beaches where you won't even see any footprints in the sand. I know we would have a blast and you would lovemy furry friends.
You just figure out when you can squeeze out a couple of days. Stop on your way and bring Beppy and Poppy!
And I had a suspiscion bad things happened in surgery. But don't tell me. I'm trying to focus on the pos, ya know?
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Look who came to see me today...............this is my Lila........3 months old..............great-grandaughter #5, but great-grandchild #6...................she was born 4 months after Bobby............how lucky can one gal get...........
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Tomboy, I was a rookie when I was diagnosed, I actually did not know anyone at the time who had had BC so I really did not question the rads, the BS said that I needed it and so I did it. I did have some microinvasion so who knows, hey good and clean now so not complaining. Course everything bad happens on my left side! including the dang spine problems
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Hi everyone.. I've missed a bit.. Been busy with family.. Plus feeling down in the dumps. Thinking of you all.Xx
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ducky those are gorgeous eyes on that littlest one! Full of intelligence, sweetness and just enough vinegar to be interesting! Just like great-grandma!
Octogirl
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Ducky, if those babies were in hollywood, they'd be famous. I mean, besides here in C-town! Gorgeous family you have.
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Lucy- 👭. 🙋🙋🙋 Hi!
Sending you a hug. Missed you!
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Katy, I have had something like iPaditis, too. I get shoulder pain or tingling when typing too much at work. My surgeon said it was probably something muscular. I noticed when I was off for surgery recovery, it went away. So did my tennis elbow! It's amazing what 10 days enforced rest can do.
I think I know what you mean about not having a chance to start over before BC happened. I was hit hard by the recession - lost my job, spent some time un-employed and then under-employed, and just this past year got to the point where I was financially stable again. I was getting ready to enjoy some less stressful times and making plans about what I was going to do next, when this happened. I feel like I found the light at the end of the tunnel, only to have it go out! Now money is an issue again, as the doctors are taking all of it!
Eggroll, congrats on the Oncotype score! I got a 15, so we are right next to each other. I'm also considering radiation (in my case as an alternative to additional lymph node removal because of that micromet), and my RO told me they would shield my heart (although I don't know how they do that). One of my relatives had left side rads and had no cardiac effects from it. I think her only side effect was a bit of a sunburn.
Ducky, you have the best visitors!
Lucy, good to see you. Sorry you have been down lately.
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crazies! My loves!
I am not even going to attempt to catch up at this moment. We are in a car on our way home. Rhodes island was lovely and we have our fingers crossed on a property we loved for the wedding.
I hate typing on phone so more on that later
Just quickly
Katy thank you for sharing your story in more depth so much to have gone through in such a short time and without close comfort of others. You are such a vital spirit
Sula thanks for sharing the picture. You look lovely and very delicate.
Tom you've been writing so much I love to hear your voice. Can't wait to sit at computer for a proper read through. And yes please design some coloring books
October how was it back at campus. I hope the vigil allowed for some emotions to begin to be processed
Cubbie that was a heavy week of CT symptoms!
Sucky this last baby pic is to die for. What a doll
Slow I need your spreadsheet to properly catch up here! How are you?
Notagain I totally get why you would want an mx. I had a single and honestly would like to have my right removed. I have zero intention on recon. So would love to be evenly flat.
LBF I admire your spunk. I'm hoping to turn the corner soon around being more goth coming re my Dx. But am still processing too much of my own bull crap and self judgement. Getting there though
Rain what a nightmare re insurance. But I'm glad you had assurance about continuity of treatment and an advocate in the billing dept. I'll pm you re reschedule. I have another weird spell of in and out with a gig
Ok we are pulling up to our place. Can't wait to catch up more later
Hugs to everyone
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Cubby- thank you for sharing that. I know you understand. I'm so sorry you have gone through all you have, gotten stability back and WHAM! The rug out from under you. It will get better. I just know it will.
Christine- I'm so glad you found a place that you love for your wedding. I hope it all works. That is so exciting! I can be pretty sarcastic about love and marriage, but when I see something like what you and Seth have, I am thrilled. Not for me personally, but for you. For the human race. I'm pretty sappy today, I know. I just watched a food show that brought continuous tears.
If anyone is interested, it's just one episode that I am recommending. It's on Netflix, and appears to be a new series called Chef's Table. I am, as many of us are, interested in food and cooking, and I was just looking to watch something light. What I found was something that dovetailed so seamlessly with some of the things I've learned about our world, and environmental toxicity, but this was on the contrary so very refreshingly positive and interesting and beautiful. It's episode 2. The subject is Dan Barber, who I'm guessing some of our NYC foodies may already know about. He's done a lot of things, including starting a restaurant called Blue Hill, but he's become a leader in the sustainable food movement. I felt so emotional learning that people are doing such great things to change the conversation for farmers, and having menus that putus back together. Christine, I could not stop thinking about you the whole time I was watching it. Rainny, you too.
Who cries during a cooking show? That's the shape I'm in, haha. Ok, it wasn't 100% cooking show. But so great. Please someone else watch it and tell me you cried too!
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Katy, think I have seen that show, I am guilty of watching ton of cooking shows. I also happen to get 3 dif PBS stations so there seems to be something on one of them all the time.
I just picked up my mail, it included a thank you card from my old dentist! He has been my dentist for likely 20 plus years and this past year he announced he was retiring and selling his practice. Isn't that sweet? I am on the prowl for a new dentist as I was driving a long way to his office and not planning on continuing that drive if I can help it. But gonna miss him! sick isn't it? he was only my dentist?
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Garth Brooks concert tonight with my besties and my daughter! Gonna try to cowboy up my look!
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uh T? We are gonna be needing pics of that!
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Love Garth Brooks ........saw him in concert in Philly............was on stage for 2 1/2 hours........could reach out and touch him..........Oh........those blue eyes.....
Was not marrie to Trish Yearwood, but I was "wondering"............
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Trying the dark chocolate covered blueberries, strictly for medicinal purposes, of course.
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Morning Crazies
Hopefully today we will get a YES from the owners of the house we want to have our small wedding gathering in. They ( and many places that rent for the season) frown on having 'parties'. But the fact that we are 'older' and will only be having 25-40 people will hopefully work in our favor. It's a house right on the beach that was built in the '20's and is the only house on this particular strip that survived both the hurricane in '38 and Sandy. Apparently everything else around it was wiped away in both instances. Of course Seth points out that it's a great metaphor for stability and fortitude; two qualities we of course want to nurture in our relationship. I'll post pics if we get the yes, but here is a view from the ( private) beach that it sits on. Looks a little fortress like, but the house itself is very 'light-filled'
This was another location we scoped out.... VERY dramatic setting, but the house itself wasn't as lovingly cared for and our plan is to spend a week in the place we choose, entertaining and celebrating so the vibe and environment is important.
Katy and Tomboy I am with you both on beaches in the winter and BIG WEATHER.
Katy re the Chef's Table, I have been meaning to see that series for a while so your post was a good reminder to get on that. re Dan Barber, he is a beloved chef in NYC and I have had the pleasure of eating at both of his restaurants on several occasions.
Cubbie how are your CT symptoms this weekend?
Hi Lucy! sorry you've been down lately hope things are shifting for you.
Octo YaY for Monday being your last chemo. Hope the steroids give some relief to the knee. Thinking of you.
Rain do you start rads this week or next? Gosh I'm so confused about timing; Slow I need your spreadsheet!
Sula what's cooking this weekend?
PTS- I know you mentioned this a few days back, but I can't believe people have the gall to make statements about someone becoming 'addicted' to pain relievers. Pain stands in the way of healing. I HATE drugs. But Advil has kept me (at my new) mobile and I don't plan on worrying about taking it as I need to. Which is sometimes none and sometimes 3-4 times a day. Believe me before last spring I didn't even know what advil was. Anyway glad your back seems to be having more ease.
Chi sorry to hear about your friend and that you are a but 'in the middle' of it. I hope that it resolves and that she starts to mend.
I'm amazed at how many of you have had experiences with and lived with birds. flights of fancy.
Oh and Tom I love that you paint with your fingers! i might need to add that to my 'working with my hands for healing' arsenal.
Ducky little Lila is so stunning! Loved how Octo described her as having just a 'little vinegar' in her eyes.... Yes like great grandma
Chevey how are you lady?
Ok must pause for now. Packing up for my Bedford gig and we have a full Sunday in the city day ahead of us. Movie, drink with a friend and dinner to celebrate Seth's father's belated birthday. Feeling some anxiety about such a full day, so going to practice a little qi gong and set my energy straight. Well as straight as it can be for a full on CRAZY LADY.
Love you all
xx
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morning group, heading out to a fund raising thing for a group one of my former clients is part of. It is a display of individually designed chairs~~ not what to expect but since I have not seen my pal for a time, works for me. The organization helps autistic adults, so should be interesting. It is also down in Asbury Park and that is a really interesting town. It went down hill years ago and had many starts and stops of redevelopment but now on the upswing.
and it is a lovely day out, sun is shining so what could be better?
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LOVE the pics, especially of you of you and your man, but also of the potential wedding house Christine! Keeping my fingers crossed it is the one!
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gala, thank you for your supportive comment on pain meds. It helped me to get to the point of doing the PT which got me to the med free point I am now.
And love those rocky new England coasts, course any building that made it through Sandy and other storms is a solid building or just plain lucky!
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Iris, I too am very glad you continue to be mobile and enjoying your life again. You have shown great strength in trying and trying again, as well as much open mindedness to new things. Glad you're getting out today
Christine- I love the pic of you and Seth and that location seems magical. What Seth said about it made me tear up. In a totally good way. I hope you get it. You can be assured I'll be afly on the wall that day. And I just knew you'd know of Dan Barber. What a treat to eat at both Blue Hills!
I was given a sack of just picked organic apples. And have been craving pumpkin. And voila! A recipe for Apple cranberry salad over greens (which I have growing in my back yard) with pumpkin bread croutons appeared in my inbox this morning. Yum. Getting ready to start the bread now.
Recipe courtesy of Kevin Lee Jacobs (agardenforthehouse.com)
Wishing warm thought for all my lovely crazies today.
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Gaia, you and your man are beautiful!
Love you each one here. Feeling it today!
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Gaia........you look like a you should be in college, not planning a wedding.........what a lovely picture of both of you.....nothing like the beautiful sea air.......whether it is hot, warm, cool, or has a chill............
I hope you get your dream wedding spot..........but no matter where you end up.........your marrying the man you love.........and in the end......that is really what matters...........
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By the way ladies........I contacted the realtor yesterday..........was not happy about not hearing from her and let her know it......
She got back to me and told me 'someone is going through the house today, and these people have been through before............I am hoping and praying.......
I was annoyed to say the least not hearing anything from her.......nothing......I know things are slow, but I also know houses down there are selling......things change....like the pool is closed........I had the house winterized........I had to remove the storm door key from where it was because this time of the year the winds picked up and it has blown off 2 previ;ous times because someone left it ajar.......................so these are things she has to know, so anyone going there knows you need to unlock the storm door now to get to the "lockbox with they house key in it".................
I can't wait till this is all over...........If stress caused what happened to me..........God knows I have had my share.............Phew.............
Will lt you all know how todays venture goes......hugs.0 -
Ducky- so sorry for the continued stress over the shore house. I would fire that agent as soon as the listing period is up.
She should be calling you weekly, even if NOTHING is going on. It's common courtesy and good business. You should know every time someone views the house. This is ridiculous. I know this isn't the ideal time to sell, going into winter, but it just takes one person. The right buyer. And if your agent isn't energetic enough to dial the phone to give you an update, it makes me wonder how hard she's working for you. Maybe someone young and hungry would be better. The listing agent, IMO, is much less important these days than before, as most people search for their first pass online, without an agent. What you do need is someone who does more than sit around waiting for the phone to ring.
She should set up a small Chritmas tree, bake some cookies and have an open house in December. Mulled cider smells throughout the house. So people can experience the magic that your house has lived with such special family moments. It's not just a house. It's a home. Needs to be sold that way. JMHO. Sorry for the rant. It just really ticked me off to hear she doesn't even call you.
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littleblue I feel the same way. Hugs
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Jack...I feel exactly as you do.....
Even a friggin phone call a month would show some type of interest............and really for what they do they should be ashamed of the comission they get.....and down the shore they get 6%, and belive me there is no negotiation.....it is with all of them......up here in Pa. you can get 3%.......not down there.......and it is true 80% of the homes that are found are only from a one time posting they put on the MLS, and its done.........people come to them through the internet.....they don't even have to get off their ass...........
If she does not get back to me tomorrow as she said..............either way........good or bad......this chick will be sorry she ever met me..............and trust me, I will dump her like a bad habit....problem I am with her for 6 months......I told my daughter 3, but she would not listen.....actually not sure if they would do '3......I never did ask....just went with 6...............
Also not even a suggestion to say "well its been up for 74 days, maybe we should drop the price a tad.......which I will do........but nothing..........not a word..............but honest Jack, I think they are all alike............all they want is the commission, and you getting a lot less for the house..............has almost no effect on their commission.....you can lose as much as 10,000 off your final price..........and they lose only a few hundred off the commission........they are all thieves............ugh0 -
Ducky- exactly! I am sending you some mojo through the tube.
Meanwhile, distraction, thy name is cooking.
Here is my progress so far with my food porn, uh I mean my salad.
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Cubbie...I love your list, might take it on as a weekly way to sort out some of my anxiety, once you write it down it's not so scary. Since I've finished active treatment I've diagnosed myself with cancer of the hair follicles, dystrophy of the fingers/toes and hyperplasia of the hips...LOL. Every stinkin' ache and/or pain gets a name and some anxiety attached, other survivors have told me it gets better the farther out from diagnosis that you get but I'm not there yet.
Octogirl ~ Congrats on the last chemo!! You'll make it through that and whatever else life threw at you along the way!! My weekend plans are much the same, maybe bake a loaf of pumpkin bread, it makes the house smell really good. I hope the vigil helps your campus family heal is some small ways; this is a big scary trauma to recover from.
Eggroll...Yay, no chemo for you! So sorry you've had to endure all those other complications. I am about 21 months out from finishing rads on the left side. My skin is very fair (Irish and Norwegian heritage so a double whammy with skin sensitivity)...so I do have some lingering redness on the mastectomy, now reconstruction scar. I had a fairly easy turn with radiation therapy; there is some fatigue associated with it and my skin fared well up until the last week when it appeared and felt sunburned. My rads Doc had a lot of advice for care and healing before/during/after...I guess it's a necessary evil? I can say after almost 2 years out I am OK with how it looks, the breast has been reconstructed and you can definitely tell there is some scarring from the rads but my PS will be doing some laser treatments to decrease the redness. For me the benefit outweighed the risk and now I have more anxiety about a cancer recurrence as opposed to any heart issues. Jump on one of the rads threads, they'll have great advice for you, make a list of questions for your RO and do your own research. You can definitely opt out, it's a very personal decision and you should do what feels right for YOU.
Thanks for your well wishes...hope the weekend turns out to be a great one for CT peeps. Peace
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Well, this is shaping up to b a weird weekend. Yesterday I had breakfast (low-carb French toast with a spoonful of maple syrup from a friend in OH’s grove) at 11am and drove out to Downers Grove for Two Way Street Coffeehouse’s 45th anniv. all-day celebration. From 2-3:30 I led a songwriter circle (nicely attended, we all got to play 3 or more songs), and then sat in on a “peace & justice” circle--accompanying & singing till 5. Signed up for the open mic immediately after (took the last slot). But then around 5:45 I began feeling queasy and my gut decided to go into overdrive. Wondered for a minute whether it’s a side effect of rads, but based on where they’re treating, not likely. Still, I began wondering how to wriggle out of it gracefully and get home before anything got worse. As luck would have it, we got down to 3 minutes remaining, with 3 more performers yet to appear. When the emcee asked if anyone was willing to do just one song instead of three to avoid running too late, I raised my hand and volunteered to take one for the team and relinquish my spot. (After all, I’ve performed there for pay many times, and all the other open mikers save one don’t play out regularly or at all, and it wouldn’t have been fair for me to hog a slot for someone whose only shot at playing there was at an open mic). Some people were disappointed, but the emcee was very grateful. We talked and she told me her DIL was just diagnosed with triple-negative and is starting neoadjuvant chemo--and she’s in her 20s. No matter how lousy I may feel, I count my blessings.
Got home, and DH announced he didn’t want to go out to eat because he had a nasty cold and sinus infection, with pinkeye in a swollen socket. (He has got to get that deviated septum fixed one of these days--he rarely gets colds but when he does they turn bacterial--ears & sinuses). I’d sipped some water and ate a square of dark chocolate while driving, and realized I’d probably been dehydrated &/or hypoglycemic--hadn’t eaten anything for 7 hrs.! Ordered out for NY-style pizza (when I crave comfort food, I increasingly get nostalgic for the cuisine of my ancestral Brooklyn home---of the pre-hipster era). DH went to the Urgent Care Clinic around the corner this morning, where they confirmed dx of bacterial sinusitis/conjunctivitis and gave him Rx for Augmentin & eye drops. He’s bummed that there’s no Bears game to watch--and is still reeling from the Bulls’ loss yesterday. Meanwhile, by bedtime my own throat was scratchy. Only now have I learned that radiation can lower resistance to infection.
So we can’t go visit my friend, as we’d planned--we’d be endangering her as she’s in respiratory distress. Her son flew in 2 wks early from L.A. Her mental state has deteriorated to the point where she’s not lucid and is unintelligible even in person--not just on a cellphone interrupted by medical equipment noises. Her lithium levels are too high (which can exacerbate delusion). She’s getting sedated so they can do a brain CT & MRI to check for brain damage from hypoxia, as well as an echocardiogram to determine the need for an angiogram (cardiac catheterization). If there’s brain damage, the hospital ethics committee will defer to the psych dept.’s recommendation for a conservatorship and her son & husband (he’s a retinologist) taking over in the absence of an advance directive/medical power of attorney.
At the very least this has made me decide I need to update my own advance directives to conform to current IL standards; and we need to update our wills to reflect that DS is waaaay too old to need a guardian any more.
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