SLEEPOVERS RE-STRENGTHEN OUR SPIRITS’ SMILES

 Well—It’s been quite a week.  In fact, it’s taken a few days for me to process everything before readiness to pen the contents of today’s post was mine.

Will’s MRI report supports my orthopaedic surgeon husband’s self-diagnosis of having suffered a compression fracture in his lower back, resultant of his golf swing, seven weeks ago on the west coast.  Will’s surgical removal of a slow growing melanoma near his eyebrow has been scheduled for next week, and as the new (small) tumor in my neck is malignant, I’ll start chemo in about two weeks with the probability of surgery in December.  (Why Chemo before surgery?  In hopes of shriveling this tumor’s cancer cells as well as those traveling throughout my body via my blood stream.)

While awaiting the results of my PET scan and Chest CT, I’d not expected to receive good news.  Even so, the daunting reality of facing chemo, again, followed by yet another surgery, served to deflate my strength of spirit—temporarily. 

Later this afternoon( after football occupies my mind), I plan to enjoy a large glass of gwertzereimer (sp?) in hopes of calming myself before enjoying a dinner of lemon/pepper wings and fried zucchini.

We received the unsettling nature of my report, last Friday, just before Will picked up Ravi from school, so we three could enjoy a sleep over—in case I feel too sick to have our granddaughter stay the night once chemo takes hold of me.  Though ingesting this powerful medication orally may be less potent than the combination of drugs prescribed for intravenous absorption, chemo is still chemo, suggesting that we have no clue as to what sideeffects I may experience, personally.

As a special treat during our sleepover with Ravi, Dr. Papa (Ravi’s pet name for her grandfather) drove us to the hair salon, where Ravi enjoys discussing hairstyles with Tina (after the other stylists have left for the day).

When I’d asked, during breakfast on Saturday morning  which part of our sleepover Ravi enjoyed the most, our kind-hearted granddaughter replied—I enjoyed being with you and Papa, because we’d not had a sleepover in so long that I thought we might never have one, again.  And as we smiled at each other—tears, expressing suppressed emotion, filled my eyes …

Annie

Our last sleepover had been three years ago …

A DAY OF CELEBRATION

Today is the anniversary of my mother’s birthday.

She danced at her one hundredth birthday party.

Today she would have been 109.

Happy birthday, Mom

I miss you, every day

Sending you and Dad more love than words can say,

❤️Annie

AWAITING RESULTS AGAIN

 Will’s morning began in the office of his dermatologist as they discussed his upcoming surgical procedure to extract the melanoma found between his right ear and eyebrow.  Next up was my husband’s MRI, scheduled in hopes of identifying the persistent cause of his low back pain.

As for me, I await biopsy results concerning the mass found in my neck. 

Erma Bombeck, one of my all time favorite humorists, wasn’t kidding when she wrote—old age is not for sissies.  Sadly, Erma never experienced old age for herself.

I’d idolized Erma’s mindful capacity for magically transforming the humdrums of every day life into quick witted moments of mirth, because we laugh at the truth.

In record time, Erma's column was heralded within more than 500 newspapers throughout the nation, making her an icon of modern homespun humor, and at the height of her popularity, with 900 newspapers syndicating her column, At Wit’s End, her audience numbered more than 30 million people, whose day was eased, having enjoying a good chuckle.

Annie

Wikipedia

Erma Louise Bombeck (néeFiste; February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, syndicated from 1965 to 1996. She also published 15 books, most of which became bestsellers.

APRÉS ULTRASOUND BIOPSY IT’S MARGARITA TIME

Today has offered up another source of contentment based in a sense of personal accomplishment.

The comforter I’d ordered (on sale from $300 down to $79), including two king shams, arrived and is currently adorning our bed with red, white and blue striped simplicity—and the fact that its linear pattern embraces a touch of beige suggests that our silk pillow cases (hinting toward gold) need not be replaced.  I also have several throw pillows, which for years, have had no real home to speak of, and as they look smashing atop our new comforter, they are nomads, no more.

Gosh!  I haven’t cared about any of this ‘stuff’ in more than two years.  David commented that he’s happy to see me take an interest in things that had not sparked my mind to busy itself with anything other than reading and writing ever since my first disastrous dosage of chemo had threatened my life as much as has cancer.

As work calls David back to LA, our son left for the west coast, today.

And as I reminisce over our five week stay in paradise, where we’d inhaled sea-salted air, every day while enjoying our loved ones, it’s obvious as to why our daily engagement with human interaction lit a fire under my spirit, re-igniting my desire to embrace life beyond my bedroom as fully as is possible when one is unwell.

With that said, I hope the sun assigns a sunbeam to direct a bright sense of warmth throughout the rest of your day  (My defense system offers my imagination clearance to wax poetic whenever a serious medical test is on the horizon.)

As it’s time for Will to drive me to Mayo for an ultrasound-guided biopsy, let’s crank up the gear shifts on our positively focused attitudes and hope for the best, because each time a highly trained medical team extracts a specimen from within the human body, no one knows what may or may not be found until test results have returned from the lab.

Those of you who think to know me well may recall my belief in having a variety of win-win plans up my sleeve, and no matter today’s biopsy result—I plan to remain centered.

Annie

HEALTH UPDATE SEPT. 2022

 Here is the health update that  was sent to family and friends once I’d recovered my equilibrium after last week’s test results had been fully absorbed:

Dear family and friends,

As I’ve not sent out a health update for quite a while, I hope to place a positive spin on ‘the not-so-good-news‘ that Will and I received, last week.

First off, as Will received a diagnosis that no one wants to hear, his dermatologist reassured him of the fact that the melanoma, located between his right eyebrow and ear, is shallow and slow to grow.  His surgery is scheduled for Sept. 19th.

As for me, last week’s PET scan revealed a small mass in my neck, and thus has an ultrasound guided biopsy been scheduled for Wed., Sept 7th.

Being that my oncologist and thoracic surgeon believe this mass is another malignant tumor, here is the tentative plan of action that has been laid out:  On Wednesday (tomorrow), a biopsy guided by ultrasound is scheduled.  If the mass is malignant then I’ll start oral chemo with the expectation of scheduling surgery close to the end of December—just in time to bid the old year adieu and celebrate a brand new year in which to enjoy precious time with family and friends whom Will and I love beyond measure—inclusive, of course, of you.

Chemo will precede surgery in hopes of shrinking this mass while attacking cancer cells traveling through my blood stream before these unwelcome intruders can develop into additional tumors.

As to the strength of my spirit, upon awakening, together, every morning, Will and I smile at each other, and my husband says—I love you, my dolly—to which I reply—I love you, my sweetheart, and as we both continue to feel grateful to be so lovingly supported by beloved family, treasured friends and our medical team, that’s how each new day begins.

As to Will’s strength of spirit, when asked how he’s doing, my husband replies—If Annie’s doing well, so am I.

And pretty much, daily, both of us remind ourselves to focus our minds on living one day at a time …

With hopes that all of you and your loved ones are well, Will and I are hugging each of your hearts close to our own,
💖Annie

PS ‘Dolly’ is the endearment that my father had lovingly called me.  Upon my father’s death, Will called me Dolly, and as our eyes met, my husband, seeing my smile appear while tears cascaded down my cheeks, adopted my father’s pet name for me as his own.  And every time Will calls me ‘Dolly’, my spirit, feeling twice blessed with love, smiles as naturally as if my husband and I and my parents have enjoyed a group hug …

WHY CELEBRATE LABOR DAY?

As additional insight-driven thoughts, offering my mind reason to relax within a positively focused attitude, have expanded yesterday’s post, I decided to delete the original post in favor of reprinting my expansive musings, found below.  So without further ado, here we go:

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Labor Day?

 Quoted from DOC—the U.S. Department of Labor:

“Observed the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America's strength, prosperity, and well-being.”

So thank you to all of the workers who have striven to enhance America’s “strength, prosperity, and well-being.”

And to those of you who’d wondered why we celebrate this holiday, every year—you’re welcome,

Though we’re meant to relax over Labor Day weekend, my son, David, and I worked together to complete the feat of cleaning out my closet before we began to unpack my duds, which, over these last two weeks, had remained neatly folded in the same duffle that David had helped to pack up the day before Will and I drove home from the coast.  I can’t tell you how relieved and relaxed my mind feels, today, knowing that laboring at this task is behind me.

I get along with a little help from my friends—and family.  Truthfully, I couldn’t accomplish most of whatever needs doing without A LOT of heartfelt help from my loved ones.

As you may remember, Will had injured his back soon after our arrival on the coast, so the morning after David had packed us up in readiness for our drive home, Barry arrived at the condo to help his brother load our car while Marie and our grandsons set out everyone’s favorite blend of Starbucks coffee, hot chocolate and muffins for each one’s personal enjoyment.  Then upon our arrival at home, Steven drove over to unpack our car.  And having reminded myself of our family’s good fortune concerning our having worked together to employ a fully packed ‘giving-and-receiving-love department’, which offers my personal sense of familial contentment sound reason to overflow so steadily from deep within my heart as to readily fill my mind with relaxation, renewed  … 

💖Annie

BASTED, TOASTED AND ROASTED

 During our five weeks of personal contentment in which worries concerning my health had been left at home, we’d also left behind the desert’s ‘egg-frying-on-sidewalk heat’.

Upon returning to our home, eknowing that we’ll have to endure these last weeks of sweltering summer, indoors, Andi and Michael convinced us to enjoy dinner with them on a restaurant patio that they’d described as having been well cooled.  As no one abhors extreme heat more than is true of Andi, we replied—sure.

Once we four had been seated for a while—t’was hard to tell which had been roasted more thoroughly—the medley of skewered veggies ordered by four best friends or the four besties, themselves, each of whom had clearly felt toasted after having been basted in sweat …

Try to deny the reality of our sizzling summers as we may, the only way to enjoy time spent with friends, outside, is to invite our guests to partake in a waterlogged dinner served in our spa until such time as the heat breaks (or until so many people are vaccinated that our fear of catching COVID 19 is vanquished as happened with small pox, polio, chicken pox, measles and mumps), and so, while awaiting that blessed Fall day (which classically dawns toward the end of September), when we can comfortably place our fear of roasting, while dining on restaurant patios, aside (because we’ll surely feel need to abstain from dining inside our favorite restaurants until COVID numbers have greatly declined.)

Once again—being inoculated against catching COVID is not a Democratic political platform—COVID is a contagious illness that we’ll fail to irradiate as long as Republican leadership refuses to advise their constituents to be immunized (though they, themselves, have been vaccinated as is true of trump.)

Unfortunately, the dumbing down of today’s American youth is a reflection of the dumbing down as seen in too many of our nation’s lying leadership—and that my friends, is truly a crying shame …

Annie