Illinois ladies facing bc

Julie- I had a full thickness tear and had to have surgery.  Check out Dr. Cummins at Lake Cook Orthopedic in Barrington:    http://www.lakecookorthopedics.org/pages/cummins.php  I thought he did an excellent job for me.  And he specializes in shoulders.   

But, up front, I have to tell you that this is a VERY DIFFICULT AND PAINFUL surgery to recover from.  It's not like the knee, where people are walking around the same day.  The shoulder moves in so many directions and is so difficult to work on- you have to be very careful how you move it after surgery.   If it's just a partial tear, it's not too bad in the recovery, though still painful.  But a full tear like mine- it could be several weeks before you are allowed to start to move your arm (I had it immobilized with a padded splint) other then some small circles done with the arm hanging down.  I had to do everything left handed for weeks.  And NO DRIVING.  Then there is the EVIL PT, honestly, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  Chemo was a breeze compared to this. 

 But, it really does depend on what kind of tear you have and on which shoulder head.  Just thought you should know. 

Susan I will be thinking of you tomorrow.

O.K. You Northern girls.....Button down those hatches and get ready to take cover.  It sounds like a storm is coming.

Hi Everyone,

 Haven't had a chance to read posts for awhile, but did get two emails from Sabina, and one from Julie about viagra from Canada. Did look at the site a little, and I think lipitor is less expensive there. I hope sabina is okay, as she has not posted for a very long time.

So sorry about your shoulder, Julie. I know it is a painful injury, but the recovery is different for everyone. Kind of like se's from chemo, I think. A doctor friend of ours had the surgery recently, and he said it wasn't bad at all. Also, if they can do it arthroscopically it may be an easier recovery. You really can't tell what you need without your ortho consult, but it is usually some form of surgery. I love the good news about the breast MRI!

Susan, I'll be thinking of you tomorrow too. I guess we all hate those things. I'm going in August, and already not happy about it.

Gotta go see about some dinner, and I'll try to come back later.

ovarian cancer

oh donniadio I did not remember your ovca history, i'm so sorry. As far as i have read this past 12 years it is NOT easier or the same as BC. Mostly it's never detected until stage 3 or 4. are you on the acor listserve, IT'S GREAT. www.acor.org pick your cancer.you can get it in digest form or in separate emails like you can get this forum (that's why i usually write to our addy list rather than forum). They have an annual party every year at least! This August it's in Canada, but only about 7 are signed up so it might be cancelled. in Regina. They joke about what that rhymes with, a body part. 8-)

I am sorry ...again...

BRCA test

my mom's brca came out negative (they dont know all). she has lots of cancer on maternal side... I had lumpectomy as a result (we paid 1500 extra to get results in 5 days to make surgery decisions, Medicare paid for her initial test by Myriad).

We probably talked about it or wrote? Yes, I had my ovaries out and it was fine, but you are married so there is one part that might not be fine...but I have heard it's workable. (I don't know, I have lost interest, surrounded by cancer and other illnesses)

 Jan Clare's Mom had this awful disease as well so she knows a lot about ovca, too.

Mom is here...IL lady i just gave her your hug, thanks! and well wishes from you all (thanks)...they gave us a day or two more in the hospital which makes me feel a LOT better even though my pets are fending for themselves, but they are certainly used to it this past year when I abandoned them for next door. 8-)

housecalls by excellent staff, I think they do suburbs, too 815-986-2610

Anyone in Northern IL, md at home,

i was really upset, it's a GREAT service and their website is down so I suspected the worse. But then I found it under House calls of Greater Chicago, Dr. DeHaan, he and staff were AWESOME for my Uncle who had dementia, who after a few years was just tough to get ready to go out to the doctor, and later he did not walk anymore...I would highly recommend them. It's based in Rockford. Dr. DeHaan also had a father who house called in the suburbs, if I remember correctly.

My uncle had Blue Cross (federal gov. job, no Medicare) and he only paid $15 each visit, how easy is THAT.

losing what you wrote

I lost my screen and thought i was gonna lose this but I hit my forward button on firefox mozilla and thankfully this was still here.

Kate

Delnor here said storm watch till 9 p.m. and someone said tornado watch in Dekalb.

thanks for info Kater!

Safe here and glad it is over!!!Oakbrook looks like it had a mini tornado!!!My DH has been at a fire all night and think it may be a senior center in flossmoor.

Mak. and Susan.... good and healthy wishes goin for you!!!!1

Hope ALL are well and everyone is safe and sound today. Go to bourbonnias today for a vet appt and hope there is no damage to tend with.

 sunshine thoughts!!

Donna

Hi from Centralia,

Nothing much going on here but resurfacing of the road in front of our office.  Great challenge as traffic backs up two miles down the road.  Nothing much happening in the office.  No one really wants to come here and face all that. 

Good news is that tonight our humidity goes away for a while.  I can hardly wait.  That has been hard to take.  Hot weather I am not too bad with but putting it with the humidity gets me yawning big time and just wanting to find some nice air-conditioning and stay there. 

I now have 11 cats I'm sitting with in my computer room.  Tight quarters to say the least.  It is temporary, thank goodness, but my friend was not able to make any other arrangements.  Sigh!!! I could not in good conscience refuse.  Well, there you go, my great love for animals has gotten me into "another fine mess, Ollie " but what the hey.  Sometimes you just have to do what is in front of you that needs doing. 

Other wise, all is well.  Just be glad when the road work is done and the slow-downs are over.  It is difficult often here as traffic is either leaving town or arriving from the East so crossing the street on a good day can be dicey  -- forget it right now. 

I'll be checking in later I"m sure.  See you all then and a big hi to everyone.

Hugs, Jackie

Hello~~~  Ladies~~ 

What a great day after the storm last night..

Heather- nice to meet you and welcome~~

This month is filled with the doctors appts. and more to come, yikes..

I gotta read 7pages to catch up with you ladies...  wow..  where was I.....^^

I had my first PT yesterday and came out with thick bandages and sleeves..  omg..  I didn't expect that at first visit...  She told me to ware all time except shower or bath.. I also have cording under my armpit and it is visible and hurts to touch and she told me I am stage 1 for LE so not too bad..  she al so told me it will be easy to maintain the cord and I will feel a lot better soon..

Laura, Buddy- How's your PT going?? 

Navymom, Donna- How are you??

WendyK- We went through south elgin one day during the vacation.. we're coming home from the railway museum from Union, IL and I was thinking hey, Wendy lives around here, let's shout out to Wendy~~  so I did, in my head and through my mind..

I miss you ladies and can't wait to see you again if I can..

Hi, to rest of the ladies~~~  Rita, Susan, Jackie, JulieB, JanClare, BJ, Smerf, Marina, EnglishMajor, Kater, LisaMed, Marylin, Brat, Ginny, Connie, Michele

I hope I didn't for get anybody..

Have a great day ladies and enjoy the great day with sunshine~!~!

  

Hi everyone, and welcome to Heather.

 Rita-I wish I lived closer to you. I've always wanted a pontoon boat, and I like to fish too! (and I like the casino's too Sounds like you will have a great summer!

Jackie-How kind of you to watch your friend's cats - for how long?  We are down to one dog and it sure is quiet. I'm thinking about another dog, but I don't know yet because of the expense, and lack of time, so I don't know.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.  ~Leo Rosten

Hi All!

What a beautiful day it is today!  I feel really great today.  Even put on makeup for the first time since my surgery in April!

Boy this chemo stuff is weird.  Only had the fatigue and flu-like feeling - though no nausea since I took the medication.  The weird thing is that I thought that I'd be through and I'd have another wave of  it.  One minute I was fine and then suddenly I'd be hit with fatigue and joint pain.   I'm not complaining since it could have been so much worse!

I've been at my sisters the whole time and came back to my house yesterday.  My wonderful kitty cat was happy to see me.  Everytime I woke up last night he was right next to me purring away.  He is such a wonderful creature.  I missed him so much. 

I went to Naturally Yours last week and purchased a couple of bras and prosthesis so I'm not lopsided until I can have reconstruction surgery.  They were really nice there and the shop was soooo close to my sister's house.

Hope everyone is enjoying the day as much as I am! 

Carolyn

Jan Claire:  My brother tore his rotator cuff and spent about a month immolized!  But after much PT (with another very EVIL physical therapist  ), he is doing fine.  You will HATE the PT and therapist, but it will help you in the end!

Jackie:  You are a very wonderful person to help your friend with so many cats.  Do they all get along?  I'd love to get another cat (my oldest had to be put down last April - she was 20 and in ill health), but my one cat is so possesive of me I'm afraid she's beat the heck out of a new one.  But, maybe 2 are enough!

Well, on my side, it has been 16 days since my first chemo and I haven't lost a hair!  Had a follow up appointment with my MD and mentioned this to him and all he said "it will happen".  Hmmm.  My blood work came back very good so I am on next week for my 2nd treatment.  MD did give me Rx for Lomotil and Diflucan (in case I have the same problems as last time at least I'll be prepared).  And I just joined NetFlix so I have a whole queue of films to watch if I don't feel good.  I don't know why I didn't join earlier, it's a great deal for so many films to watch.

I went last Saturday and bought a very cute $300.00 wig and have been wearing it to work.  Only a few people know it's a wig.  I feel so dishonest when someone catches me in the hall and tells me how nice my haircut looks.  It is a cute style though and if (when) my hair grows back I'll have it styled this way.   I need someone to take a pic of me with my shaved head and another with my wig on.  I tried to use my cell phone and the pictures look horrible (too close!), sort of like taking with a fisheye lens.

I can't remember if I mentioned that I'm eligible for Intermittent FMLA at work.  So happy as I was very worried about my job security.  Everyone is being very understanding though.

The storms that came through here weren't too bad - not as bad as south and west of here.  Thank heaven as every time we have a bad storm and I'm away from my house I keep expecting to turn the corner into the parking lot and find this MONSTER tree that's in front of my unit ripped up and crashed into my unit!  So scary.

Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend and no SE from treatment!  Take care!

Brat,lost my whole post I was doing but yes.....the cats do well together.  Seems there are always one or two in a touchy mood, but how would we be if we had to exist in close quarters with a bunch of people.  In addition to the computer room 11, I have 21 of my own, and I help a friend with her 10 or 12 and two dogs daily as well as going to 4 feral cat feeding stations daily and feed them.  Lately there seems to have been a real influx of raccoons.  At one spot is 4 adults.....I think only one at another spot, and then at one other there is a mother and 3 babies.  I'd like to remove the dining privileges, but where they are is not conducive to trapping and relocating which we have done before as with  these groups the trap would have to be out in the open an would be stolen. 

Gosh, you are fortunate to have your hair yet.  Does your scalp our your hair feel funny? All the individual hair follicles on my head started to hurt a little ( not bad, just enough to notice ) and after that...my hair got dry and lifeless -- felt funny, and then a day or so later....maybe two it did start coming out in clumps.  I pulled as much out as seemed to want to come....then off to the local beauty college to have it all shaved off.  Must have been odd for the students --- hoping to make someone look nice --- instead, far opposite.  We all survived though.  I looked awful as a bald person but I saw lots of women who didn't. 

Good for the job security.  Going through all this is difficult enough w/o having to be made to worry about your job at the same time. 

Best go and get some work here at work done.  See you all later.

Hugs, Jackie

jackie..How do you not loose any of the kitties?!!!LOLOL.. Would love to see a pic of this!!! What a great lady you are in doin this!!!

Marina...this is the time for YOU and it is one thing I cannot emphasize enough when goin thru this jounrey... SOOOO glad you are able to do this!!!

susan...Good thoughts goin for you and your MRI results!!!

Just finsished making two dishes of eggplant parmgiana for weekend guests! Enjoy the weekend ladies and be well!

Donna

Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the
universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human
nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if
only we can open ourselves to it.
     - Emily H. Sell

Happy Saturday to all. Had a wonderful fun filled week in LV. The weather was soooooo hot but I was at the pool soaking up that Vit D. Night time was fun. My sister was the big winner this time around. So drinks were on her for that night. lol  Boy, I sure missed the bad storms you had here while I was gone. My girlfriend who was with us, had a huge 100 year old Oak tree fall on her house while we were gone. She lost half her house as it went through the roof and landed 2 floors down into her kitchen. Her dh and kids were in the basement at that time. So everyone was ok. I feel so bad for her. Her house can be fixed, but lives are irreplaceable.

Rita...Welcome to the boating world. Ahhh water, boat and fishing what more could a girl ask for. Pontoon boats are great party boats. You can fit lots of people on them and don't have to worry about falling over. Did you name your boat yet? Our boat is named the Crack of Dawn. I missed being on it while I was gone. Hoping to get up north next week. Happy boating.!!!!

Jackie....babysitting kitties. You are truly a wonderful friend to babysit those cuties. Animals bring so much comfort to us...and you have lots of comfort. Did you get hit with those bad storms too. How is your back feeling? Hope you are doing better.

Wendy....missed seeing you. How are you feeling these days? Have you been driving with the top down and enjoying that sunshine. Just think your beach chair is right around the corner for you. Ahhh, the water is calling you.....

Laura.....you are a busy girl. How is your classes coming with the kiddies? Must be fun to teach the little ones. Did you have lots of trees down with these bad storms?

Zap.....Glad to see you had fun in Delavan. Boat is my life...water, sun and fun. Next time you are up north give me a jingle. The 4th weekend there will be lots of craft fairs, food and fun. Maybe time for a drive up north. lol Glad you had good MRI results.

Carolyn...glad to see that you are doing ok with your chemo txs. Hang in there. When is your exchange surgery?

Marina....on FML good for you. Now it is time to heal and get strong. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Connie...up north and enjoying the water too. Waving to you form the lake.

To everyone else I missed I hope you are all doing well. Well I gotta scoot...have lots to do today.

Have a wonderful fun filled weekend everyone. Remember that there is life after bc.  So go out and enjoy the day. I know I will be having fun today. The Taste of Chicago is here....food and music. yeah!!!

Remember to be healthy...be happy...enjoy life. Hugs to all.

BJ