My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
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Mel,
I meant to tell you how comfortable the masks are. I had one that made my ears stick out, but threw it awayonce I put on one of yours. They fit beautifully. Thank you again, my friend. Hope you have a great day!
When does you DH get home?
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Moth~Hugs to you. I’ve had my port almost 4.8 years. It was the easiest surgery I had. You’ll be in my thoughts !
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Moth, the port may feel weird for a week or two, especially when bending over but I love mine. It was the best surgery ever, my surgeon even sang to me, dream a little dream as I drifted off.
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Moth, I've had my port for over 5 yrs and so glad I have it. It does seem strange at first to have this little bulging thing in your chest, but you get used to it. I concur with others it's the easiest surgery I've had.
Simone, so glad for your sister's good report.
Mara, very happy for your goods news, too.
Mel, I'll be on the lookout for masks when I get home tomorrow. We're celebrating my daughter's 21st birthday and she wants to go gambling with granny and me. My mother is 87 and we probably shouldn't be out, but we're risking it since COVID cases have been steadily declining here in Colorado. Mom's itching to get out of the house. The casinos are being vigilent about cleaning and limiting capacity with wipes and sanitizer everywhere I've heard. Masks mandatory of course! So glad I've made it to celebrate this milestone with my baby girl all grown up.
Sunshine, just want to say I found my Fitbit! It just happened to fall off into my driver side car door pocket and I just happened to finally see it sitting there, but that's a good tip about the Bluetooth. Thanks.
Waving hello to all.
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Yay Bliss!!! You found it Have fun with your family. Just wash your hands a lot. (The mother in me). Lol they should be arriving. I checked the date. And it was scheduled for today. But I was told the mail is crazy. Everything is backed up. I guess we shall see!
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Oh yes, Mel, we'll be washing hands, too! My mother was always a stickler for washing hands! Thanks!
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Its FINALLY cooling down here! Hurrah!
I was getting progressively more ill as the heat wore on, with wooziness, inability to concentrate, headaches,heavy nausea, and stomach pains. I think I was actually having an episode of heat stress/exhaustion just from being at home - I thought I was drinking enough and staying cool by the fan, but I guess it wasn't enough. So I sipped water with some pink himalayan salt in it for a bit, then did some with apple cider vinegar and honey (and more salt). By bed time I was worn out but stomach had calmed down considerably and I was feeling on a much more even keel. Coconut water, yoghurt, and crackers for food today!
Took tomorrow off to rest, clean the house which has been neglected, and OH booked us a table at a very nice place for lunch.
Bliss - glad you found that Fitbit! Hope your daughter has a good time, and you too!
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Moth, as another chest port person, I will guarantee you will not regret it. As others have said, you will be in a light sleep. When I had surgery I could almost feel them looping the loop around inside but NO pain. Before I knew it it, it was over. When I got home, swelling did make wrapping a towel around myself uncomfortable but that went away quick. The only time it caused pain was if I somehow managed to bump it. No having to worry about having your veins destroyed by chemo, way less concern about about infection and honestly not very painful when they access the port since it is going through such a small layer of skin.
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Moth - jumping to share some advice that someone on these boards gave me about my port - and yes I'm another one that LOVED the port. Never wanted it removed. Anyway - take a Sharpie pen and draw the outline of your bra so the port won't go right under the strap and rub all day long. If you have a choice, I requested mine down & to the side a bit from my collar bone so it didn't show with any clothes.
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Minus two great bra port placement advice. Moth I’ll echo everyone here port surgery was uneventful and even though it doesn’t “always” give blood it takes the infusion so I’m not complaining.
Simone80!great news for your sister.
Mara congratulations on those scanss that you said you already knew we’re good!
Candy your game idea sounds good. I don’t know how to play a lot but it would be fun teaching us and if we get too annoying we can just laugh at the good old girls scout try?
Mae welcome home. Geez I’d die on that bed.
Booboo yes “the word” means knocking knees and a light head. However awful I thought cancer was before I had it I know now the true insidious monster battling against good cells inside my body.
Sondra F glad you got that heat exhaustion low sodium under control.
Bliss good news about declining Covid and an outing how special is that. No matter where you go that’s some fresh new air-socializing.Found fit bit YAY 😁
Mel your masks are showing up fancy all over town. 🎭 😷
Had my outpatient surgery yesterday. I’m still high from the twilight sleep. These narcotics are tough to get out of your system. No pool for me today.The trial injections worked so now I’m scheduled for Aug 24 nerve burning and then Sept 9th for the other part
. I’ll be in your pocket Moth in the 24th. Some of these ladies need to tell you their port stories. Maes is wonderful with the Dr singing her to sleep. Nurses and doctors are really caring sometimes.
Waving hello to Chicagoan SondraF Moomala and everyone else I missed
Tanya
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Moth, I am glad to have the port. It saves so much pain and anxiety from vein hunts. Make sure you are getting a power port that can take scan contrasts.
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Ok, now my oncology team thinks I’m an alien. I had only one round of Gemzar, and I have side effects they have never seen. My port area is bright red, so they did a culture to see what’s going on. It’s itchy but not hot. Culture came back negative. Go figure. I have also been very dizzy since my treatment last week, and that’s not even a known side effect. So now we’re trying to figure out if it’s my heart. So we proceeded with my 2nd treatment, and I came home and called my cardiologist. We’re checking to see if the pacer is still good
Is anyone else on Gemzar?
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Sondra, I am sorry the heat has been so hard on you. Glad it is calming down for you and cooling off. Heat is hard for a lot of people to deal with and certainly is no joke if you are not used to it. We have it here all the time so I took my time building my tolerance because I have no choice. Home is air conditioned so I can always cool off.
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Booboo I don’t know anyone on Gemzar. There’s a group on here though.
Please follow up with cardiologist.
Prayer
Tanya
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Bliss58 - I'm itching to get to the casino too but have been hesitant to go. I like to play the slots and usually quit when I am ahead unlike my DH who always thinks he can win more. Good luck and I hope you hit the jackpot!
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welcome to our living room Lee. Hope to see you stay a while. It’s going to be another humid day outside I have a few errands Yuck! But at least it gets me out of the house DH got back last night so he’s here working. After my errands and his meetings. I’ll be sewing some. I’m trying to limit my time, I don’t want to burn out myself on something I enjoy so much. I want to look forward to it. The thing I love the most is the feeling of the fabric once I’ve ironed it and I’m starting fresh. Worst part is sewing the elastic, very clingy material. Many a cuss word thrown here or there lol. I must confess. All of sudden you here “bad word bad with cuss words”. Instead of yelling out the real bad words. Lol. He laughs at me The sewing thing has been so much fun. I sent my best friend. Some. She said Im pretty sure you should sell these. Which was her completely complimenting my work Made me feel good. I adore 🥰 her. Friends since age 13. Rare these days
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Laurie, hoping you get some answers on your reaction soon and echo the cardiologist followup which by now you are probably working on. So sorry to hear about that.
Bliss, hope you can get back out to a casino soon.
Mel, I think you have the right mind set about the masks. Pacing yourself will allow you to still enjoy and feel purposeful without becoming a chore. Too much of a good thing initially can definitely be spoiled if we somehow pressure ourselves to get it all done. I also say if you are getting a lot of compliments on the masks, I see nothing wrong with giving them for free to chosen people or charities that can distribute to the needy. I would say that if people do think you should sell them, I see nothing wrong with selling some for less money to help pay for material or even just to save up money for a special treat for you and the family as well. Just a thought.
I have been doing indoor walks. Not sure I feel like going out. Just baked up some laundry soda and combined with cheap oxygen bleach powder, powder sunlight detergent and oxiclean white revive. Put it in a container to use and boost laundry detergent. Surveys for some extra cash and that is about it. Feeling pretty good these days though.
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Mel - you should try making little pouches to keep the masks (fresh or used) in - like an envelope style or a drawstring. Alternatively, learn to put a zipper in!
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you've all helped reassure me about the port decision. My chemo nurse yesterday was also very enthusiastic about it. I just hope they do a good job of zoning me out for it. I've had some interventional radiologist who are skimpy on that and just do a local for procedures & wouldn't even slip me an ativan. I want lots of stoned happy juice 😉
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Moth, find out who will be in charge of your sedation and talk to them beforehand about your concerns. Except maybe don't say “stoned" (haha). A physician has to prescribe the Ativan, and they need time to get it from the hospital pharmacy, so give them enough lead time. When I get my bile duct stents exchanged, the anesthesiologist visits me in the pre-op area and I ask for a post-op scopolamine patch, which he then hustles to order.
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my dd works in surgical daycare as an RN. They have ativan on hand and just call the anasthetist next door for a verbal order - takes her minutes & they never say no. They're a super organized unit.
The Place I'm going told me by phone it will probably be conscious sedation. I'm going to ask them to lean towards unconsious pls
I swear my problem is that I'm one of the " pull yourself together people" and I always look in control and fine so everyone just blows me off as not needing anything. I need to learn how to get hysterical. Instead, I tend to just faint when I've had enough - which is more work for everyone than if I'd just been sedated in the 1st place lol
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I think I had fentanyl and versed for the port. Is that what you will have? They can certainly make you “all the way asleep” with that. Yeah, maybe you could channel Mrs. Bennet from the Pride and Prejudice movie: “You have no compassion on my poor nerves!“ I have a similar problem. I sound like I know what is what (and I often do) but there are gaps in my knowledge so then I’m not being watched. (Like when I did not realize I was heading for the need to go to the ER for fluids and electrolytes.)
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Moth,
You crack me up. I told my crew that put my port in that I have a strong resistance to pain meds, anesthesia, etc., which is true. Even my dentist has to give me twice as much novocaine as usual to get me numb. If you keep talking away and firing questions, it annoys them enough to put you out. So get your chat on!
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Moth, I’m similar in being in control and am often viewed by friends as unbreakable. It took moments of thinking “I don’t know if I can live like this” while starving these past several months to actually admit that I was seriously struggling.
Tell them what you need and good luck
DH and I put a down payment on the new trailer today. It had to be ordered from the factory, so looking at delivery in October, then more trips!
Hi to all
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Enjoy your new trailer when you get it and of course enjoy those trips
Moth, when I was officially dx with my brain met and started having MRI, that freaked me out. When it came time for brain surgery, they were going to have me be awake for the MRI then knock me out afterword. I asked to be put under right away because I was already nervous. You tell them you are scared and ask for more sedation if you need it. I am sure they can totally knock you out and bring you right back quickly if that is what you need. I had to be knocked out to get a silicone ear plug piece that had melted onto my eardrum out as they could not take without me screaming. The entire surgery took 20 mins and no heavy after effects.
Edited to add, I am now so relaxed that I tend to fall asleep in the machine to the noises. Passes the time since it takes about an hour.
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illimae, is your insurance helping you with the cost of replacing your travel trailer? Is there something like LoJack that you can put on this one? I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this!
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Sunshine99, yes the adjuster will be in touch Monday with the amount. I doubt it’ll be what we paid but hopefully it covers what we owe on it. And while we thought a storage yard with coded entry, cameras and a trailer hitch lock were enough, this one will absolutely have a gps tracker, maybe two.
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One more thing, a fun moment while camping. DH, me and our friends took turns eating these jelly beans and before each person ate one, we’d say it could be (the good thing) or “something else”. It’s fun to watch your friends gag, lol
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I've seen my kids play this game and it is hysterical. Sometimes it's things like vomit, or dirty socks. Or burnt hair. Wet dog. There is all kinds of gross tastes But the expressions and gags are the best part for sure I agree Mae. Great time. Glad you found the trailer you wanted. But I'm sorry you're dealing with this at all. People suck
Welcome back sunshine . hope you're going to have a good weekend. I'm planning on doing some sewing not too much but some. I got some new fabric. Dh brought this flower andpuppy fabric home for me. So I'm excited.Candy~ you're on my mind. Thinking of you. Hope your doing well. Hugs friend.
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Well this weekend should be fairly quiet for me. DB and SIL are busy and will be going to a cottage or something the week after. Other than chatting with my phone friend, will be alone. I am kind of looking forward to this to be honest. I don't mind the bit of solitude and just interacting via social media, this site and others I belong to. If I crave people contact, I will go out. I have been looking at my skin and how tan it is, not sure I like it. Think I need to just bite the bullet and use my UV umbrella. I have looked at hats but they don't protect my decolletage the same way and I was told not to expose it to the sun. I also happen to think alot of the hats are ugly. I just find carrying the umbrella a PIA but guess if I choose to be out in the prime sunlight hours, should just put up with it.
So far today, am working on washing my entire bed set. I don't have a full size washer so they are going in one at a time, the drying is what can take a while. Flannelette sheets take the longest, others only take a few minutes after being spun. I am proud because it used to take me all day, now, I think I should be done the main ones before noon hour. Not sure what I will do after, maybe housework. Not sure I am feeling the walking today. I have all day to decide if I want to though. Figure the bedding must count as exercise.
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