thread for middle age to older Christian women.

Thanks Nancy. Really praying the treatments help relieve the pain.

Prayers!!!

Sent too soon. I am just blessed all around and especially to have the support and encouragement of all you brave women.

I am tired. Didn’t get much sleep last night. My appointment today was at 1:30 but will be at 8:30 for the next 2 weeks and then it will change to mid morning. I’m hoping to sleep better tonight and am going to bed now (I hate going to bed when it’s still light!) in hopes of being more awake tomorrow.

Thank you again for the prayers and encouragement and I’m praying for each of you! 🙏

Cheryl, take baby steps. One day at a time…all the sayings you can. Fatigue and tiredness is common. It is good you have all your family support and you have ours too.

PET scan results from today are posted and there is mild decrease in both bone and liver lesions. The brain is clear. So the Taxol continues to work. I'm parising the Lord even while sitting here with a broken leg!

Love to all.

I tried to post twice last night and lost them both times. 🤷‍♀️Since I’m trying to get to bed earlier I just stopped trying.

Chris That’s great news. That’s definitely an answer to prayer.

Nancy, I tried to find a threa on radiation but couldn’t find one. I did look into one on ILC but ended up going down the rabbit hole of medications. I figured I’d stick with this one and deal with the medication when the time comes and I also love the Christian aspect of this one.

I did better at finding my way back to radiation, although I still forgot to pick up a gown before going into the dressing room. I’m determined not to do that today. The tech told me that one woman did that and just came out covering herself with her hands. I at least went back out fully dressed. 😁 There are separate waiting rooms for women and men but the dressing rooms are used by both. I still got turned around going back out. Directionally challenged, I guess.

We’re still in the 90’s here with awful humidity. I decided to take the dogs to daycare every day this week. They get rid of their energy and I’m able to come home and take a nap. Normally I take the pup for a walk around the neighborhood but it’s just too hot and I don’t have the energy. I’ve always been a morning person but this has taken away my motivation to get up and moving. I’m hoping it will eventually come back especially if it ever cools off.

Time to get moving since I need to finish getting ready, get the girls to daycare and back here to pick up my husband and leave on time. Everyone take care. Prayers coming your way 🙏

Thanks Chris I’m praying for your healing!

I remembered the gown today but still got turned around when I was leaving

Is everyone doing okay?

Love and prayer,

Wheatfields

Hi dear sisters.

I have been burning the candle at both ends if that is even a thing in retirement!!! I have had two sessions with my myotherapist and this week she is on vacation so I only have two more until Aug. 8. She wants me to do four sessions of exercises and I am finding that quite challenging as we have just come out of a heat wave and high ozone and high smoke alert. I was watering my friends flowers for 8 days and that was challenging as some days I wore a mask and it was rough for my back plus it was during the heat wave. I thought this week would be a bit easier but now I am getting new clothes washed and then the brutal reality of fitting things into one checked bag. The exercises are definitely helping and I can sit better but there are still times I have needed to ice. I am getting much better. Will I be good to go on Aug. 8th. I have just asked the Lord for His help in my healing and I am doing everything I know to do to make it better.

I have a hair apt today and my third botox neck injections tomorrow. I was up until 1 am last night trying to figure out how to use the new air tags I bought for my luggage. UGH Still have to figure it out.

Cheryl, how is radiation going? Remembering to get your gown and remembering how to get out of the facility hopefully you are a master at now. I would try not to stress over the meds until you are on them and then decide. Some people have no issues. It sounds like they have reduced the number of rads sessions over the years. I think that will be a great help to you. I started out with 33 including boosts and I think they ended up not doing a couple at the end. Praying that you are managing and trying to stay as positive as you can. I had a great RO and a great tech team. They seemed like new friends over the course of time. That was a blessing.

Wheatfields, how are you doing? How is your leg doing? I can see how leg issues have a time frame all their own. Did you ever decide on this new doctor or are you going to keep looking? How is your weather doing? I have been looking at the 10 day forecasts in various parts of Utah I will be in. It is such a shock. It is hard to grasp that the hotter temps are more North like Salt Lake City which has been hitting into the 100''s and then a couple hours south a little cooler and then at Bryce Canyon quite cooler but it is all in the elevation. What is a hoot is that packing pros tell you to wear your heaviest clothing and hiking boots on the plane. So this should be interesting stepping into 100 temps at Salt Lake City with winter like clothing on. It will be another chapter in my book that my Mom always told me I should write. LOL

Chris, our Bible Study teacher has tendonitis in her foot from doing a log of walking on cobblestone areas on a mission trip to Japan. She is now in a boot as well. She has lost a tremendous amount of weight this past year and a half and I am guessing not being able to walk on her treadmill is going to be difficult. I can only imagine your boot being very uncomfortable and hot. I am glad you have been able to take it off to wash your foot. Did your doctor give you a time frame for healing and wearing the boot? It is hard to believe your DGD is going into 6th grade. Is that a school change into middle school? How are you feeling in general? I hope you are getting some much needed rain. Bryce Canyon has experienced some flash flooding and have had many days of rain as I have been looking. They are known for having a lot of lightning. I remember one young lady I was talking to on the phone from the Lodge back in January when I had booked the Lodge inside of the park. She said oh you will be able to take pictures of the amazing lightning we get here. I am thinking NO WAY with my tripod as a lightning rod. I have toyed with the idea of taking pics from my garage when we have incredible lighting but even afraid to do that.

Hershey, how are you doing? I hope you are feeling okay? I know you had mentioned some blood work being off. I hope that is not a serious issue for you. How is your garden? When I was watering for my friend she had the usual assortment of vegetables besides the ton of flowers she had. I does take the tomatoes here some time to take off it appears.

Teka, I imagine you are experiencing the smoke from Canada like we have been. It is so strange how these smoke plumes as they call them can form miles away from Canada. I tried to stay inside as much as I could because it was really affecting me. How are you and the family doing?

Take care everyone. I appreciate your prayers and you have mine. Pray that I got pack without a meltdown. LOL

Love,

Nancy

Cheryl, thank you for sharing with us how your radiation is going. It sounds like you are doing great, yet I know it's a journey you would rather not be on. But the Lord will continue to walk with you each step of the way. It is so wonderful that you are soon halfway through the treatments and that you can find your way around better. We will continue praying for you!

Nancy, your trip is coming up so soon and I'm sure you are excited but yet have so many questions in mind. We will be praying for your safety and protection every day and that all will go smoothly from start to finish. Also, I know you have a birthday coming up soon and wish you a wonderful day and a wonderful trip as a treasured memory. Praying too for your strength and health each day.

Chris, so glad to hear that you have a system worked out with your boot and your foot. Praying for continued healing and also for your family. It doesn't seem possible that your DGD would be starting 6th grade already!

Hershey, praying for good results in your blood work and for your garden.

Teka, praying that you are doing well and protected from all the smoke from Canada.

The other night my sister was asking me when I was coming to visit, it appears like she may have forgotten that I was there a couple weeks ago for a week. It is sad that she can't retain those good memories but the moment of enjoyment is what matters most. My nurse friend hasn't been feeling well this week, I wonder if part of it is worrying about her sister returning to TN for a couple weeks on Sunday. Her son has begun the chemo for his cancer and not feeling the best now, he says nothing tastes very good.

Take care dear sisters, love and prayer,

Wheatfields

Hi ladies,

I need to make this very short for now. I have not been feeling great and could not sleep most of the night. I have been nauseated the last couple of days and figured out the culprit was the one thing I could take for my pain… which is Tumeric. So that is a bit disappointing. I can still take Tylenol but Tumeric acted as an anti inflammatory. I don't tolerate the usual anti inflammatories either OTC or prescription.

Cheryl, in answer to your question I thought chemo brain was only attributed to chemo but I did a search and it can be caused by radiation as well. I have fibromyalgia so brain fog is well associated with that. When I get good sleep it doesn't bother me but at the moment I am in a fog from not sleeping. I have a feeling you do a lot of researching, am I right? I do the same and sometimes to my detriment. Sometimes overthinking can really cause a lot of anxiety. I can attest to that in preparing for my trip which is Aug.8-Aug 17. I am preaching to myself now too but try to relax and give it all to God instead of (like me) trying to figure it all out on my own. I can easily twist myself into a pretzel over things which if I had only given it to God to begin with I could have saved myself a lot of misery. You are almost half way done. Good for you. You will make it to the end and then if fatigue has set in you can deal with that when it is all over. The fatigue does go away.

Wheatfields, I remember afterr being with my Mom for three weeks I would talk to her on the phone when I had just got home and she would ask me when I was coming for a visit. I know that can be upsetting but I would just remind her that I was just there and then have to let it go. I am afraid what is happening to my sister now.

Have a good weekend dear sisters. I need to sign off for now.

Love,

Nancy

Cheryl, your day would tire most women so just mowing by itself would be a big day for me since I don't mow. I did do some work outside when I was already operating on fumes and cleaned out three birdbath/ fountains and dead headed some rose bushes and petunia plants and battled with my Candada thistle which I call the weed from the devil and I am ready for bed.

My TV had been acting up and completely turning itself off the last two weeks. Tonight it turned off twice within a 45 min period. I did a reset of the cable box and oh my it was really hot. I did an AI search and it said unplug the cable box immediately from the wall and swap it out and to buy a new surge protector. It said it could catch fire so do not use it. So my usual Sunday is going to church and coming home and resting and sometimes taking a nap. Not tomorrow. I will be swapping out the TV box and hopefully able to buy a new surge protector. Some of you may not know this and I have sort of ignored the advice but surge protectors only last 3-5 yrs. Wow. I have probably had this one that is connecting my TV devices up to 15 plus years so I guess it is time. I am just glad the TV was turning off like it did. Otherwise it could have caught fire it was getting so hot.

Maybe the Lord is giving me some prevacation TV withdrawal ahead of time. At Bryce Canyon they have no TV's in the room. They also have no AC or wi fi. Not that I am spending a fortune on this vacation to watch TV but no AC will be interesting. I am a bit concerned with how cold it gets at night. The no wi fi will be a withdrawal as well. It is supposed to be a rustic experience at this lodge within the Nation Park at Bryce Canyon. i booked months in advance to get it. I wanted it only so I wouldn't have to walk so far with my camera equipment.

I hope you are sound asleep now and I will be there soon. I hope tomorrow there is no brain fog for either one of us and we can both have a great day.

Love,

Nancy

Hi everyone,

I am in the count down to August 8th and I am completely worn out in planning and packing etc. I honest don't know how parents with several kids manage going on a long vacation. I have ran into some hitches yesterday which I was in a panic. If you don't hear from me for a very long time I may be stranded in Utah. Actually I won' t have my laptop so I won't be communicating for the 10 days I will be gone.

I found out on Tuesday morning that one of my friends had died in her sleep. She was a former teacher at one of my schools and was a very strong Christian. She started coming to our Zoom Bible Study after I had put her and another friend who also has MS together. They became fast friends. I was in complete shock about this. It has been a tough last few days.

Cheryl, you are well past half way done now. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doing a 5K five days after your radiation will be quite a feat. I thought going to the July 4th fireworks the day after I finished was a big deal. LOL Good for you and your family.

Chris, how are you feeling. If you had an infusion on Tues this may still be one of your good days. I don't know if I will be flying over Colorado but I will wave out the window just in case you are looking up. I do have a window seat unless that changes at the last minute.

I need to sign off now but I hope everyone is doing okay.

I had my third therapy session this morning and I am improving quite a lot. Now if I can just continue with all of the exercises as my packing ramps up that will be a good thing. I think I have packed all of my camera gear which turned out to be more of a deal that I had expected. Next will be packing my winter clothes in one suitcase and summer clothes in the other. My neck is feeling the stress of it all. I had a Botox treatment on Friday but it take a few weeks to start working.

Have a good weekend dear sisters.

Love,

Nancy

Hi Chris, I am sure all of your extra apts are mind boggling. I am glad to hear that you will be getting an ankle brace. I remember those times when I could finally get a shower. It feels so good and the fact you could do this without help I bet was a great feeling. I am sure they want to cover all the bases esp since you did pass out to cause this broken leg to begin with. It is 11 pm and I still have to go outside and do some watering and fill a bird feeder. I just spent the evening trying to figure out the TSA rules all over again. With TSA pre check it is supposed to be easier but I will have my compression sleeve and glove which I guess will require an explosive check on my hands. Oh my goodness. Yes, I understand the why of it all but the hassle of trying to not do the wrong thing is daunting when I have never done this before. A couple of friends from the neighborhood took my out for an early birthday breakfast yesterday which was nice. My birthday isn't until Monday but I have another therapy apt that day.

Praying that you can get through all of these apts. as smoothly as possible.

Take care.

Love,

Nancy

l1ttlec, whine away my friend. That's what we are here for. And you are going through a tough time. It's good that you have a daughter who cares so much and is willing and able to help. One of the hardest things for me was learning how to accept help as I was so independent. But now I have no choice. Good for you for walking and taking good care of yourself. As you go through this storm remember God is walking beside you with each step. You are loved.

Hi dear sisters.

My friend that passed was a teacher that taught in one of my elementary schools. After retirement she contracted MS. That didn't stop her from getting into writing childrens books the last several years. In my Bible study one of the ladies also has MS and writes Christian poetry. The Lord just put on my heart to see if I could introduce them to each other. Long story short they became fast friends. I am more concerned about my Bible study friend as they became very close. I imagine it is the same bond we feel with breast cancer sisters. My friend who is much younger than we are became very close with my friend who died. She has gone through a year where her Social security disability was cut off and she lost her job both at the same time. It has been a long ordeal for her and now she has a job that she has only been in for a short time and I think is finding the commute overwhelming and the stress of learning the job. So my concern is now more is for her with her close friend passing. I think this has been a real blow to her as they were a great support for one another.

Hershey, how are you doing? How has your garden doing? We have had so much rain it has actually about killed some of my outside plants. We are in some very comfortable days right now with a lot of rain and much cooler temps. However when I land in Salt Lake City this Saturday they are in the 100's and I guess I will get to experience what that feels like with dry air. I have been packing the last couple of days to be ready for this trip which honestly Ididn't think would ever actually happen. I talked to United Airlines today to confirm that my wheelchair assistance will with be with me pretty much from start to finish. I am relieved about that. I also caught my middle name was spelled wrong on my e ticket so I got that corrected. Who knows what a minor misspelling could cause in computer systems. I am very worn out from everything but I hope to get better sleep and finish packing soon. I typed up a packing list a couple weeks ago so that will help me to not forget anything. I have one more muscle therapy apt tomorrow and it is really helping me a great deal. I haven't had to sit on ice packs for quite a while and I can almost walk without a limp which is a miracle.

Cheryl, how many more treatments to have to go now? I find that if I have nights with little sleep I get quite depressed. Hopefully you can get some good rest and that will help your brain fog. Hang in there. The finish line is coming faster than you know.

Wheatfields, how are you doing? How is your leg? Are you finished with PT now. Has your nurse friend's sister gone back home now. I know that she must have appreciated the time her sister was there to help her. Did you ever find a new doctor?

Chris, I hope you will be able to get that ankle brace soon. I was talking with my neighbor who came over to help me with this backpack. I felt a bit ridiculous that I couldn't figure this out and then realized once he looked at it that it didn't have a strap that I thought it should have. He then told me about there vacation in Colorado hiking the Rockies. They even took their 18 yr old dog with them who ran some of the trails with them. The Mom fell and really got banged up but she is a tough one and the next day they were all white water rafting. I know Co. is so beautiful and I hope to see it again on day. I am excited to see a little mountain range on my two night stop over on my way to Bryce Canyon. It is also near 100 there too. Bryce temps are going to be mild compared to that I think but a lot of monsoon rains.

Teka, how are you doing. I know you like to take a break from the forum every year and you may be on that break.

I turn 75 tomorrow. It feels strangely comfortable now but nearing 80 seems daunting. Thank you all for your prayers for my big trip. I have had some days not too long ago where my stress was off the charts but now that it is finally coming together I can breathe a little easier now. God is good.

Take care everyone. Have a great week. Excuse errors. Don't have time to fix now.

Love,

Nancy