mamarose's Journal

What a great Thanksgiving!

Nov 29 2008 03:27

We have a houseful of people for Thanksgiving like usual. My older sister and husband drove down from Lafayette with their grown daughter who is visiting from Albuquerque. My other sister lives in Georgia and she is here with her husband and two kids. She has a boy and girl the same age as mine, so the cousins spend a lot of time together. Everyone arrived Wednesday evening and will stay until Sunday morning.

Hubby and I got our kids a Wii system for Christmas and we let them get it out on Thanksgiving. What a blast! We've had so much fun because everyone can play, even us old fogies!

It's also been fun because my daughter is now driving, so when we need something from the store, all the kids pile in to the car and she drives them to the store. She's a good driver, so I don't worry about them. They are so grown up now!

I start chemo treatments on Tuesday. There shouldn't be too many side effects from the drugs I'm taking. No hair loss...no nausea. The treatment will be by IV and will take about 1/2 hour to complete, BUT I have to stay at the hospital all day so they can observe me. For this first week, I need to do this twice. I guess I'll get lots of writing done!

Once things fall into a rhythm again, I want to start being a regular contributor to CC+ again. I miss the friends I made here, but the days whiz by filled with doctor appointments, lab tests, MRIs, and such.

Next weekend we're going to Chicago with the kids' German Klub to some kind of German market in Chicago. My favorite school trips from high school were to Chicago, so I'm really looking forward to it.

((hugs)) to anyone reading this journal. I have such great friends here at CC+!

Update

Nov 19 2008 08:37

Hello, friends. I think Nicoleamelia is passing updates along, but that's not really fair to her, so here I am. Thanks for your kind concern.

I do, indeed, have pancreatic cancer. I'm going to see another doctor today for a second opinion, but we don't expect to learn anything new. I am a puzzle to the doctors because they expect me to be really sick and I'm not. I have some back pain, but that's about it.

We have wonderful friends and family, which is a blessing. Hubby is understandably shook up, but with me every step of the way. We've been keeping the kids informed of various doctor visits, but I'm not sure they understand the gravity of the situation. That discussion is probably going to be this weekend.

I've been involved with prayer for a long time. I continually see miracles in response to prayers. Sometimes the miracles are what we pray for; sometimes God sends different miracles. I know without a doubt that God is with me and my family because I see what He is doing in and through the people around us.

DON'T PUT OFF DOING THINGS YOU WANT TO DO! Don't wait until the kids are grown. Don't wait until retirement. Don't wait until you're married/not married/have babies/turn 30 or whatever else you have in mind. If there are things you are passionate about, do not wait.

Take care. My email address is shouppert@msn.com or you can find me on Facebook as Sandy Houppert.

Signing out of CC+

Nov 14 2008 08:45

Well, my life is about to take a different direction. When I last logged in, I was awaiting MRI results. Since then, I've had an endoscopic ultrasound and a biopsy. I have a tumor on my pancreas and some lesions on my liver. We're awaiting the results from the biopsy to know what exactly we're dealing with.

Since August, I lost 15 pounds and made some really good friends here at CC+. I won't be counting calories for a while, though, and I don't expect to spend a lot of time on the internet, so I'm signing out.

So, today pray for me and my family--particularly my husband. Whatever news we get will be bad news, but we're waiting to see if it will be really bad news or just upsetting news. There's a HUGE difference! Whatever it is, God's grace will cover it.

Good luck all!

Quick MRI update

Nov 07 2008 14:53

Well, the MRI didn't provide any additional information, so as the doc suggested, he will be doing another procedure. On Tuesday I go in for an endoscopic ultrasound and a needle aspiration. There is a lesion on my pancreas that he can get a better "look" at if he does the ultrasound from inside my stomach. While the endosopy-thingy is there, he will use a hair-thin needle to get a sample of tissue from the lesion.

So, no bad news. And I'm learning a lot about medical imaging!

Thinking ahead to family holidays

Nov 07 2008 08:25

This weekend will probably be the last "free" weekend we have until after Christmas! Family stuff, school stuff, and church stuff keeps us busy between now and the end of the year.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because we have a tradition of gathering at my house for 3 - 4 days. My two sisters, two brothers-in-law, and 3 nephews/nieces will stay at our house. We'll stay up late playing cards and laughing too loud. For me, this is the beginning of the Christmas season. We get together with Hubby's family sometime between Christmas and New Years, so rather than 12 days of Christmas, we usually have about a month!

For Thanksgiving eve, we have pizza. For Thanksgiving breakfast, I eat cold pizza with my brother-in-law from Georgia. We have the traditional Thanksgiving feast for dinner and leftovers for supper.

We'll go see a movie and maybe something else. One year, we went to a family-friendly comedy improvisation show. One year it was unseasonably warm and we had lots of fireworks left over from 4th of July, so we shot off fireworks. That was also the year that the cousins were old enough to stay home by themselves, so we adults went to sing karaoke. My sisters had not done that before and we all had a blast. How many families can say that they shot off fireworks and sang karaoke for Thanksgiving?

I think the best things about family holidays are the memories that we store up. But these memories don't just happen--we need to be deliberate about making memories. It's not hard to do...it just requires paying attention and using our time together to the fullest.

This weekend is supposed to be cold and damp, so maybe I'll curl up with a blanket and right out the grocery lists and other things needed for the big holiday.

Oh...yesterday's MRI went off without a hitch. I confirmed that I'm not claustrophobic, which is good. The doctor should get the results today or Monday.

Wasted Panic (thank goodness!)

Nov 06 2008 08:59

I have an MRI today--another new experience to add to my memory bank. I've heard they're awful for claustrophobic people, but I don't anticipate any problems. In fact, I'm kinda hoping I can snooze through it. You know, my husband can sleep through having his teeth cleaned!

I had my first real panic as a parent of teens yesterday evening. I facilitate a class at church on Wednesday evenings. Because of a bunch of other stuff going on, Hubby was dropping me off at church on the way home from work and DD was driving herself and DS up to church. Also, I had left my cell phone at home that morning (DOH!), so they were bringing my phone to me.

Well, I kept watching for them...watching for them...I don't know the kids' cell phone numbers because I can't memorize numbers and I had their numbers in my cell phone that the kids were supposed to have with them!

About 5 minutes before my class started, I called home and got our answering machine. I left a message for Hubby to let him know that the kids hadn't arrived yet, and if he hadn't heard from them, he needed to hit the road and look for them.

When class was over, my son brought my phone to me. He explained that the car overheated on the way to church. DD pulled over and called Hubby who went to investigate. The water was low in the radiator, so he put water in it and the kids proceeded to church.

I was relieved that it was no big deal. The kids were feeling very grown up about how they handled the situation--as they should. Apparently the Driver's Ed class teaches includes some safety training which my daughter followed.

We have one more beautiful day before the temperatures/weather return to normal. I hope everyone who reads my journal has a wonderful day to day. It feels like something special is going to happen today!

Hooray for Obama

Nov 05 2008 09:03

First, I must say that early on I would have voted for McCain. And had McCain spoke like he did for his concession speech, I might STILL have voted for McCain. I think he has probably done more personally for this country than just about anyone else in politics. I would have voted for McCain the maverick, but the maverick wasn't running.

So...I am thrilled that Obama won! I am thrilled with people having hope. I am super-thrilled that the same person who won the popular vote also won the electoral vote.

Now...if we can just get through 2.5 months without the current president mucking things up anymore...

Cautiously hopeful

Nov 04 2008 09:47

I am so glad I voted early! Hubby thought it was a silly idea, but he's glad, too. He works for the state government and has today off. It's a beautiful "summer" day here in Indiana so he has a fun day planned for himself.

I met my new doctor yesterday--a gastroenterologist. I really like him. He's a good communicator--explains things very well, makes sure I understand, but doesn't talk down to me. He is very concerned about the results of the CT scan that I had last week. He added another test to an MRI I have on Thursday to try to get some conclusive data. If it is not conclusive, the next step is an endo-ultrasound (or something like that) where they'll send a scope into my stomach that can do the ultrasound from inside the stomach. He says if they need to, they can even use a tiny needle on the end to get a sample from a mass, if they need to.

So, yesterday at dinner I told the kids that I'm having more tests because the original showed masses on my liver and pancreas and they weren't able to rule out cancer. They hardly noticed! They were excited about talking about their day at school. I was so relieved.

So, I'm just kinda floating through today, focusing on things I need to do or want to do.

Not hungry for healthy stuff!

Nov 03 2008 13:19

Well, I didn't gain any weight this weekend, but I didn't eat very well, either. My sweet tooth was back with a vengence! I'm having a hard time staying out of the treats I buy for my skinny children.

I need to re-focus on fresh veggies again. They are pretty tasty, but just not as handy as the unhealth, processed food. Ahhh, well. I did it before and I can do it again. I will kick the processed foods to the curb and get back to the fresh stuff again.

I go to see a gastroenterologist this afternoon. This is a learning experience for me--I've not been to a specialist before. My family doc says there is something on my pancreas that needs further study.

I am excited about Thanksgiving being around the corner! This is a big holiday for my sisters and me. We'll have 7 people staying at our house for 4 days. We stay up late playing cards and watching movies. One of my sisters has kids the same age as mine and Thanksgiving is one of the few times they get together. It's always a lot of fun!

Waiting for news

Oct 31 2008 08:02

As Tom Petty says, "The wa-ai-ting is the hardest part."

Last Friday I went to the ER because of abdominal pain. They checked me out, ruled out anything acutely serious, and advised me to follow up with my doctor. The ER doc did a full abdominal ultrasound and didn't find anything that could explain the pain.

Yesterday I was pain free. I went to my family doc for the follow-up appointment and she ordered a CT scan. The XRay department had an opening yesterday afternoon so I had the scan done yesterday.

Before I got home, my doctor called me and said she had made an appointment for me with a liver/pancreas specialist on Monday. She's also working with the insurance company to get approval for an MRI. There's "something" on my pancreas that needs further investigation.

Sigh.

So, it could be nothing. Or it could be very serious. Of course I told my husband everything. But how much do I tell the kids? When I was a teen, I would get really angry when adults wouldn't share important stuff with me, but now I understand. The kids' trimester finals are next week. They're having fun with halloween this week. They know I went to the ER and the doctor is running tests. I don't know how much to tell them.

I'll probably come clean with them this weekend. I'm not very good at keeping secrets.

***ON A POSITIVE NOTE****

Today, the scale said 240.0! That means I get to go shopping at Global Gifts during lunch time today!