Life Just Took a Sharp Turn

This year continues to be the "gift" that just keeps on giving. If you visit here on a (semi)regular basis you know that this year has brought a LOT of things for my family to deal with. As of yesterday we've added one more.

Cancer.

I received a diagnosis of endometrial cancer yesterday. It is early stages, what they call 1C. Still, my oncologist (yes, I have one of those now) is not wasting any time. I got blood work and an EKG before I left the hospital yesterday. I am scheduled for a total hysterectomy on August 27. My pre-operative appointment with my PCP is next Friday. I am waiting for them to call and tell me when they schedule me for a full-body CT scan.

Whew.

The scan is important as it should show whether or not there is cancer anywhere else. If there is, my treatment schedule will change as I will have to do chemo before surgery. My doctor doesn't think this is likely, but we have to check. If the scan shows nothing then I will just have to have some radiation after the surgery.

It's kind of weird how life is the same today and yet totally different.

I spoke to my work and told a few people there. The HR person wasn't in today so I still need to see her and figure things out. I will have to be off at least 4-6 weeks.

My husband is being very supportive, an absolute rock and has already asked for the days I have the surgery and follow up off. 

My daughter is doing what she does best, talking about it with all the family and digging and researching online. 

My mom still has her hands full with my stepdad and can barely manage that. Her stress levels have been on the rise again since he came home a week ago. I know she cares and is worried, but she doesn't have it in her to be supportive right now.

My sisters-in-law and nieces have circled the wagons and come out in force to offer support. I have to admit it's kind of surreal reading the family texts and it's all about me and my health.

I haven't gone "public" anywhere else. My daughter asked if I was announcing it on Facebook. I told her no, not yet, anyway. Maybe I will when I have a better idea of how things are going to go.

I'm not afraid. I trust the Lord to take care of me. Still, I'm kind of over 2026 at this point.

I will be using the blog to chronicle the journey. 

Currently

I am

... mentally preparing myself to go back to work tomorrow. Why is it that the days leading up to vacation are weeks long and the actual vacation passes in the blink of an eye?

... vacation was wonderful. We all enjoyed it a great deal.

The kiddos love the water and waves!

On the giant swings at the Chincotiki bar and grill.

Showing the safe way to hold a crab.

Exploring a sandbar during an eco cruise.

This girl LOVES crab legs!

One of the beautiful sunset shots of the ponies my daughter captured. 

Our daughter and her family.

All of us at the LOVE chairs by the bay.

Another beach day.

Our daughter with a horseshoe crab in 2004.

Our granddaughter with a horseshoe crab in 2026.

A beautiful sunset on the island. Our daughter shared this
one to the Chincoteague Facebook page and got over 700
likes the last time I looked.

... looking for my next read. I read My Killer Vacation while on vacation. 

... still watching The New Girl and Tim is trying to give me a fear of bridges by watching Engineering Disasters.

... listening to the A/C and Oliver's meows and purrs (he has been very needy and glued to me since we got home).

... no cooking happened today, but tomorrow there's fresh corn, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cantaloupe, and honeydew to fill the menu. We stopped at a farm market I love on the way home yesterday.

... my stepdad has been home for a week now. So far, so good. Mom seems to be handling things okay for now and he is definitely doing better than he had been. They have nurses, wound care people, and physical therapists coming in most days so that helps.

... I go back to work tomorrow, but am off again on Tuesday. Tim is taking me to Magee Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh to meet with a GYN Oncologist. It's related to the tests I had done back at the beginning of the year. The tumor they saw then has grown to about 3cm. They don't think it's cancer, but it probably needs to be removed and it's in a tricky location. My regular GYN doesn't do "tricky" surgery so off to the specialist she's sending me.?

... we'll be celebrating our daughter's birthday this Saturday. How can it be 34 years? Next week our granddaughter will turn 7.

... giggling at these.

A New Day, Another Plan, and Some Thankfulness

I'm still not sure what happened this afternoon to send Mom over the edge, but she ended up at my daughter's house bawling out her stress and frustration. You don't do that in front of my daughter unless you are ready to release the hounds, so to speak.

My girl is nothing if not well versed in medical things and a defender of the underdog. Put those two things together and you've got a natural born advocate. Within a short time she had talked to an administrator at the hospital and had Mom on the phone with the administrator, too. It was a less than satisfying conversation.

I learned of all of this on my way home from work. By the time I got home my daughter was waiting for me and off to the hospital we went with Mom's blessing. It took a bit of doing, but we were able to meet with the hospitalist...who, a lifetime ago, was one of the young men I had the pleasure of teaching as a youth leader in church. Our families were very close at the time and he and his siblings were like my own kids. He was able to calm my daughter down and explain things very clearly. He talked with us for about an hour and I feel much better about things.

My girl still has some reservations, but since he ordered the CT-scan she was ready to fight to have done, she is feeling a bit better about things. I am glad my stepdad is in good hands.

I also learned today that Mom and my stepdad have decided he will go to a nursing home for a couple of weeks before thinking about going home. My stepdad thinks it would be better for Mom. It's Mom that is being the more stubborn of the two. She just doesn't seem to be able to admit that caring for him at home would be too much for her right now. Everyone from family to her doctor to my stepdad's doctor agrees she is entirely too stressed right now. She needs to take care of herself, too.

So, that's where things stand today. I am very thankful my daughter is at home and able to fight for Mom since I have to work. I am thankful for the doctor and his genuine concern and care. I am thankful Mom and my stepdad have decided to be reasonable. I'm thankful the CT-scan will be done just so we can be sure nothing serious is wrong with his spine. I'm thankful for all of the concern and prayers from you.

Update

For those paying attention and/or praying for the situation with my mom and stepdad I thought I'd post a quick update.

Zero answers have been found to explain his pain. Based on how things went today, physical therapy recommended he be moved to skilled nursing care...so a nursing home. He is not having that. He flat out refuses to consider it. He wants to go home.

After speaking with the hospitalist and the social worker, it's been decided he will come home in palliative care. That's not the same as hospice. The goal is to keep him comfortable and improve his quality of life by addressing physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. It also provides support and help for family members. You do not have to be in an end of life situation to receive palliative care.

The social worker will begin the steps to get the ball rolling tomorrow. We'll see how long it takes and how it goes. At least it's a decision that seems to make Mom and my stepdad relatively "happy." 

A Small Update

My stepdad is still in the hospital. It's weird. They say he's there for observation. They also say that means he isn't really in the hospital. Can someone please explain that one to me? I mean...he's in their bed, eating their food, being taken care of by their staff...I don't get it. Neither does Mom. She's worried what Medicare will have to say about that.

Anyway, they've run more tests and he's been poked and prodded by an army of people. So far they say he has a small aneurysm in his left leg (the other that started all the problems was in his right leg) and a fractured vertebrae. Mom asked what could have caused the fracture and was told "old age." Bottom line is they are going to keep "observing" him because they have no idea why he is experiencing so much pain. They just keep giving him pain meds, which have him more than a little fuzzy around the edges.

Another update concerning the consumer at my workplace. He was suspended, but today all the members of his team met and decided the best choice was to withdraw him from the program. I can't lie, everyone is pretty relieved.

Now I'm off to try and catch up with some of you and also with American Idol. 

It's been an awesome weekend. Yesterday, Tim, our daughter, granddaughter, and I set out early for Paws and Claws Animal Encounters in Bremen, Ohio. The trip was a Christmas present I had given us girls. Tim went along even though it wasn't really something he was excited about. I had purchased a fourth ticket in case our grandson changed his mind and wanted to go. He did not.

It was a 3 1/2 hour drive, one way, to get there. We did make it on time...a little early, actually, which allowed us extra time to explore the grounds and meet a lot of the animals. The rule is, if they animals stick their paws out, you can pet them. You just can't reach into the cage. Our granddaughter had a ball playing with the otters.

The main purpose of our visit was an otter encounter. We were in a room with about 12 other people and one of the owners gave a wonderful presentation about the otters and four other animals. We were able to see them up close and actually interact with some of them. The otters, of course, were the stars of the show.

The only disappointment was that the otters in the encounter were only mildly interactive, preferring to run around the room and play with each other. I guess you can't tell what mood they'll be in. Anyway, Tim said we girls (not him) need to go back to swim with the otters as it's a much smaller group (no more than 6) and you are in a small pool with 3 otters. That would be awesome, but will have to be a bit in the future due to how expensive it is.

On the way home we stopped at Strong & Co. for a very late lunch in the historic town of Somerset. Great food and I need to go back to explore the town one day! All together we were gone for about 12 hours. It was a long day, but a good one. I hope you enjoy the photos.

 

Currently

It's a comfortable, though cloudy, evening with temperatures in the mid 60's. Dark comes by 7:00 now and nothing has changed...I am still that weirdo who loves the early darkness. It brings people together inside, candles are lit, lights seem softer. It's cozy season!

I'm watching The Voice. I've only caught it sporadically in the past, but I'm really enjoying it. The coaches are so much fun.

I answered the call in a community group on Facebook for a new book club starting up. Six women met up at a local restaurant this past Friday to iron out the foundation and choose our first book. As of today we're up to 15 members! This is going to be so much fun. Our first book, which I started today, is Danielle Steel's Past Perfect.

At work, the new supervisor has a background in elementary education, and she's decided we should have a morning wake up time where we listen to upbeat music and dance. Not the worst idea, but all of her song choices tend to lean toward Romper Room. The Good Morning Song is the most insidious ear worm of them all.

All things autumnal are making me smile these days. I don't think it's going to be a very colorful fall here due to the dry conditions, but fall is still managing to make itself known with the tastes, the sounds, and the smells. 

As a family we decorated the yard for Halloween on Sunday. I haven't done that since my kids were at home, but now there are the grandchildren and our daughter doesn't decorate outside these days. I have enjoyed all the displays we've seen in recent years featuring clever and fun scenes with skeletons, so it was an easy decision to decide to give it a shot. Our front yard now has a "Hula-ween" theme. There are skeletons enjoying a luau (including a skeleton pig with an apple in its mouth) in their finest grass skirts, Hawaiian shirts, and lei's. There's one "floating" in an innertube and everywhere there are flamingos, both pink and skeletal. The pink ones have little skeleton jockeys. There's flaming torches, a skeleton alligator, and even a skeleton mermaid. It's all in good fun, not scary at all. I promise I'll get a few photos once the lighting is complete.

Like everyone else, I feel sad about recent events in the news. It feels like the whole world has gone stark, raving, mad. However, I am rejoicing at the awakening and revival I'm seeing in so many young people. In my own little world, it has meant our daughter going back to church (and getting her husband and children to go, too) and she finally took the major step of withdrawing the kids from public school and is beginning their homeschool journey this week. The kids are very excited and we all believe it will be better for them.

My knee (well...maybe my whole thigh) is feeling rather stiff this evening, but it is, I hope, a good thing. I got my first Euflexa injection today and they warned that would happen. Stiffness aside, I do think it has helped the pain a little bit. I get another injection next Monday and the final one the Monday after that. Here's hoping it works and holds off knee replacement for a while.

Feeling grateful...

• The man I took care of is in a nursing home and began chemo treatments today. There were days we didn't think it would get worked out.
• I got to attend church and worship with our daughter and her family.
• New friends in the book club.
• The weather is beautiful.
• I have good co-workers.
• I don't live in an urban area.

Giggling at...

Currently & the Happiness Challenge

I'm feeling relaxed and ready for Monday after having a 3-day birthday weekend. We didn't do anything super exciting on Friday, my actual birthday. We'd wanted to go to the big flea market in Rodgers, OH, but between my bum leg and the temperatures reaching the low 90's...we decided to skip it. Instead we spent the day together, doing this and that, having lunch with my mom (who has the same birthday) and stepdad, swimming with the grandchildren, and going out for dinner with our daughter's family.

Tim worked both Saturday and Sunday so it was no big deal that I went grocery shopping for the blind man I take care of and prepped a few meals for him on Saturday morning. It took a while as I really have to put some thought into it these days. He was already on a low salt, low sugar diet due to heart problems and diabetes. This past week he was diagnosed with throat cancer and for now has to be on a diet of soft and chopped foods.

Saturday afternoon I watched our grandchildren and took them swimming. Our son-in-law's grandmother passed away that morning and the kids were close to her so they needed to get away from the sadness and do something fun. It gave the rest of the family a break, too.

Today I picked up a grocery order at Walmart, did some laundry, watched TV, and my daughter and I spent the afternoon making things for this coming Saturday's craft show. I also signed us up for another in October and one in November.

Anyway, on to Currently!

The weather... is a humid 74 degrees.

I'm reading... I just finished Wrapped Up in Christmas Hope and haven't decided what to read next.

I'm watching... I've been binging Warehouse 13. I'm nearly done. Only a few more episodes to go.

I'm listening... to a lot more country music again.

I'm thinking... about what to teach this Wednesday at work and about getting everything ready for Saturday's craft show (actually, we'll be selling our stuff at the opening day of the midget football season).

I'm celebrating... now that my birthday is over, nothing for a while.

I'm grateful... that everything went smoothly with that troublesome client I have to be a one-on-one with when my co-worker goes away. That's encouraging since he's going away for another whole week in September.

I'm happy today because my leg hasn't been too bad and life is just good. I'm blessed and I know it.

I'm giggling... 

Where Did July Go?

The last weekend of July is just about over. Man, where has the time gone? It seems like I waited and waited for July to get here and to go on my first vacation since 2019 and then....blink....it's over and gone. 

The weekend began with our daughter's 33rd birthday on Friday. I had to care for my blind client after work so we did not celebrate then. She had a nice evening with her family and some friends, so it was all good. 

On Saturday my mom asked me to go to a used book sale with her. I didn't really want to, but I hadn't done anything with her for a while so I agreed. The sale was buy one bag of books for $5 and get a second bag free. I so did not need that many more books right now, but brought them home, anyway. At least a good portion of them are children's books chosen for our grandchildren. They also sell vintage jewelry at the book sale and I bought 3 pairs of earrings for $2. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way home.

Saturday evening we took our daughter and her family out for dinner to celebrate her birthday. They took us to a restaurant we had never been to before, Moreland's at Waterworks. It was such a lovely setting and a very happening place to be. The food was very yummy, too. Tim and I had the steak and lobster pot, our daughter had barbecue ribs and chicken, our son-in-law had stuffed flounder, and the kids had spaghetti and chicken tenders. Oh, and we ordered our daughter a piece of strawberry pretzel salad cheesecake with a candle so we could sing to her. None of us was hungry, but we all had a taste (it was a HUGE slice) and oh my, was it good!

Today Tim worked on pouring the layers of epoxy on the shower floor (we covered the old crumbling one with little pebbles and are pouring the epoxy over it). I picked up a grocery order very early at Walmart and got that unloaded and put away. The grands spent the afternoon with us so our daughter and s-i-l could spend some time alone. They played and we watched several episodes of The Librarians. I also managed to get several loads of laundry done and fill three bags with clothes to donate to Goodwill. It wasn't all I'd hoped to get done today, but we never say no to time with the grandchildren!

It's back to work tomorrow. Most of the week is going to be crazy hot and humid. My leg is a little better, but the muscles (tendons?) around the knee are still a problem. We'll see how it feels after I'm back to work again. 

Tuesday is our granddaughter's birthday. No huge party this year, just the families getting together for cake and ice cream.

Stay cool if you can and have a wonderful week!

Currently

I am

Reading... Great Big Beautiful Life, the new Emily Henry novel. I've loved all of her books and this one does not disappoint. Ms. Henry creates characters that are so well developed, funny, and very likeable. Her stories always grab me on the first page and keep me interested all the way through.

Watching... Expedition Files.

Loving... having daylight until 8:30.

Thinking... about the craft show this weekend. My daughter and I are busy little beavers this week making items to sell. Her new favorite thing to make is car charms (you hang them from your mirror or a knob if your car actually has those). She made these this evening and posted pictures on Facebook. The first one sold within minutes of being posted and she got an order for another one.

Feeling... tired. It's time to head to bed.

Celebrating... the success of last week's craft show. We sold a lot of things and made $600! I know that was probably a fluke, but I hope we still do pretty well. I know the beaded pens and such have been around for a while, but our area seems to still be fairly new to them. People haven't seen anything like it and are loving it.

Some photos of our set up. Don't you love the PINK tent I found? 

Enjoying... just about everything right now.

Grateful... to my daughter's friend for setting us up with our spot at last week's show...FOR FREE!

Weather... it's not raining, so that's something. We've had soooo much rain in the last week. It's still cloudy, though, and will remain so until the weekend. Temperatures are in the 60s to low 70s during the day and in the 50s at night. Next week we are shooting straight into the 80s.

Giggling...