First, the good news: Chuck is doing very well with his liver transplant. April 29 will mark the one year anniversary of his transplant at the Mayo Clinic. He's showing no signs of rejection, is off 80% of his medications, and his follow up tests and visits show him to be a super star. He's back to photographing birds every morning with my son, even in minus 5 degree weather, so that pretty much says it all. My avatar pics are of his birds.
Now for the bad news: I've mentioned before having a surface melanoma on my arm removed in October of 2021. An "in situ" mole of no consequence where all the melanoma 'was removed successfully'. This was a result of having a dozen beauty marks on both arms blow up like balloons after the 2nd Covid shot, grow scabs on them, and when the scab fell off, the beauty mark disappeared entirely. Except for the one. And all of it was not successfully removed after all, as a few cells must've escaped into my body and caused metastatic stage 4 cancer in my lymph nodes, liver, and bones. I went to the ER 3 weeks ago for excruciating pain in my left side where a CT scan with contrast was ordered. The cancer was discovered at that time, and I've spent the last 2 weeks in testing. The cancer is not in my brain, thank God.
The Oncologist told me there is immunotherapy available now for malignant melanoma. 2 types at once, administered via IV (no port) every 3 weeks x4. That's the goal. To turn on my immune system to kill off this cancer. 50% of immunotherapy patients are alive 2 years later. Idk what the percentage is at the 5 year mark. I've avoided doing research bc I'm overwhelmed enough already.
I'm having tremendous pain in my spine, ribs and liver, where the cancer is the worst. The Oncologist gave me some heavy duty pain meds and told me to wait it out until the IV starts kicking in to relieve my pain. He said I would live less than 2 months without treatment so my first treatment is tomorrow morning. The side effects can be gnarly and these infusions WILL kick my butt, he said. I'm ready, I think. Ain't no beauty mark gonna take ME down at 65! 😑
I'm useless at home, so Chuck is doing everything. Laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, driving to appointments. I have a housekeeper coming in to do the heavy cleaning and my stepson and his wife are cooking 7 dinners for us and bringing them by on Saturday. I have to make sure HE'S not overworked during this treatment process to where he gets sick. He's already overcome with worry and shock over all this as it is. I'll ask my stepson to repeat that meal making plan, too...they want to help & we need help.
We've had a lot to deal with the past year, and now my issues, which were there all along, just not apparent until recently. We wouldn't have been able to handle TWO of us sick at once anyway, so this is how it had to play out, I suppose.
The one bright spot I hold onto here is the dime I found on the floor of the ER room I'd been in ALL DAY where there was no dime on the floor. And when the gal was wheeling me back into the room from the CT scan, there it was. I kicked it across the floor to Chuck and he said, "what's that?" I said, "it's a dime from dad, telling me everything will be alright." He was speechless. Dad used to send me dimes all the time after he died in 2015, but stopped the past few years. I have a whole piggy bank full of them.
We can use all the prayers we can get right now, friends. I believe in prayers, in miracles and in signs from our deceased loved ones that they are with us in tough times. If you do too, please send up some prayers for Chuck and I right now.
Many thanks.
I've done a whole lot of soul searching in 2023. I've been sick with one thing or another the whole year almost. My foot, then a kidney infection, then covid. I realize now what's important. I always knew instinctively but there's nothing like being ill to force you to really look at yourself and others. I know you know this in spades Lea so I'm not preaching to the choir here.
I always cared too much about my appearance and I think it was due to my childhood too. Now that I'm 62 and things are starting to go south it's almost refreshing to say hell it, I'm not how I look. I never was but am just beginning to recognize it.
I have one brother and 3 sisters.
My mother called me “ her plain Jane daughter “. I was also called Cinderella at times . My mother was also all about appearances . My mother was constantly redecorating . My mother thought my home was too plain as well . I’m not big on a lot of Knick knacks , nor did I hang enough things on the wall in her opinion .
She once introduced me to her new neighbor as “ This is my daughter with the bare boards house .”
Nothing like a year of illness to really soul search and figure out what's important in life, huh? My white eyelashes and eyebrows are much cause for pity among people I run into. I want to burst out laughing, to tell you the truth. After the sh*t I've been through the past year, that is the least of my concerns! Whether I'll be able to walk today is. Whether my legs will give out due to back issues is. Or if the back brace will help me stand upright longer w/o as much pain. And what about my pet scan on the 9th and the new lump I found, is it a tumor? Yeah, my white facial hair is a joke although I'm sure mom wouldn't think so. I hope this new year brings us peace within OURSELVES to BE ourselves with no apologies. Amen.
Hothouse, how terribly sad about your twin sisters and that they no longer speak. Shame on your mother for sowing such discord between you. Comparing siblings is the worst thing a parent can do bc someone always comes up short.
2 of my sisters have green eyes like my mother , my other sister has blue . I have sh*t brown eyes like my father . I often wonder if that’s how I got to be the chosen slave .
My daughter has my mother’s green eyes only even a nicer cat eye shape . My mother used to tell me that my daughter looked more like her daughter than mine !!! She actually was right .
My mother was a very pretty woman . Prettier than any of her daughters .
It is so sad . What were our mothers thinking ? Did they think that they were going to get their kids to be more successful by making them compete against each other ? Idk , but over the years when some of us were only doing partial contact and some did not come to holidays on and off , my mother would have her crying fits over how she has “rotten kids “ and why did she bother having kids if this is how her family was going to turn out .
Mom created the messy drama , but maintained being the victim!
Lea, your Christmas plans sound lovely. My husband recently accused me of never making chicken cacciatori for him even though I made it many times -- in the crockpot. He said that his grandma and mom made it on the stovetop and in the oven and if I didn't do that work, then it wasn't chicken cacciatori.
My Christmas plans: I've baked lots of cookies this year to give away but we still have plenty left. (I have gained ten pounds since Christmas, let's not talk about that!) Fortunately there will be football on TV Christmas Day to give my husband something to do. The 42yo-basement-son will pass through for coffee and probably mumble Merry Christmas. The son that lives thirty minutes away said he will try to stop by with his wife and two kids. On the 26th, one of our KY daughters is coming with her four kids (the other KY daughter will not be here, they visited in November because they knew they might not make it in December). The one that is coming cut off all communication and relationship after last Christmas. She reached out to me last month and said she was sorry, she's been through counseling and is on meds now, she misses me, and hopes that we can be close again. She also asked me to not have any expectations of relationship with her father, that she is still angry at him for all he stole (figurative) from our family. I understand. He doesn't, because in his mind, any wrong he did has been forgiven by God, and that everyone else has to come to him and beg for HIS forgiveness for their reactions to the revelation of the things he did. I expect this to be a very tearful visit. On the 27th, everyone (including our basement-son's son in WV) will be here for a family gathering.
I have a very bad feeling about this day. I think basement-son is going to spring something on us (if he doesn't beforehand). I already have a niggle in my heart about what it is. Should I tell you here? Then it is in writing and I can come back and say whether I was right or wrong. He took up with a woman in NJ about this time last year, spending weeks at a time with her. Then suddenly in late spring, he wanted nothing to do with her. Now, for the last two months, he's been visiting her again. I think she's had a baby and he's the father. There, I said it.
I've never heard of chicken cacciatore in the oven. God knows WHAT his mom and grandma made in the oven, but it wasn't cacciatore! Lol. Your dh is a real pip. I'm hoping your Christmas festivities aren't a real nightmare.....maybe you can put dh downstairs with Basement Son and they can watch tv all day? 😁
So if basement-son wound up having a baby with jersey-girl, maybe he'll move OUT of your basement and IN with the gf to take on his responsibility as a new father! At 42, it's time, right?
Im glad your DD reached out to you and has gotten help for herself, thank God. I hope the visit is lovely and she can avoid her dad as much as possible. Fingers crossed for a beautiful holiday for you.
Ty, struffoli are always great at Christmas and better to wait on line than make them 😣
Hugs to you Llama
Oh yes! My mother and grandmother had pearls.
Do you remember those hoop slips that we used to wear as children? Very poofy dresses! 😆
We had fancy hats and gloves for church and holidays.
GG, do let us know about your prediction. Hugs!
My husband and youngest daughter just left to drive to the airport. He’s dropping her off to catch a plane to Denver for Christmas.
She is excited to see snow again! I still can’t believe how much my southern daughter who grew up in New Orleans loves the cold weather.
She misses living in Colorado and is planning to return one day.
She is smitten with her new boyfriend that she met when she visited Denver several months back. They met at her friend’s birthday party.
He has invited her to spend Christmas with his family. His mom lives in Cherry Creek. He has lived in Colorado since he was around 10 years old.
They were planning to see a Christmas display at the botanical gardens in Denver, but they are sold out so her boyfriend is taking her to see another Christmas lights display in Littleton.
Did you fall in love with Colorado as much as she has when you first moved there?
We honeymooned in Colorado many years ago. We flew into Denver and made side trips to Vail and Estes Park, Colorado Springs, etc. So pretty! We have gone back a few times.
Our daughter moved there right after graduating college and lived there for a few years. It is a very beautiful state with lots of things to do. She really wants to go snowboarding. She loves all of the beautiful areas to go hiking and skiing.
Cherry Creek is the high dollar area of Denver. Gorgeous homes and mansions, etc.
The lights in Littleton are at Hudson Gardens and they are gorgeous. DD had their cardiology office Christmas party there in the event center and the doctors all paid for the staff to walk around and see the lights afterward; she loved it.
I first visited Colo when I was a child and loved it. Then moved here in 1977 w my parents. There was nothing much here back then, downtown was pretty shabby w a few department stores, bars, restaurants and a run down hotel. Nowadays it's a pedestrian mall closed to traffic with a ton of upscale shopping, restaurants and hip things to do, lofts and fabulous hotels, etc. It's not a one horse town anymore. But on the reverse side of that growth is that the traffic stinks, the cost of living is awful, you cannot go up into the mountains anymore bc so is everybody and their brother in law, the cost of skiing is prohibitive, etc. But the scenery is spectacular and so is the weather, for the most part. So yes, I do love it here for the most part.
I hope your DD has a wonderful time on her trip!
I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your family.
So, you have seen quite a few changes in your area. Yep, with growth, comes awful traffic! It is interesting how areas grow and change.
Well, my daughter is looking forward to the cooler weather with less humidity. Louisiana is a swamp! Our weather is crazy. Cold one day, warm the next.
My daughter says that she has been in the Cherry Creek neighborhood and that it is a very pretty area.
Her boyfriend showed her pictures of his mom’s house and said that it’s beautiful.
His mom and dad grew up on the east coast. She moved to Cherry Creek after their divorce. The dad moved to Rhode Island and remarried.
The scenery in Colorado is amazing. My daughter really misses living there.
We have her dog for a couple of weeks while she’s gone. Our oldest daughter is dealing with kidney stones but hopefully she will be well enough to join us for Christmas dinner.
My husband gets kidney stones too. I haven’t ever had one.
My grandson (2.5) loved his tricycle and my other grandson (7) was buried in toys.
The chicken turned out great and everyone ate too much. The mini ice cream cones and bars were the hit of the day...lol. I was able to prepare the food and function all day, so I'm glad about that.
How was everyone's day?
Your wise words always WERE wonderful for us, but your courage in all you've gone through is a light and a hope to many more than you can ever know. Best to all your family.
So happy to hear that you had a wonderful Christmas 🎄!
Yippeee!!