My cousin, Nona Moore and I would sit in chairs next to each other at my mom's house and look through her stacks of magazines. She was on a lot of mailing lists and there were so many good ones to look at.
Long before they opened a store around here, I was in love with her Coldwater Creek catalog. Everything in it was appealing. This was probably 15 to 20 years ago. The jewelry was nice. The clothes were trendy. They put together outfits with no models so there was no preconceived notion of what it would look like on a skinny person.
I shopped there for years loving the fact that they had size 2 to 20 so if you were overweight you didn't have to go to a different store to buy your clothes. They also had them sized to surprise you and think you were thinner than you were. It had almost a western vibe to it (kind of like Robert Redford's Sundance catalog of today.) They got it right.
I was hooked into signing up for their credit card to get 15% of my first purchase. Then if I used the credit card I would receive $20 coupons in the mail. I got coupons quite often and used it all the time to combine with sales and get great deals on things.
So over the last few years I noticed the clothes quality went down. I also noticed a lot of their things were starting to look frumpy. When a friend of mine on FB told me to steer clear of several stores if I wanted to dress and look younger and she mention CC I was surprised because I had always loved the store. But then I got to thinking and I realized she was right. Lately most of the items were kind of frumpy. Very rarely were they putting things out there that were truly "must haves."
It got to the point where the last couple times I got a coupon for $20 I couldn't find one thing I wanted to buy in the whole catalog. So I ordered a pair of jeans and called it a day.
Then I heard they were filing bankruptcy and closing all the stores. How could a once very cool store make so many bad choices that ended their reign as a top female clothier? Did they change ownership? Did their philosophy of style change? Who was the buyer? Were they purchasing clothes from a cheaper supplier to try to make money?
No matter what store it is. CC or Wellspring. Things change. The landscape of retail is forever changing. It's a competitive market there is NO doubt!! I guess maybe no matter what you do, when it's time, it's time.
We will miss you Coldwater Creek circa 1995!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
My Goal in Life
It's a rainy Spring day here in Clive, Iowa. I thought I would put my thoughts on paper before I go up to Mayo tomorrow for my final lung surgery!
2014 has been the year of once again trying to rid myself of all cancer. This is not the first time we have gone after it. We did it in 2011 as well and just about as fast as we got rid of it, it came back.
Last year I bugged my surgeons up at Mayo to take another stab at it. I am so over chemo and all the research I have done points to surgical removal with wide margins as the treatment of choice. So in November, Dr. Farnell (abdominal surgeon) finally relented and then Dr. Nichols (lung surgeon) got on board as well. In fact, they refused to go after it surgically if they could not go after ALL of it. Meanwhile, a tumor showed up on my kidney which was also nuked imbetween the ab surgery and the first lung surgery. So 4 procedures in 2014 and April isn't even over!!
So here is my goal in life.
I want to be cancer free! I want to become a person who advocates for cancer patients. I want to be an inspiration to those people who are shocked and scared by a cancer diagnosis. I want to guide people through the maze of alternative AND standard treatment. Especially those who have leiomyosarcoma.
I was thinking about it the other day and was wishing I could sell products to people that would really help them with their health. I don't want to be a network marketer to make tons of money but I would like to make a difference in people's lives.
I thank everyone who has supported me over these past 5 years. Your thoughts and prayers have been the #1 thing that has gotten me through all this!!!
My other life goal is to be normal. I mean, get up, get dressed, go to work, make my bed, clean my house, have enough energy to plant my gardens and walk the dogs and play with my grandkids and just be back to being me!!!
2014 has been the year of once again trying to rid myself of all cancer. This is not the first time we have gone after it. We did it in 2011 as well and just about as fast as we got rid of it, it came back.
Last year I bugged my surgeons up at Mayo to take another stab at it. I am so over chemo and all the research I have done points to surgical removal with wide margins as the treatment of choice. So in November, Dr. Farnell (abdominal surgeon) finally relented and then Dr. Nichols (lung surgeon) got on board as well. In fact, they refused to go after it surgically if they could not go after ALL of it. Meanwhile, a tumor showed up on my kidney which was also nuked imbetween the ab surgery and the first lung surgery. So 4 procedures in 2014 and April isn't even over!!
So here is my goal in life.
I want to be cancer free! I want to become a person who advocates for cancer patients. I want to be an inspiration to those people who are shocked and scared by a cancer diagnosis. I want to guide people through the maze of alternative AND standard treatment. Especially those who have leiomyosarcoma.
I was thinking about it the other day and was wishing I could sell products to people that would really help them with their health. I don't want to be a network marketer to make tons of money but I would like to make a difference in people's lives.
I thank everyone who has supported me over these past 5 years. Your thoughts and prayers have been the #1 thing that has gotten me through all this!!!
My other life goal is to be normal. I mean, get up, get dressed, go to work, make my bed, clean my house, have enough energy to plant my gardens and walk the dogs and play with my grandkids and just be back to being me!!!
Friday, February 14, 2014
Things that bother me
Yesterday I was disgruntled. Everything anyone did made me mad.
First this. When you have cancer as long as I have, people forget that every day you have death hanging over your head. To them, you are the same person and should act accordingly.
I had surgery on January 17. My insides hurt. I take pain pills. Even if I act like I'm doing well, I cannot do half of what I used to do. Then I get greeted with, "What have you been doing all day while I was working?"
My mind jumps back in time to a day I would go to work at 9 am and get home after 9 pm. Bell to bell is what they call it. Since I was 16 I have worked. Now I am on disability and what I used do in an hour or two may take me a couple days because if I kick it up a notch I won't be able to walk with the pain. But somehow I feel guilty about it because I cannot be all things to all people anymore and I think I am resented for it. Resented for being sick. That makes me sick.
People forget you are sick. You go to the hospital for surgery and no one sends you flowers anymore. You come home. No one brings meals over. I understand, I totally do. It probably seems to them like a never ending saga. "She hasn't died yet?"
Then I browse Facebook. I cannot believe all my liberal friends who posts things about Fox News and then call people names ALL THE TIME. "Tell us how you really feel." Equally annoying is a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ken Ham the Creationist. No, Ken, "because the Bible tells us so" is not an adequate argument for creationism. Gee Whiz. Try to make sense. Try to marry the science with faith and make it work so it makes sense, please?
Then the whole vaccine debate. People on their soap boxes yelling to the top of their lungs!! You must vaccinate. This from people who are not living with a child with Autism. A child who was perfectly normal until after her 2 year vaccines. Why don't you try to be a little flexible folks? I've changed my opinion from no vaccines to later vaccines and slow vaccines but it seems that's not good enough for the zealots.
And especially such strong opinions from people who do not have enough life experience to have a good, overall opinion. Live a little before you start spewing.
Then there's the adults that for some reason or another choose not to work. They are capable of working but there is always some excuse. "I've got too much on my plate." "I can get money from my family." "I'm depressed." "I cannot afford daycare." Meanwhile there are other people who suffer from their lack of ambition. There is a sucker born everyday. Same goes for the takers in life. If you take and take and take but never give, then you don't deserve an opinion either. Earn the right to have an opinion.
Ok. I got it off my chest. Sorry if I stepped on some toes.
First this. When you have cancer as long as I have, people forget that every day you have death hanging over your head. To them, you are the same person and should act accordingly.
I had surgery on January 17. My insides hurt. I take pain pills. Even if I act like I'm doing well, I cannot do half of what I used to do. Then I get greeted with, "What have you been doing all day while I was working?"
My mind jumps back in time to a day I would go to work at 9 am and get home after 9 pm. Bell to bell is what they call it. Since I was 16 I have worked. Now I am on disability and what I used do in an hour or two may take me a couple days because if I kick it up a notch I won't be able to walk with the pain. But somehow I feel guilty about it because I cannot be all things to all people anymore and I think I am resented for it. Resented for being sick. That makes me sick.
People forget you are sick. You go to the hospital for surgery and no one sends you flowers anymore. You come home. No one brings meals over. I understand, I totally do. It probably seems to them like a never ending saga. "She hasn't died yet?"
Then I browse Facebook. I cannot believe all my liberal friends who posts things about Fox News and then call people names ALL THE TIME. "Tell us how you really feel." Equally annoying is a debate between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Ken Ham the Creationist. No, Ken, "because the Bible tells us so" is not an adequate argument for creationism. Gee Whiz. Try to make sense. Try to marry the science with faith and make it work so it makes sense, please?
Then the whole vaccine debate. People on their soap boxes yelling to the top of their lungs!! You must vaccinate. This from people who are not living with a child with Autism. A child who was perfectly normal until after her 2 year vaccines. Why don't you try to be a little flexible folks? I've changed my opinion from no vaccines to later vaccines and slow vaccines but it seems that's not good enough for the zealots.
And especially such strong opinions from people who do not have enough life experience to have a good, overall opinion. Live a little before you start spewing.
Then there's the adults that for some reason or another choose not to work. They are capable of working but there is always some excuse. "I've got too much on my plate." "I can get money from my family." "I'm depressed." "I cannot afford daycare." Meanwhile there are other people who suffer from their lack of ambition. There is a sucker born everyday. Same goes for the takers in life. If you take and take and take but never give, then you don't deserve an opinion either. Earn the right to have an opinion.
Ok. I got it off my chest. Sorry if I stepped on some toes.
Monday, January 6, 2014
What ethnicity are you? And who am I?
This blog has nothing to do with cancer. It's about who I am.
I'm watching Downton Abbey last night and there's a scene where a suitor of one of the aristocratic daughters can move to Germany, become a citizen and then he will be able to divorce his wife so he can marry her. This is 1920s England. The woman states that the Germans are the most hated people in the world.
After Christmas dinner my Aunt Karen and Uncle Alan came over and we were talking about World War 1 and 2. I was embarrassed at my lack of knowledge of the first war especially. As we were talking we went on and on about how the war went and it was quite interesting. In fact, I am just cracking open a book Karen ordered for me on Russian history. All quite fascinating. Apparently the Germans were the aggressors in both wars.
Then for the last few days I've been watching The Sopranos on HBO. The whole show is mobster Italian television and I am very interested in their extreme New Jersey/Italian ways. They exude Italian. My friend Mary Sutera and her whole family exuded Italian culture. Their mother cooked huge dinners of authentic Italian food. They all "look" Italian. Brown eyes. Dark complexion. They should. Their parents immigrated here from Sicily.
My brother and his family are embracing his Native American heritage. Learning some of the language. Meeting lots of family and friends. Learning the ways of the Lakota.
I'm a person who really doesn't seem very ethnic to myself. If someone would ask I would say I am of European descent. I have English and Irish and German in me. So I ask you. If the Germans were the most hated people in the world back between the first and second World Wars, could that have robed me of some of my ethnicity? Were German Americans afraid to admit they were from Germany because people may have looked down on them because of it?? My husband has Danish heritage and they embrace it with traditional recipes and dancing around the Christmas tree.
We don't really have any German things we do. Or English. Or Irish. My Channell family has been doing a lot of ancestry searches and we find a lot of English. My dad's mom's maiden name was Popplewell and everywhere we look we see English, English, English. I relate to that. I embraced London when I visited. I felt "home." But Germany?? I just don't know much about it and I'm sad that the Third Reich and the axis were such aggressive people and did so many heinous things that I haven't been able to embrace that part of myself.
My grandmother was a Schultz. German. My daughters have German on the other side as well. Von Rhein. Maybe a fact finding trip to Germany is in order. Maybe I'll try to make some schnitzel and some warm German potato salad……Just a thought.
I'm watching Downton Abbey last night and there's a scene where a suitor of one of the aristocratic daughters can move to Germany, become a citizen and then he will be able to divorce his wife so he can marry her. This is 1920s England. The woman states that the Germans are the most hated people in the world.
After Christmas dinner my Aunt Karen and Uncle Alan came over and we were talking about World War 1 and 2. I was embarrassed at my lack of knowledge of the first war especially. As we were talking we went on and on about how the war went and it was quite interesting. In fact, I am just cracking open a book Karen ordered for me on Russian history. All quite fascinating. Apparently the Germans were the aggressors in both wars.
Then for the last few days I've been watching The Sopranos on HBO. The whole show is mobster Italian television and I am very interested in their extreme New Jersey/Italian ways. They exude Italian. My friend Mary Sutera and her whole family exuded Italian culture. Their mother cooked huge dinners of authentic Italian food. They all "look" Italian. Brown eyes. Dark complexion. They should. Their parents immigrated here from Sicily.
My brother and his family are embracing his Native American heritage. Learning some of the language. Meeting lots of family and friends. Learning the ways of the Lakota.
I'm a person who really doesn't seem very ethnic to myself. If someone would ask I would say I am of European descent. I have English and Irish and German in me. So I ask you. If the Germans were the most hated people in the world back between the first and second World Wars, could that have robed me of some of my ethnicity? Were German Americans afraid to admit they were from Germany because people may have looked down on them because of it?? My husband has Danish heritage and they embrace it with traditional recipes and dancing around the Christmas tree.
We don't really have any German things we do. Or English. Or Irish. My Channell family has been doing a lot of ancestry searches and we find a lot of English. My dad's mom's maiden name was Popplewell and everywhere we look we see English, English, English. I relate to that. I embraced London when I visited. I felt "home." But Germany?? I just don't know much about it and I'm sad that the Third Reich and the axis were such aggressive people and did so many heinous things that I haven't been able to embrace that part of myself.
My grandmother was a Schultz. German. My daughters have German on the other side as well. Von Rhein. Maybe a fact finding trip to Germany is in order. Maybe I'll try to make some schnitzel and some warm German potato salad……Just a thought.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
The End of a Year of Blogging
Yes, I started this blog a year (almost) ago! The blog of a woman with a big mouth who is scared to death!
I told my mother having Leiomyosarcoma is like being on death row. You know the time will come when you will probably be executed. There is always this nagging fear in the back of your mind. "Will I be here in a year?" "Will I make it through surgery?" I'm scared.
Today I looked at pictures of my grandkids and it brought a tear to my eyes. I may not see them grow up. They are just starting their journey. Me? So iffy.
I don't know of many people who beat this cancer. It doesn't seem to go away. It may lie dormant for awhile but everyone I know seems to get it back. I am on a "list" on the web of people and caretakers with this disease. Everyone signs their posts with their "stuff." The year they were diagnosed. The chemos they've done. The surgeries they have had. The recurrences. So happy for the people who have NED (no evidence of disease) on their signature. But most, after awhile, end up with a spot on their lungs or liver and it ALL starts again.
Me? I've never been NED. It all started with my initial surgery. You cannot cut away at this cancer or it spreads. They did. It did.
On January 17, I go in for another major surgery. A month later I go in for a lung surgery. Four days later I go in for another lung surgery. Another chance at NED.
I'm serving my body up on a platter, Lord!! I'm giving it up! All the prayers, all the determination, all the supplements, all the healthy diet. I'm giving it to you!! 2014!! The year where I try to give it to you, Lord! YOU are the only thing I cling to. I've been fighting for so long. I'm tired. I'm scared. I'm sad. Please help me get through this.
I told my mother having Leiomyosarcoma is like being on death row. You know the time will come when you will probably be executed. There is always this nagging fear in the back of your mind. "Will I be here in a year?" "Will I make it through surgery?" I'm scared.
Today I looked at pictures of my grandkids and it brought a tear to my eyes. I may not see them grow up. They are just starting their journey. Me? So iffy.
I don't know of many people who beat this cancer. It doesn't seem to go away. It may lie dormant for awhile but everyone I know seems to get it back. I am on a "list" on the web of people and caretakers with this disease. Everyone signs their posts with their "stuff." The year they were diagnosed. The chemos they've done. The surgeries they have had. The recurrences. So happy for the people who have NED (no evidence of disease) on their signature. But most, after awhile, end up with a spot on their lungs or liver and it ALL starts again.
Me? I've never been NED. It all started with my initial surgery. You cannot cut away at this cancer or it spreads. They did. It did.
On January 17, I go in for another major surgery. A month later I go in for a lung surgery. Four days later I go in for another lung surgery. Another chance at NED.
I'm serving my body up on a platter, Lord!! I'm giving it up! All the prayers, all the determination, all the supplements, all the healthy diet. I'm giving it to you!! 2014!! The year where I try to give it to you, Lord! YOU are the only thing I cling to. I've been fighting for so long. I'm tired. I'm scared. I'm sad. Please help me get through this.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
I'd like a "do over."
Oh, to be able to go back 40 years and eat an apple. To not drink pop. Too not drink beer. To not be 16 and think it was cool to smoke. Oh, to actually try to do those physical activities. Play some sports. Hey, they begged me to be on the basketball and volleyball teams. Nope. Not interested.
A man I talked to on the phone said to me, "It's easier to prevent cancer than it is to combat it once you've got it." People learn from my mistakes!
Unfortunately that is not how life works. You just do until something undoes you.
I talked to a friend today who just lost her father. Of course she is reeling from the shock of losing her dad. He died 10 months to the day of his diagnosis. I asked her, "if you had to do it over again, do you think he should have done the chemo?" She said NO! I agree. This man did what most of us cancer patients do. We fight! "Give me the chemo!1 I'm gonna beat this thing!!" But what did it do? It made all the months of his life miserable. He was sick and bedridden. Yes, he never recovered from the chemo. It held him down until his body wore out.
I've been battling this "dragon" for over 4 years. It has wore me down. My body is not as strong as it once was. I beg the cardiologist to "do" something to make me have the energy I once had. I ran around today, cooked some food, did a little cleaning and I sat down, Done. Never would I have done that in the past. I would have prepared a couple days in advance so I didn't have so much to do. My mom came over and folded a pile of clothes which had been on the couch, I'd say for two weeks. Just too darn tired to address it.
Life is a series of tests. Pass some. Fail some.
Talking to Chelsea this week and we pinned down something that has happened to me. I've changed. And not always in good ways. Maybe growth but the way I handle them are not always good. Before I got sick I could pretty much handle anything. You throw something my way and make me feel guilty enough, I'd add it to my already busy schedule. You owe me money? A simple excuse or even silence on the issue was never addressed by me. Door Mat Kelly. Stick it to me. I'll take it. I could hold the weight of the world on my shoulders. I got a bit sarcastic after being used and abused for so long but I could handle it. Then I got THE diagnosis. Snap!! Something inside me turned upside down. My filter popped off. I noticed things I had never noticed before like flocks of birds. Stars. Flowers. It was wonderment! I also got irritated. "Hey!! You owe me some money and I want it back!!!!" "Hey!! Mrs. Nice Guy doesn't live here anymore!!"
I got pushed back. I called people out and got verbally abused in return. I've figured something out. The louder people protest and the meaner they are to you verbally, is a way for them to try to force you back into the Nice Guy box.
I went to a support group at John Stoddard and the other participants agreed with me. Their reactions to stupid things are no longer met with a smile and a nod. Now they might say to someone, "oh yeah? How's that working for you?" Or, "can you clarify what you meant by that last statement?" Oh, the freedom of not letting people act and be ridiculous and just smiling at them. Oh, we live in a world where people think they can get away with things by simply lying about them. Or stretching the truth. To witness someone you know blatantly lie. Don't you want to call them out???? Would you??
These are some of the things I've been thinking about. Chemo? Bad stuff. Being real could be good or bad. Standing up for yourself is good. Getting there might be a bumpy road. Preventing cancer is a good thing. Denial is a bad thing. Reaction to things shouldn't swing so far to the right or to the left. A few deep breaths should help. Yoga is my new way to exercise. I think.
A man I talked to on the phone said to me, "It's easier to prevent cancer than it is to combat it once you've got it." People learn from my mistakes!
Unfortunately that is not how life works. You just do until something undoes you.
I talked to a friend today who just lost her father. Of course she is reeling from the shock of losing her dad. He died 10 months to the day of his diagnosis. I asked her, "if you had to do it over again, do you think he should have done the chemo?" She said NO! I agree. This man did what most of us cancer patients do. We fight! "Give me the chemo!1 I'm gonna beat this thing!!" But what did it do? It made all the months of his life miserable. He was sick and bedridden. Yes, he never recovered from the chemo. It held him down until his body wore out.
I've been battling this "dragon" for over 4 years. It has wore me down. My body is not as strong as it once was. I beg the cardiologist to "do" something to make me have the energy I once had. I ran around today, cooked some food, did a little cleaning and I sat down, Done. Never would I have done that in the past. I would have prepared a couple days in advance so I didn't have so much to do. My mom came over and folded a pile of clothes which had been on the couch, I'd say for two weeks. Just too darn tired to address it.
Life is a series of tests. Pass some. Fail some.
Talking to Chelsea this week and we pinned down something that has happened to me. I've changed. And not always in good ways. Maybe growth but the way I handle them are not always good. Before I got sick I could pretty much handle anything. You throw something my way and make me feel guilty enough, I'd add it to my already busy schedule. You owe me money? A simple excuse or even silence on the issue was never addressed by me. Door Mat Kelly. Stick it to me. I'll take it. I could hold the weight of the world on my shoulders. I got a bit sarcastic after being used and abused for so long but I could handle it. Then I got THE diagnosis. Snap!! Something inside me turned upside down. My filter popped off. I noticed things I had never noticed before like flocks of birds. Stars. Flowers. It was wonderment! I also got irritated. "Hey!! You owe me some money and I want it back!!!!" "Hey!! Mrs. Nice Guy doesn't live here anymore!!"
I got pushed back. I called people out and got verbally abused in return. I've figured something out. The louder people protest and the meaner they are to you verbally, is a way for them to try to force you back into the Nice Guy box.
I went to a support group at John Stoddard and the other participants agreed with me. Their reactions to stupid things are no longer met with a smile and a nod. Now they might say to someone, "oh yeah? How's that working for you?" Or, "can you clarify what you meant by that last statement?" Oh, the freedom of not letting people act and be ridiculous and just smiling at them. Oh, we live in a world where people think they can get away with things by simply lying about them. Or stretching the truth. To witness someone you know blatantly lie. Don't you want to call them out???? Would you??
These are some of the things I've been thinking about. Chemo? Bad stuff. Being real could be good or bad. Standing up for yourself is good. Getting there might be a bumpy road. Preventing cancer is a good thing. Denial is a bad thing. Reaction to things shouldn't swing so far to the right or to the left. A few deep breaths should help. Yoga is my new way to exercise. I think.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Running in the dark and chasing peace and tranquility
Lately I have been having lots of dreams. Regret dreams mostly. I wake up wishing everything was ok.
My last appointment at Mayo showed 3 spots on my lungs. Every time I have "new" anything I think I panic a little more. I realize that they have tried so many things on me. They seem to work. However, they are reluctant to do the one thing I think I need them to do the most. Surgery.
Here is my reasoning.
Awhile back I was starving so I ran into Hyvee and picked up a package of sushi. I went out to the car and scarfed down the whole box before I got on the road. If you are a sushi fan, you know you can't really eat it while driving.
So that night I started cramping up. I was in total pain. The next morning I was writhing in pain so I called my oncologist. He was gone but his colleague admitted me into the hospital with a probable intestinal blockage. I was in the hospital for 5 days. They gave me morphine for the pain. CT scan to see if I needed surgery. They eventually found out I had a narrowing of my intestine, not a blockage.
So since then I have had blockages twice. I knew it wasn't a total blockage because I could feel rumbling below the area of blockage. So I took sips of water to force the blockage through. Eventually both passed but for 3 days after that I felt like I had been beaten in the stomach with a bat.
Tomorrow I call the oncologist. My reasoning is this. What if I have a total blockage due to the tumor and I have to have emergency surgery here in Des Moines? The surgical team from Mayo did all my major surgery and I would think they would be better qualified to fix an area that they have already had a hand in surgically correcting.
They don't want to do surgery. I don't want to have intestinal blockages.
I feel like a whiner just about now because I am running scared. All I can think of is worse case scenarios.
I have this recurring thought. Why, if I have thousands of people praying for me, do I not get healed? I guess everyone with cancer thinks the same thing. Looking up to the sky, "Why don't you heal me, God?? I will proclaim to the world that I am healed." I truly think I am healed and then I get a bad report. What do I have to do??
People around me want me to act like nothing is wrong. I feel I am always pushed to try to be normal. Maybe that is why I appreciate going places alone. I don't have to worry about people pushing me all the time. I have no dogs, no cats, no BODY who is pressuring me. I call it running scared!! I love the peace and quiet of having no one around me.
Don't get me wrong, I love people and I love my family the most. I guess I'm just wanting a little empathy.
My last appointment at Mayo showed 3 spots on my lungs. Every time I have "new" anything I think I panic a little more. I realize that they have tried so many things on me. They seem to work. However, they are reluctant to do the one thing I think I need them to do the most. Surgery.
Here is my reasoning.
Awhile back I was starving so I ran into Hyvee and picked up a package of sushi. I went out to the car and scarfed down the whole box before I got on the road. If you are a sushi fan, you know you can't really eat it while driving.
So that night I started cramping up. I was in total pain. The next morning I was writhing in pain so I called my oncologist. He was gone but his colleague admitted me into the hospital with a probable intestinal blockage. I was in the hospital for 5 days. They gave me morphine for the pain. CT scan to see if I needed surgery. They eventually found out I had a narrowing of my intestine, not a blockage.
So since then I have had blockages twice. I knew it wasn't a total blockage because I could feel rumbling below the area of blockage. So I took sips of water to force the blockage through. Eventually both passed but for 3 days after that I felt like I had been beaten in the stomach with a bat.
Tomorrow I call the oncologist. My reasoning is this. What if I have a total blockage due to the tumor and I have to have emergency surgery here in Des Moines? The surgical team from Mayo did all my major surgery and I would think they would be better qualified to fix an area that they have already had a hand in surgically correcting.
They don't want to do surgery. I don't want to have intestinal blockages.
I feel like a whiner just about now because I am running scared. All I can think of is worse case scenarios.
I have this recurring thought. Why, if I have thousands of people praying for me, do I not get healed? I guess everyone with cancer thinks the same thing. Looking up to the sky, "Why don't you heal me, God?? I will proclaim to the world that I am healed." I truly think I am healed and then I get a bad report. What do I have to do??
People around me want me to act like nothing is wrong. I feel I am always pushed to try to be normal. Maybe that is why I appreciate going places alone. I don't have to worry about people pushing me all the time. I have no dogs, no cats, no BODY who is pressuring me. I call it running scared!! I love the peace and quiet of having no one around me.
Don't get me wrong, I love people and I love my family the most. I guess I'm just wanting a little empathy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)