Happy New Year!!!

Well, another year has passed and Patty and I are about as healthy as we can be! Patty got some amazing news just a week ago…

December 14, 2015 was Patty’s 5 year anniversary from her last Chemo. Five years! My how the time flies by. She just had an appointment with her Oncologist for her final check-up of the year. She has been seeing her every six months for the past couple of years. This was a big one for her since hitting the five-year mark post chemo gives her a greater chance of survival and being cancer free for many years to come. In addition, she was taking the medication Arimidex which lowers estrogen levels in post-menopausal women, which may slow the growth of certain types of breast tumors that need estrogen to grow in the body. Patty experienced a number of side effects to the medication such as tingling of the extremities, joint pain and, one of my personal favorites… hot flashes! Not just one or two a day, but we’re talking hot flashes anytime of the day, night or morning! I’ve been wanting to get her a super hero costume with a cape and call her The Hot Flash! Poor Patty… she is the only woman I’ve known that will turn the air conditioner on in the car when it’s 32 degrees outside! If things turned out well with her appointment there was a big hope that the doctor would take her off the Arimidex! So this was a big appointment for her… and us. I generally go to every appointment with her,but unfortunately she had to do this one on her own as I had “things” to deal with at work. As usual, about a week before her appointment Mr. Elephant in the room dropped by for his semi-annual visit as I could see patty starting to withdraw a little. If you look back in past posts I’ve described how she gets about a week before any appointment so I go into my routine of trying to keep her mind off of things… I go into “stupid mode!” I joke… laugh… just try to keep her entertained. It never works but why not try.

Her appointment with the Oncologist was December 23rd at 2:00 p.m. She gave blood samples the day before and had a bone density scan. So, December 23rd finally arrived and fortunately Patty was really busy with work so that kind of kept her mind off of things… Patty went to her appointment as scheduled, apprehensive as to what news the doctor would have for her…

December 23rd at about 2:30 my phone rang. I saw it was Patty when I answered it… Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: “Hi Honey… How’d it go???
Patty: “Yippee! Yahoo! Yippie! Wooo Hoo! Yea!!! Yippa Screma Dema!!!”
Me: “I’m taking it that it went well?”
Patty: “The doctor said I graduated!!! Yippee! Yahoo! Yippie! Wooo Hoo! Yea!!! Yippa Screma Dema!!!”
Me: “I’m so happy!!!”
Patty: “No more Arimidex! Yippee! Yahoo! Yippie! Wooo Hoo! Yea!!! Yippa Screma Dema!!!”
Me: “That’s great!
Patty: “Yippee! Yahoo! Yippie! Wooo Hoo! Yea!!! Yippa Screma Dema!!!”

That’s pretty much how it went! Not recommended, but she was driving and doing her happy dance at the same time in the car!

Yep… the doctor gave her a clean bill of health! She graduated! The doctor also took her off the Arimidex! No more hot flashes! No more air conditioner in the car when it’s freezing outside! No more needing to wear a wetsuit to bed! I know it all sounds selfish of me, but all I can say is: “Yippee! Yahoo! Yippie! Wooo Hoo! Yea!!! Yippa Screma Dema!!!”

We hope 2016 brings everything good to you!

A year later…

First of all, I know its been about a month since my last post.  My goal at that time was to keep you up to date with posts as Patty and Nicole were walking the Komen 3-Day walk.  It turned out that I got pretty sick with what I thought was just a cold, but it turned out to be pneumonia which, to say the least… kicked my butt!  I’ve since recovered and am feeling pretty much back to myself but this past month has been rough.

Patty and Nicole completed the Komen 3-Day!  I will say, they had some tired and sore feet by the end of the weekend, but, the bottom line is that they put their minds and feet to the test and did it.  Unfortunately I wasn’t there except for the closing ceremonies, which, by the way, were pretty emotional!  Nicole blogged about their experience so I think I’ll just give you the link to her site so you can read about their  journey from her perspective… http://hipfitmom.com/

I do have a couple of pictures from day three of the walk to share…

Amazing how a shot of tequilla can relieve foot pain!

Thank you El Dorado County!

December 14th… a special day for Patty and me.  December 14, 2010 was the day Patty received her 6th and final chemotherapy infusion of her breast cancer treatment.  December 14, 2010 marked the end of one chapter of our lives and the beginning of a new one.

I took a few minutes this morning and read through old posts of this blog.   Wow, it brought back so many memories.  Patty was so sick just one year ago.  She had lost so much weight.  She had lost her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes.  She was so weak and fatigued… she’d even passed out several times.  I remember referring to those times as “Adventures in Chemo – the bathroom Chronicles!”   Twice she required medical attention and stitches from passing out.  It was a pretty scary time in our lives, but you know what?  We made it.  Not having ever faced a health issue like this, not knowing what day to day issues we’d face, I think we did pretty good as a team… mostly flying by the seat of our pants!  Even as scary as the whole experience was, and I mean it was scary, our love and respect for each other kept us going!  And that love and respect has grown 100 times over since then, if not more!  The other thing that kept us going was keeping our sense of humor… when dealing with breast cancer you can either laugh or cry and we found a combination of both worked for us!

Now look where we are… one year later.  Patty has come so far.  She has a head full of curly hair.  Her eyebrows and eyelashes are back and have been back for months.  She looks healthy and feels healthy!  She goes to Jazzercise a couple times a week and, as you know, she was able to walk 60 miles in the Komen 3-Day for the cure.  A year and a half ago, we didn’t even know if she’d be alive today.  But you know what?  She is and she’s doing great!

Patty had an appointment with her oncologist this past Monday.  Everything looks great and the oncologist had no issues where she is with her recovery!    Next appointment with her is in three months.  Patty goes back to see the reconstruction surgeon in mid-January for her next to last procedure.

Everything is just falling into place…

So, as I said, yesterday was a big day for Patty.  Sure, she’s still dealing with some issues from the chemotherapy.  But the bottom line is that she’s come so far and has a whole life ahead of her…

That’s my girl!!!

 

Komen 3-Day Walk – Day 1

The excitement for Patty in anticipation of the Komen 3-Day Walk grew as this last week passed.  It seemed to be our main topic of conversation.  Patty was a little nervous about walking 20 miles for three days in a row plus the possibility of rain in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, however, I don’t think there is anything that would get in her and Nicole’s way to keep them from walking.

It’s funny, I work strange hours with my new job and a few days each week I don’t stumble in until around 3:00 a.m.  I always try to be as quiet as possible to not wake Patty… I’ll walk in the bedroom and whisper “I’m home honey.”  Generally I’ll hear a “grunt” from Patty acknowledging my presence and that’s about it.  Last night I walked in with my usual routine, whispered “I’m home honey” and she startled me with an alert voice asking “What time it?”  I told her it was 2:45 a.m. and she responded “Good… I have an hour and a half to go!”  4:15 a.m. couldn’t come soon enough for her!  Patty is not a morning person, but today, she was all about getting up and facing her walk.  She reminded me of when I was a kid and my parents announced they were taking my sister and me to Disneyland the following morning.  The excitement of the next day kept me awake all night!  Patty and Nicole needed to be at the walk starting point by 6:00 a.m. then participate in a community stretch followed by the opening ceremonies.  The walk officially started at 7:00 a.m.

I slept in until around 9 and Patty called minutes after I awoke.  She sounded so excited!  She just rambled about how awesome the event was and how happy she was that she and Nicole could participate together.  She said there was more energy then you could ever imagine, women and men walkers dressed in wild pink clothing, boas, hats… you name it.  She’s having the time of her life!  She said she didn’t think there would be an issue for her to complete the 20 miles today.  (We’ll see how she’s doing tonight!)

Unfortunately I’m not able to make it to the walk today as I’ve now come down with the cold that’s being passed around the family.  I’ll do my best to be there tomorrow!

Here’s a couple of pictures she texted me of their adventure…

I’m not going to even bother asking who this guy is!

I’ll keep you posted on their walk as I hear more!

Just venting!

A mere 18 months ago, Patty and I were just this happy-go-lucky couple.  Life was perfect, at least that’s what we thought.  Sure we had many of the same issues and challenges as most couples have, but overall, life was great.  But you know what?  I think I can honestly say that now, life is better!

Looking back, my father had prostate cancer in his mid-60’s.  I’m ashamed to admit, but I was young and pretty self-absorbed at the time. I remember him having surgery and going through radiation treatments.  I do recall him very weak from the treatments and one day him telling me “Ed, if I would have known how these treatments made me feel, I would have never done it.”  He finished his treatments and went on to live a very long life of 94 years!  I never gave it a second thought that he could have died from the cancer.  “He’s my dad!  He’s going to live forever!”  I just went on with my life and never gave a second thought to what he and my mother were going through. Now knowing the challenges Patty and I have face the past 18 months, I look at what they went through much differently.  I wish I could apologize to them.

Other than my father, Patty and I had never been affected by cancer of any type.  We had never known someone outside the family who was diagnosed with it.  Patty’s family has no history of cancer.  We’ve never had a friend, or a friend of a friend, who had it.  Cancer just wasn’t in our world.  When we did hear of someone diagnosed with cancer, we’d look at each other and say “Oh.. that’s too bad.  I hope they’re going to be alright.”   And that was about it.  No further thought.  No idea of what that person was facing nor how the cancer affected them, their family, their friends.

Patty and I talked last night and counted the number of people we personally know who have some form of cancer…. TWELVE!  TWELVE people!  Twelve people we personally know who have cancer of various types and in various stages.  Twelve people who’s lives will change forever.  Some of those twelve will make it through the battle… others may not!   That just angers me!

I’m not sure where I’m going with today’s post.  I think I’m just venting.

Cancer is just so random.  Why it chooses one person and not another person is beyond me.  There are times I’ve thought “Why did it choose Patty?”  Was God trying to give us a wake-up call?  If he was… it worked!   Patty and I have face challenges and trials over the past 18 months that I could have never imagined facing.  These challenges were no more and no less than what any person diagnosed with cancer goes through.  Sure the types, stages, grades and treatments may vary, but the challenges, both emotional and physical, are similar.

What is the deal with cancer research?  There are billions of dollar that go into research and yet no cure.  I hear rumor the researchers are close in some respects, but still so far from beating it!  Researchers etc. have made a lot of headway regarding breast cancer treatment as treatment is now leaps-and-bounds from where it was even ten years ago.  Maybe researchers will accidentally come across something that will cure cancer.  Kind of like how they accidentally discovered Viagra.  In that case, researchers were testing a cardiovascular drug known for lowering blood pressure.  They found the drug did lower blood pressure however had a significant side-effect on the male volunteers… presto chango… Viagra was discovered!  Maybe something like that can happen for a cure for cancer.

Well, thank you for letting me vent!  I’m done!

Team Patty in Pink hit’s the road this Friday morning for the Komen 3-Day walk.  Patty and Nicole have been squeezing in their training walks as often as possible, but it hasn’t been as often as they’d like due to weather, work, travel, sickness, etc.  They did do a 12 mile walk about a week ago.  I can tell you, Patty is pretty excited for the walk.  Knowing her, she’ll do just fine.  Stay tuned… I’ll be doing more posts about the walk this weekend.

I started this post saying that life is better now than pre-cancer.  It really is!  I didn’t think it was possible, but Patty and I have grown so much closer.  We have so much respect for each other.  We enjoy our time together so much.  She’s my best friend.

Patty still gets very frightened about cancer.   The subject seems to always be lurking around the corner or hovering around like a dark cloud.  I was telling someone just today that people often thing that when the treatment is over and you’re cancer free you just continue on with life like nothing has happened.  Not true.  It’s something we’ll just have to live with…

I’m honored!

Three to four weeks ago I was contacted by a woman named Alexandra Gekas.  Alexandra is a writer for Woman Day Magazine.  She was writing a story for Womansday.com titled “Men who Support the Fight Against Breast Cancer.”  She called to interview me regarding my blog and wanted to feature it in her story with four other men.

I am absolutely honored that someone finds my blog interesting enough to actually write about it in an online publication and feature it in a story.

The story came out last Friday, October 21^st.  As I said, I’m honored they included me in a story about men who support the fight against breast cancer.  I’m even more honored that they put me in a category with men who are in the “Who’s Who” of men against breast cancer.  I’m in the story with Mitchell Ashley, founder and blogger of BreastCancerForHusbands.com;  Woody Fraiser, Co-Founder of MenforWomenNow.org; Marc Heyison, Founder of MenAgainstBreastCancer.org and Eric Brinker, National Board Member of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I have so much respect for these men and what they’ve accomplished, and now, I’m one of them!  I couldn’t be prouder!

Take a look at this story:

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Health-Fitness/Conditions-Diseases/Men-Who-Support-the-Fight-Against-Breast-Cancer.html

Ed

“Putting on the Glitz” Komen Fundraiser!

Patty, Nicole and Linda (owner of Poway Jazzercise Fitness Center) hosted a “Putting on the Glitz” fundraising event to benefit  Susan G. Komen for the Cure this past Saturday at the Poway Jazzercise Fitness Center.  Unfortunately I had to work so I wasn’t able to attend but from what I heard, it was an evening filled with fun, sweat, friendship, tears, laughter, energy and best of all… money to donate to the cause!

Patty, Nicole and Linda worked hard over the past few weeks to pull this event together and their hard work proved to be successful as when all was said and done and the dollars were counted, they raised $2,340.00!   All together, team Patty in Pink has raised a grand total of $6,940.00!!  I think that’s quite an accomplishment to be proud of!

Since I was unable to attend the event and can’t really talk about it first hand, I’m letting Patty fill in the details…

This was such an inspiring fundraiser!!  The staff and teachers at Poway Jazzercise, along with many volunteers, put together an awesome spread of food.  We received so many wonderful raffle prizes, we had a table full of things to choose from.  At 6:00 p.m.  Linda, the owner and instructor along with my daughter, Nicole lead us in a Burn and Blast Jazzercise class.   The other instructors from Poway and Escondido got up on stage to help lead us.  There was so much energy in the room and so much love and support it brought tears to my eyes.  There were about 35 to 40 attendees, all dressed in their pink glitz.  The donations had already started coming in prior to the event and each women who attended donated a minimum of $20.00 for the class.  People were so generous.  After the class, we munched on healthy food, along with a lot of yummy treats and had the raffle drawing and a silent auction for Ryka shoes donated by Jazzercise.  It was a blast and I am definitely feeling the Burn and Blast today.  I am so humbled by all of the support Nicole and I received from the Poway/Escondido Jazzercisors.  There is a special camaraderie within the Jazzercise family and it was definitely reflected in this very special event. 

This event was so successful, I have a feeling this may be a yearly event!

Kristi, Patty and Nicole

Patty saying her "thanks" to everyone

Burn and Blast!

Nicole and Linda leading a classPatty thanking everyone for their support

More Burn and Blast!Keep going ladies!

Patty’s modeling debut!

Patty in her "evening wear" just after making her debut on the catwalk!

Patty made her modeling debut this morning for a Komen fundraiser at the Poway Stein Mart.  It was a small affair, but featured breast cancers survivors as models.

Patty had to be at the store by 10:00 a.m. to prep for the “show”.  The show was to start at 11:00 a.m.  She showed up right on time and I met her there later.  I wasn’t sure where they were holding the fashion show but I figured they’d most likely have it somewhere in the woman’s department.  As I strolled through women’s purses, underwear and bras, I heard laughter from a far corner of the store.  Those of you who know Patty, know she has a very distinctive laugh so I easily found her by walking in the direction of that contagious laugh!   As I got closer to the dressing room I heard Patty saying to someone: “You know, it’s really difficult wearing a jacket when you’re having a hot flash!  (That’s my girl… tell it like it is!)

The first look was “Evening Wear”.   Patty wore a  gorgeous blue dress with some pretty hot silver shoes.  I have to apologize, but being a guy I don’t quite have the words to accurately describe her outfit.  I all can say is that she looked pretty hot!  They strolled the “catwalk”, up and back in front of onlookers.  Once everyone did their stroll, they then walked the interior perimeter of the of the store showing people their ensemble.   Then they returned to the dressing room for a quick change into their “casual look”.

(again, please remember I’m a guy!)  Patty’s casual look consisted of a pair of dress jeans, button down blouse, leather jacket and high-heeled boots.  Again… pretty hot!  She looked great!  As before, the did their walk on the catwalk then paraded throughout the store.

The entire event took about a half hour and it was fun just the same.  The store gave Patty a discount on clothes for her participation.  She ended up buying the blue evening dress.  (good choice)

Overall, this little event was fun.  Patty had a good time… she received a good discount on clothes, and more importantly… it kept her mind busy!

Tonight is the Komen fundraiser that Patty, Nicole and Linda are hosting at Poway Jazzercise Fitness Center.  It should be a really run event!  (pictures to come!)

Here’s a few more pictures of Patty’s modeling debut…

 

 

Keeping busy is good!

You’d never know that Patty was retired!  She seems busier than me and I have a full-time job!  That’s such a great sign that she’s progressing in her recovery and looking forward to what each and every day brings!

You may know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  There are so many breast cancer related events going on.  Stein Mart has guaranteed to donate $100,000.00 to Susan Komen for the Cure and Patty is going to be part of the fundraising efforts this Saturday by participating in a fashion show at our local Stein Mart in Poway.  All the “models” are breast cancer survivors!  She’s pretty excited to participate in this event and today she meets with the organizers to get fitted with her “outfits!”  Pretty cool!  My wife, the model!  I’ll make sure to get some pictures for you to see.

This Saturday evening is the Komen Fundraiser that Patty, Nicole and the owner of Poway Jazzercise and Fitness Center have organized.  Patty and Nicole have already made their goal of $2300.00 each to participate in the Komen 3-day walk in November so the money raise from this event is icing on the cake!  Every penny helps!   It’s going to be quite the event.  As I said in an earlier post, the event starts at 6:00 p.m. with an hour Blast and Burn jazzercise class followed by an hour of pink champagne, raffle prizes and a silent auction.  They’ve already had quite a few RSVP’s and are hoping to pack the event with close to 50 people!  I won’t be able to attend (it’s a good thing since I don’t want to “Blast and Burn”) but Patty’s promised to take a lot of pictures that I can post.

Patty met with her reconstruction surgeon yesterday.  Everything is looking good!  It’s healing well and, to me, looks great!  She doesn’t need to see her for another month.  Most likely the surgeon will schedule the final procedure and Patty should be done by Christmas!  What a great Christmas present!

Patty being busy is the best thing for her!  She still has moment where the cancer scare is a reality.  She still has moments where she gets very frightened that the cancer will come back.  I don’t think those feelings will every go away.  So things like watching Avery during the week, going to bible study, participating in the Stein Mart fashion show and organizing the Komen fundraiser keep her on her toes and, most important, keep her mind focused on life!

 

Granddaughters can be the best medicine!

As you may know, Patty was given a clean bill of health by her oncologist last week. That was huge news for us! Then she had an appointment with her reconstruction surgeon who removed her stitches from the last surgery. She had nothing but good things to say about Patty’s progress! The results of these two appointments just gave Patty such a great outlook on the future!

Kennedy

Avery

We have two local granddaughters, Avery and Kennedy, who live within 15 minutes to the south and east of us. This is so convenient for a quick granddaughter fix!  Kennedy will be 7 months old next week and Avery will be one year next Monday. Patty and I watched Kennedy for an evening this Past Sunday night. Patty had a pretty quiet day on Sunday to the point where she was a little bored, but she lit up once Kennedy was dropped off. Whatever aches, pains or worries she had suddenly disappeared! Kennedy is a very low-key, roll with the punches little girl. It seems like nothing bothers her. She was a little fussy early on, but overall she was just an angel!

Patty’s full time job is watching Avery three or four days during the week. She started watching Avery back in January, shortly after she finished her last chemotherapy infusion. She was loving it but had to stop in late July when she underwent her first reconstruction surgery. She’s really missed Avery over the past two and a half months, but started watching her again this week. She’s loving it! Avery keeps her busy during the day, which in turn, keeps her mind off anything cancer related!

These two babies are so different! Like I said, Kennedy is very mellow, low-key and rolls with the punches. Avery is a little more intense, ok a lot more intense, but is sweet as can be and also just rolls with the punches. Patty just loves the two of them! (by the way, we have a third granddaughter, Mia, who lives outside of Phoenix, Az, whom we love very much!) These little girls give Patty so much hope!

All I wanted to do is thank God for our granddaughters!  They’re amazing little girls and without knowing it, are helping so much in Patty’s recovery!

Komen 3-day fundraiser for team “Patty in Pink”

As you know, Patty is an avid Jazerciser (if there is such a word!)  Combine the excitement of Jazercise and a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and you’ll probably see Patty doing a remake of Pink’s song “I’m coming up” (So you better get that party started!)

Patty and her daughter, Nicole, plan on participating in the Komen 3-day, 60 mile walk, in mid-November.  They’ve entered as a team with the name “Patty in Pink!”  In order to partake in the walk, each participant must raise $2300.00 prior to the event.  Patty, with the help of many close friends and family, is pretty close to her goal… Nicole is about half way there, but there’s no doubt that she will hit that goal (which I’ll explain with the purpose of this post shortly.)

I do need to take a second and thank the queen of fundraising, Becky H. and the staff at the El Dorado County Department of Child Support Services for fundraising and contributing a total of $652.00 towards Patty’s walk.  If you recall, last year, again with Becky’s leadership, the El Dorado County Department of Child Support Services contributed $638.00 in Patty’s name to Susan G. Komen. Thank you so much for your help!  This mean so much to Patty!

Fundraising is always a difficult thing  for anyone  to do (but Becky!)  How do we raise money?  I’m embarrassed to ask people for money!  Do we sell cupcakes?  What?  Do we need a special license?  Etc, etc, etc…  Then out of the blue, Linda, the owner of  Poway Jazzercise Fitness Center approached Patty and Nicole with the mother-lode idea…  Jazzercise!  Linda wanted to host a Jazzercise/Komen fundraising event.   That’s all it took.  Of course, Patty and Nicole could not turn down such a great idea.  Linda, Patty and Nicole have since run with the idea and now it’s turning into quite the event!

The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. starting with an hour “Blast and Burn” class.  I don’t know what a “Blast and Burn” class is, but it sounds like something I definitely don’t want to be close to!  The class is followed by “Happy Hour”.  (Again… after a “Blast and Burn” I don’t know if one can be happy.)  There have been a number of raffle donations so far, such as Ryka workout shoes, clothing, massage, manicure and wine.  Patty, Nicole and Linda are still looking for more raffle donations so if you have a business and can donate services or goods or know of someone who can donate something, please let us know!

As I said, the fundraising event is scheduled for Saturday, October 15th at 6:00 p.m.  Cost is $20 per person.  There is a lot of excitement from a number of people in anticipation of this event.  I guarantee it’s going to be a lot of fun (except for the Blast and Burn part) and all money collected is going to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for breast cancer research.

I’ll keep you posted on how things progress.

Anxiety free… again!

Here’s how things went after Patty’s appointment with the oncologist: 

“Good morning Lord!  It’s me again!  Thank you for everything you do for me and Patty everyday!  Thank you for Patty being clean of cancer.  Everything came back clear and there are no indications of cancer in her body!  Thank you again for everything you do for us everyday!  In the Lords Name I pray!  Amen!” 

Patty and I fought horrible traffic on the way to the oncologists this morning and made it to her 9 a.m. appointment.  We arrived straight up at 9 a.m.  (the 20 minute drive took us an hour!)  Needless to say, Patty was really stressed by the upcoming appointment as well as traffic.  It was pretty evident when the nurse took Patty’s blood pressure and it was off the charts!   

Waiting is always the worst.  We sat in the examining room for a good half hour before the oncologist came in.  She’s a wonderful woman that we respect very much!  Wonderful or not, it’s pretty clear that Patty doesn’t like to see her!  She sat on her stool, read through some papers, looked at Patty and said:  “Everything is great!  Your blood-work looks just fine!  Your chest x-ray from two months ago is clear!  I’m very optimistic that you’re going to be fine!  I couldn’t be happier for you!”  That’s all she needed to say!  Patty was so relieved.  (Of course I was also)  The oncologist examined Patty and we chatted about things other than cancer and she left. 

I haven’t seen Patty do the “Happy Dance” in a long time, but when the oncologist left the room, Patty sprung off the exam table and broke out in her “happy dance!”  It was too cute! 

Patty doesn’t need to see her oncologist for another three months so we should be anxiety free for a while!   

Life is good!

Cancer testing never ends!

This is how my morning started:

“Good morning Lord.  It’s me, Ed.  Lord, as you know, Patty has an appointment with her oncologist this morning.  She’s feeling pretty anxious.  She’s nervous that her blood-work will come back showing the cancer has returned.  Lord, I pray to you that your Holy Spirit is within Patty’s heart and you give her comfort and a big hug so she knows that you’re with her.  I pray to you that her test come back clear of any cancer.  Thank you for everything you do for us everyday!  In the Lords Name I pray!  Amen.”

That pretty much says what’s going on this morning.  Patty has an appointment with her oncologist.  The last one was back in June.  That appointment was pretty low-key.  The oncologist just wanted to see Patty and do a quick check and see how she was doing.  Today’s appointment is much more in-depth.  Patty had to give a blood sample yesterday which will be scanned. analyzed and whatever else they do to determine if Patty is cancer free.  I know they will check for “tumor markers” which are substances found in the body (blood or urine) when cancer is present. I’m not sure what the other tests will be done.

Patty’s been doing so well.  Her chest x-ray back in July was clear and so far all the doctors who have seen her are very happy with her progress.  I’m sure things will turn out fine but I won’t take any chances… that why my morning started out with a prayer.

I’ll keep you posted on the news.

Post surgery update

Wow!  What a day yesterday was!

We got to the hospital around 12:15 for the 1:30 surgery.  Patty was feeling pretty anxious on the drive which was evident by not one word being said.  I tried to get her to talk, but she just wasn’t in the mood.  I totally understand and would probably be the same if it were me!  We checked in with the admitting person in the surgical center and had a short wait before they called her back to get into the “gown”.  After seeing Patty in her “gown” I realized that someone could make a killing in the hospital gown business if they designed one that actually looked good!  But, a green gown with the hospital issue purple socks just wasn’t doing it for me.  Anyway, back to yesterday.  We had a good hour to kill in the pre-surgery room waiting for 1:30.  Tick……….. Tick…………. Tick!  Time dragged.  Finally the anesthesiologist came in.  What a nice man!  Very thorough in explaining his role during the surgery.  His demeanor was very calming to Patty.  The surgical nurse came in as the anesthesiologist left.  She also had this calming effect on Patty.  Wow!  Two for two!  As she left, Patty’s surgeon came in.  Three for three!  It was a good start to surgery.  The surgeon told me she’d come into the waiting room when she was finished and anticipated the surgery to go between and hour and an hour and a half.   They were ready!  I gave Patty a kiss and off she went, looking pretty hip, I must say, in her hospital gown!  They took Patty back for surgery around 1:40.

I made a quick run to the grocery store to pick up things for Patty’s dinner.  Coming out of surgery, I figured since Patty hadn’t eaten since 7:00 the previous night, she would like something tasty but not spicy.  So… grill cheese sandwiches and tomato soup was the menu.  I got back to the hospital around 2:30.  I guessed they’d finish with the surgery around 3:30.  So, there I sat in the waiting room with a pile of Sunset magazines they provided.  I read through about four of them and looked at the clock… 3:35 p.m.  Ahh, they should be finishing up anytime.  Five minutes passed and…  and… and… the power went out!  Thank goodness I don’t freak too easily, but knowing my wife was in surgery and now no power?  I do know that hospitals have emergency power for just this reason so I was pretty calm, but still!  The surgery nurse came out to see me at 3:55 p.m.  She said she just wanted to ease my mind that everything was fine, the had backup power, and they’d be finishing up with Patty’s surgery in 10 to 15 minutes.  Phew!  The surgeon came out at 4:05 saying she was done and Patty did great!  She said she was able to make the necessary repairs, nip and tuck here and there, and was able to put a new implant in which was the same size as the other breast!  That’s great news!  That means no more surgeries… hopefully.

I’d never seen Patty, or anyone for that fact, minutes after surgery.  Wow… Patty talked to me with no clue what she was saying or to whom she was saying it to!  Wow!  He first thing out of her mouth, in a very slurred speech, was:  “God was with me the whole time!”  Patty came “out of the influence” within a half hour and was ready to go home and eat!  (That’s a good sign)

It seemed like everyone wanted to leave the hospital at the same time we were leaving.  The four story parking structure was backed up for four floor!  It dawned on me since the power was out the signal lights on the street weren’t working!  Needless to say, our fifteen minute drive home was much much longer!  I listened to the car radio and learned that the entire San Diego County was without power and San Diego Gas & Electric had no idea what caused the blackout, where the outage initiated and when power would be restored.  Of all days for the power to be out… it’s 99 degrees outside… my wife just had surgery…. no power means no air conditioner….  and we have an electric stove!  Things weren’t looking all that good for the night.  But, with some ingenuity, we’d make it work.

Patty was in a lot of pain as we drove home but I had her take more meds when we arrived at our house.  They kicked in around 6:30 p.m. and she was fine.  I’ve learned that it’s all about pain management!

Last night was kind of nice.  We had candlelight.  I literally made grilled cheese sandwiches on the grill!  (by the way, I’ve never made them that way before and I’ll never do them any other way in the future!)  I have a battery-powered radio so we tuned into a station that was giving updates on the outage.  We had a good night.  Patty went to bed around 8:30 and I followed around 10:30.  No power when I went to bed but it was restored at 4:00 a.m.

Patty woke up this morning around 6 a.m.  She was in a great mood and wanted to talk talk talk!  Me?  I had my head buried in a pillow trying to pretend I was sound asleep.  Meanwhile Mrs. Gabby started carrying on about everything under the sun.  I had to give up on sleep when I realized that she had pretty much slept most of the day before and she was done with sleep.  She did say one thing that caught my attention.  She said:  “Today is the first day in I can’t remember how long that I feel positive!  Positive about going forward.” You don’t know how glad I was to hear her make that statement!

So, bottom line… Patty is doing great (as long as she takes her pain meds)  We admired her new breast this morning when she took a shower.  Wow!  It’s taking shape and now they’re both the same size!  I’m pretty impressed!

 

Surgery Day!

Well… here we go again!  Surgery Day!  This is getting all too common lately.  I guess it could be worse as this is only Patty’s fourth cancer related surgery.  We should feel fortunate as there’s women out there who have had many more surgeries throughout their journey with breast cancer.

Patty’s surgery is scheduled for 1:30 this afternoon.  There’s always going to be some anxiety associated with surgery and this surgery is no different.  It’s pushing 11:00 a.m. right now and Patty’s trying to keep as busy as possible to pass the time.  Waiting is always the hardest part pre-surgery.  Her surgery last month was scheduled for 7:00 a.m. which was good.  The wait was still draining, but at least it was early in the morning.  This time you can literally hear the clock ticking away, second by second… tick, tick, tick!  I’m finding those “ticks” get louder as the waiting continues.

This surgery is scheduled to last between an hour and an hour and a half.  I’ve already prayed that things go as well or better than anticipated and that Patty’s recovery is quick with little or no pain!  Hey… it doesn’t hurt to ask!

I’ll keep you posted on how things turn out.

The frustration of recovery!

 

Patty and friends at the American Cancer Society Relay for Life a couple weeks ago.

Patty’s recovery from the reconstruction surgery is going well.  She still has a long way to go, but overall she’s doing really well.  They started adding saline to her implant last week and she’s pretty excited to have a cleavage again!   

The initial recovery period from the surgery was pretty painful.  She hid it pretty well from me at first, but as I’ve said in many previous posts, her eyes tell the story.  She fooled me and was on the go pretty quickly.  Too quickly!  I should have known better.  Those of you who know Patty, know that she’s hard to keep down.  She wants to exercise and get back into her routine.  She can’t do it!  Not yet.  I could see she was tiring easy and “hitting the wall” by early afternoons.  So, I’ve had to put my foot down and limit her activities.  She’s begrudgingly cooperating… 

Up until surgery her “job” was watching our granddaughter, Avery.  The doctor told us that she wouldn’t be able to watch her full time again until at least 8 weeks after surgery.  She thinks it’ll take her 6 weeks, but I’m going to win this battle.  She needs to take as long as she needs.  Avery kept Patty pretty busy during the days, but now that Patty’s on her own, she gets pretty bored!  She’s been devouring a lot of books, which she loves, but she gets frustrated that she can’t do it all right now.  She’s doing so well, I just don’t want her to overdo it and, in turn, take longer for her recovery.

She has a doctor’s appointment next Monday to add more saline… a little at a time.  Right now it’s all about adding the saline which in turn stretches the skin until it’s the same size etc as the other breast. 

Patty’s been walking as often as possible… a couple miles at a time.  She’s impatiently wanting to push the walking farther to start training for the Komen walk in November!   

She needs to heal first… she has plenty of time!