9 Moons Ago

Off to pick up a prescription at the drugstore in a moment.
Just had to tell you all that I’ve appreciated the incredible support and encouragement.

Found out on Wed, after being told by several doctors, since June of last year, that I’d have to have chemo… that I won’t be having chemo at all!
My oncologist reviewed the results of my surgery and explained that because of factors such as early detection, tumor size, my age, my gene test results, and surgery results, that chemo would not be beneficial and only add severe side effects.
So I will be on a daily drug, Tamoxifen, in pill form, that has side effects, which don’t sound pleasant, but nothing anywhere near the effect that chemo would have had. Plus it has a few good attributes, and if you are curious about all the pros and cons, I’ll just say to research it online. I am not going to list them, since I have no idea how, or if, they will manifest in my case.. but one thing is possibly reduced semantic memory and/or cognition.. so if I seem to have an extra case of the dumbs in the near future, you’ll know why! :-D

Whew. I was staying at Kathy’s the whole week, and the few days after my appointment, I slept long and hard and took several naps during the day. My sister suggested that I must have been anxious beforehand, and after the relief of my visit, I could actually relax. I think she must be right.

Feeling pretty good these days. Taking pictures, but haven’t posted those on flickr yet. So much fun with my sis, her husband and my nephews at their place, and in the snow. I was touched that Isaac, age 6, knew I was leaving yesterday and was so upset by it that he cried a lttle. But we reassured him that it wouldn’t be too long till the next visit, and that he had lots of other fun things to look forward to this week.
Then last night there was a nice visit with good friend Christina and her daughter Maddie. Lots of laughs.

Tomorrow those extremely belated Holiday/New Years letters WILL be getting mailed!

And my father is finally having his knee surgery tomorrow. He’ll be in the hospital for a couple of days.
We’ll have to find some things to entertain him (besides his new flat screen tv) while he’s recovering here, back at home. I’m betting he’s anxious right about now.. he hates the hospital. So, everybody can ease up on thoughts of me for now..and direct them towards “Pop Pop”! :-D Thanks, all!

O my. Well, thanks to those of you who are wanting a report, but patient enough to wait for me to get around to it.

December was sort of a low point. Feeling run-down and low. And not ready for the holiday.
But, true to form, Christmas Eve was beautiful, peaceful, lively and fun as it always has been. My favorite night of the year. Always. Caught up with good friends I hadn’t seen in years.
The rest of the holidays: smashingly good fun!

The Christmas/Holiday cards are ALL still in progress. Some were written last month and have a stamp and everything. I am mailing them at one time to avoid mix-ups, as I already started writing to someone twice. Almost finished, and my goal is to mail them BEFORE February of this year.

As for my health these days, I am feeling happy and fit. Have been making great strides in eating healthier and getting more exercise.
The start of Chemo was set back about a month due to a cold that developed into bronchitis. SO, after a course of antibiotics and an inhaler, I’m now feeling better than I have in a long long while. Ready for my initial appt at the oncologist this Wednesday. Will start the treatment after that.

Depending on the frequency and type of regimen, I will be living with Kathy and her family for part of each week. Can’t thank my Sister and her family enough for all the support they’ve provided, dropping anything and everything to get me to where I need to be. The kids are nothing but pure joy for me. We have good times together.

And thanks to the rest of my family, immediate and extended, and all my good friends.. without you, it’d be an uphill battle. The latest fun has been a few birthday celebrations and hanging out with large parties of Green Bay Packers enthusiasts. How fitting that I should happen to be a daughter of a Cheesehead from the 60s, who has managed to sweep us all up in the fervor, over the years.
Yes, the official’s daughter, who has had a love/hate relationship with sports after being dragged to all kinds of games growing up, when my it was Dad’s turn to watch us. Sure, I played with my Barbies on the gym mats or in the press box those days and ignored the games, but I actually know and care who Bart Starr is…. do you?!

I feel blessed and content and ready to face this next step in my treatment!

Lacing up my boots and kicking down the doors!

It’s been a while! Thought I’d let everyone know that things are going well, as far as my health. The recovery process is slow, but steady. Chemo is the next item on the agenda, but that will be after the holidays. Right now everything is still healing up, and some muscles are still tight and there is some numbness, so I’m just doing my best to be patient and do the gentle stretches, massage, and warm compresses, etc. on a daily basis. Not feeling sick at all, but being careful with lifting and such…

Thanksgiving was nice. It was just going to be Mom, Dad and I for dinner, and then Dan and Allie stopping in for dessert, but Kathy and Zach surprised us and came right before we sat down to eat! They brought a lovely bouquet of fall flowers for Mumsy and a good time was had by all! The kids were up at Zach’s parents, and had a grand time. Black Friday shopping was done by several family members, but I didn’t miss it one bit!

There is still no tree up here, no candles in the window and no lights on the house, but it’s been a crazy year, so we’re all moving a little more slowly right now. The hutch is decorated though, and gifts have been bought and wrapped. The sewing machine and painting supplies are out… I’ve started playing piano again and the Christmas CDs are in rotation, though not constantly. So we’re easing into the spirit gently..

One thing that kicked us into the mood was the annual Sheerer open house last Saturday! Such a pretty home, and filled with loved ones. It was so good to see everyone and catch up again! Great food and fun company.

There are more pictures of everything on my flickr photostream:
amy’s flickr stream

Tomorrow morning, Dad goes in for surgery. He’s having a stent put in his leg, in preparation for future knee surgery, which he’s needed for a long while now. Mom will be home tomorrow to help with that, and tomorrow evening, she and I are going to see Isaac in a school performance.

Working on cards, letters and gifts and it’s been fun. If you want a card, and you don’t think I’ve got your address, just email me!
Hope everyone is enjoying safe and fun holidays!

Thanks so much for the cards and letters, and calls, everyone! Recovery has been good, but slow. I am seeing the surgeon tomorrow, and since I’ve been running a slight fever tonight, and have some new redness in my skin, I’m thinking they’ll put me right back on antibiotics, which I finished a few days ago.
I am like my Dad, and have a hard time just relaxing in bed for too long, unless something really good is on tv. Even then, I’m not a big tv watcher, but at the moment can’t focus well enough to read the rest of a favorite memoir I’ve been re-reading, “Growing Up” by Russell Baker.
But the tv which has been keeping me still this weekend, has been the new Sherlock Holmes series that stars Benedict Cumberbatch at Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson.
I’ve also been laughing at a marathon of the Addams family. Gotta love Morticia and Gomez, but have discovered that some with Lurch as the main character are the funniest.

Last night, Kathy and her family were over and after dinner, the boys and I carved jack-o-lanterns. Isaac drew about 12 different ideas and chose to draw a storm trooper on his pumpkin. It had lots of nice details, and I’m sure he will correct me as to what he actually drew.
Blaine was amazed at it all and bent down to watch saying “oooooh!” and he helped me draw three large circles on his face. I will post photos tomorrow.

Then, after we had dinner, I went along to take the nephews trick-or-treating. Dan and Allie stopped by and went the rest of the way with the crew. Fun night!

Some new photos are up on my flickr stream, too:

amy’s flickr photos

Hope your Halloween was full of creepiness and candy, too!