It's a cloudy day here in Arizona with a 40% chance of rain. It's winter here in the desert and the rains are usually more gentle then the summer monsoons. It's sure a lot better than shoveling snow or scrapping ice...thank you very much!
I just wanted to check in and give you all an update on Brenda and how she's doing. You know, radiation is sometimes an evil necessity when you're dealing with the cancer beast. It's the gift that just keeps on giving. As you know, Brenda went through 5 treatments using the "cyber knife" radiation technology. She didn't feel any effects right after the end of the treatments, but it sure has hit her lately. For the past couple of weeks she has gotten more and more fatigued to the point that she has slept for over 12 hours a day and then can't find the energy to get out of her living room chair. It's that radiation that is zapping all her energy. She also has a headache and an upset stomach...again...the effects of the radiation. I think she is turning the corner and seems to have a little more zip over the last couple of days.
It's all good...the remodel is done for now, and the weekly chores are almost complete...I have the sheets in the laundry. We watched the playoffs yesterday and will finish watching them today. The dogs are fast asleep here with us and all seems right with the world...well Trump and the political crisis we are in is another story completely. UGH! While Brenda has been so fatigued, she has been watching the senate hearings on Trumps cabinet picks. I thought she went through enough torture with her cancer but apparently she loves pain! I fix things and she cooks and is now the political expert in the family...God love her!
So dear friends...we're sending love and good thoughts your way. We pray that you are well and are finding peace and prosperity wherever you might be.
Hugs to you all...
Dee
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year to You All
Brenda and I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May you all be Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous in 2017.
So let me update those of you who are somewhat out of the loop on all things Brenda! On December 20th we went to the oncologist thinking that he would tell us when chemo would start and how many treatments she would have to endure...we certainly weren't looking forward to that visit. To our total amazement, God gave us an enormous gift...ENORMOUS!! Her oncologist said that he DIDN'T see a role for chemo. We had to have him repeat that because we couldn't believe what we were hearing. WE WERE STUNNED! We danced out of there!! There truly is power in prayer and we just can't thank all you you enough for the prayers you sent God's way for Brenda. We are not out of the woods yet...scans in 3 months will tell us if the cyber knife radiation did the trick. Please continue those powerful prayers.
So what do you do when you get good news? Well you go out and celebrate!!! We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant and then went to see "Rogue One!" This was the best Christmas gift ever! No...not see the newest Star Wars movie...hearing that Brenda didn't have to endure chemo!! LOL!
So the holidays were busy with family and friends...baking Christmas cookies (dear Brenda is the cook in the family...I'm the tech expert and fix things...it's a great team effort), having a wonderful Alaskan King Crab Christmas Eve dinner with our dear, dear friend Toni, and then sharing a wonderful steak dinner with a small group on Christmas. Friends that were supposed to come over were sick with a cold so they graciously and thankfully bowed out so they wouldn't infect Brenda or my Mom. Neither can afford getting a nasty cold.
Brenda and I gave up staying up to usher in the New Year years ago. Too many nights out on the streets arresting drunks and going to "shots fired" calls. We shared a bottle of champagne and watched a movie called "The Dressmaker." We were fast asleep by 11:00 pm. Brenda has a sinus infection but got on antibiotics a couple days ago so she has nipped this one in the bud. Today is football day so we're just going to hang back and watch the games and the rain.
So dear friends...we send you love and thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers. We are so grateful for all the wonderful people we have in our lives.
Again...
So let me update those of you who are somewhat out of the loop on all things Brenda! On December 20th we went to the oncologist thinking that he would tell us when chemo would start and how many treatments she would have to endure...we certainly weren't looking forward to that visit. To our total amazement, God gave us an enormous gift...ENORMOUS!! Her oncologist said that he DIDN'T see a role for chemo. We had to have him repeat that because we couldn't believe what we were hearing. WE WERE STUNNED! We danced out of there!! There truly is power in prayer and we just can't thank all you you enough for the prayers you sent God's way for Brenda. We are not out of the woods yet...scans in 3 months will tell us if the cyber knife radiation did the trick. Please continue those powerful prayers.
So what do you do when you get good news? Well you go out and celebrate!!! We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant and then went to see "Rogue One!" This was the best Christmas gift ever! No...not see the newest Star Wars movie...hearing that Brenda didn't have to endure chemo!! LOL!
So the holidays were busy with family and friends...baking Christmas cookies (dear Brenda is the cook in the family...I'm the tech expert and fix things...it's a great team effort), having a wonderful Alaskan King Crab Christmas Eve dinner with our dear, dear friend Toni, and then sharing a wonderful steak dinner with a small group on Christmas. Friends that were supposed to come over were sick with a cold so they graciously and thankfully bowed out so they wouldn't infect Brenda or my Mom. Neither can afford getting a nasty cold.
Brenda and I gave up staying up to usher in the New Year years ago. Too many nights out on the streets arresting drunks and going to "shots fired" calls. We shared a bottle of champagne and watched a movie called "The Dressmaker." We were fast asleep by 11:00 pm. Brenda has a sinus infection but got on antibiotics a couple days ago so she has nipped this one in the bud. Today is football day so we're just going to hang back and watch the games and the rain.
So dear friends...we send you love and thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers. We are so grateful for all the wonderful people we have in our lives.
Again...
Happy New Year
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Phase One is OVER!
Yesterday we celebrated! Radiation was FINISHED!! That was a whole lot easier on Brenda than the first time she had radiation in Houston! This time the treatments only lasted 5 days, 25 minutes each time, the head mask wasn't as uncomfortable, and the side effects...so far...haven't been bad. She's just a little more tired than usual. The doctor said that the effects of the "Cyber Knife" are more gradual and would keep occurring over the next few weeks. Lets kill the beast!
We have an appointment to learn about Phase 2...chemo...next Tuesday. They called this morning to confirm all that. They are also doing genetic sequencing and those test results are not back yet. I just can't tell you how thankful we are for good doctors and the ability to treat this God awful disease.
So I have to tell you about this strange thing that happened yesterday. After radiation, we went to the grocery store to get things for dinner and Brenda was at the meat counter talking to the guy about Albertson's sea food. They got to talking about her cancer and the guy chimes in that the area is small...about the size of a pea and after about 3 to 6 rounds of chemo all will be OK. What the heck! She didn't mention anything to him about the size...just the location. He said that he was very intuitive about those types of things. So I guess if you want a health check...just go see the guy with long hair at the meat counter at Albertson's at Power and McDowell! He didn't mention anything about any health problems with me so I think I'm good to go! You know...as I always say...God gives you gifts in strange packages.
And yes, we did celebrate last night with a wonderful lobster tail dinner. Then we watched the Patriot/Raven football game and thanked God for giving us another day together.
We have an appointment to learn about Phase 2...chemo...next Tuesday. They called this morning to confirm all that. They are also doing genetic sequencing and those test results are not back yet. I just can't tell you how thankful we are for good doctors and the ability to treat this God awful disease.
So I have to tell you about this strange thing that happened yesterday. After radiation, we went to the grocery store to get things for dinner and Brenda was at the meat counter talking to the guy about Albertson's sea food. They got to talking about her cancer and the guy chimes in that the area is small...about the size of a pea and after about 3 to 6 rounds of chemo all will be OK. What the heck! She didn't mention anything to him about the size...just the location. He said that he was very intuitive about those types of things. So I guess if you want a health check...just go see the guy with long hair at the meat counter at Albertson's at Power and McDowell! He didn't mention anything about any health problems with me so I think I'm good to go! You know...as I always say...God gives you gifts in strange packages.
And yes, we did celebrate last night with a wonderful lobster tail dinner. Then we watched the Patriot/Raven football game and thanked God for giving us another day together.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Radiation Begins
Hi Everyone...although it's past...Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Hope you had a wonderfully delicious day with friends and/or family. Brenda and Becky cooked a marvelous turkey dinner while I went out to get Mom for a nice day away from the routine of her assisted living facility. Ryder (Becky's son) was here from Dallas and Toni joined us after I bullied her into making her mother's famous cream cheese-jello recipe! YUMMY! Now I'm sure everyone is trying to get ready for Christmas. Time is sure flying by.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, Brenda and I (of course along with the dogs) went back up to Pinetop to winterize the lodge. It was so peaceful up there and a great way to relax a little after the big turkey dinner day. We had the pellet stove going in the morning and at night. It was so cozy. The days were cold and getting colder and a winter storm was on the way. Sure wish we could have stayed to watch it snow, but we had to leave Sunday as we needed to get home for appointments on Monday. We actually hit the storm in Heber and experienced a near white out by Forest Lakes. Sure glad we didn't leave any later. Brenda got her garden all ready for winter and I got all our outdoor furniture in the garage along with our side by side vehicle and the trailer. The garage was full just waiting for spring to arrive!
The Mesa house is 99.5% done from the remodel and we have cleaned it a couple times. Construction dust hides EVERYWHERE, but the house looks beautiful and we're so glad it's done. The next phase will be to remodel the master bathroom.
Vicky...our dear, dear friend from Pittsburgh flew in on Saturday for her annual winter break from the hassles of being a doctor. There have been the usual shopping trips, the visit to a Phoenix brew pub, and a big steak dinner with the gang last night that had us laughing our fool heads off. That is such great medicine! Now Vic and Brenda are planning the yearly international meal. The region this year is Slovak and they'll put the spread on Friday night. It should be another yummy experience with the gang.
So we thought that Brenda's radiation would start yesterday but they moved it back a day. It's a complicated process to set up how to attack this damn thing with the Cyber Knife. We had to be at Barrows this morning at 8:00 only to find out that the doctor forgot to tell his staff that Brenda would be in earlier. Fortunately they warmed up the Cyber Knife and all proceeded with only about a 40 minute delay. Vic and I got a tour of the procedure. It's really an amazing process...now let's just pray that it vaporizes this nasty thing.
She has 4 more treatments...one each day. Each lasts about 25 minutes and that's all the radiation for now...more might come later however. Next week we see the oncologist so we'll see what else is in store for our trooper. She is one tough cookie! Thank the Lord!
Here's a pic of the Thanksgiving group and of Vic and Brenda at the pub (Helio Basin Brewing Company)...the craft beer was delicious and the food yummy. It's always fun to look at pictures.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, Brenda and I (of course along with the dogs) went back up to Pinetop to winterize the lodge. It was so peaceful up there and a great way to relax a little after the big turkey dinner day. We had the pellet stove going in the morning and at night. It was so cozy. The days were cold and getting colder and a winter storm was on the way. Sure wish we could have stayed to watch it snow, but we had to leave Sunday as we needed to get home for appointments on Monday. We actually hit the storm in Heber and experienced a near white out by Forest Lakes. Sure glad we didn't leave any later. Brenda got her garden all ready for winter and I got all our outdoor furniture in the garage along with our side by side vehicle and the trailer. The garage was full just waiting for spring to arrive!
The Mesa house is 99.5% done from the remodel and we have cleaned it a couple times. Construction dust hides EVERYWHERE, but the house looks beautiful and we're so glad it's done. The next phase will be to remodel the master bathroom.
Vicky...our dear, dear friend from Pittsburgh flew in on Saturday for her annual winter break from the hassles of being a doctor. There have been the usual shopping trips, the visit to a Phoenix brew pub, and a big steak dinner with the gang last night that had us laughing our fool heads off. That is such great medicine! Now Vic and Brenda are planning the yearly international meal. The region this year is Slovak and they'll put the spread on Friday night. It should be another yummy experience with the gang.
So we thought that Brenda's radiation would start yesterday but they moved it back a day. It's a complicated process to set up how to attack this damn thing with the Cyber Knife. We had to be at Barrows this morning at 8:00 only to find out that the doctor forgot to tell his staff that Brenda would be in earlier. Fortunately they warmed up the Cyber Knife and all proceeded with only about a 40 minute delay. Vic and I got a tour of the procedure. It's really an amazing process...now let's just pray that it vaporizes this nasty thing.
She has 4 more treatments...one each day. Each lasts about 25 minutes and that's all the radiation for now...more might come later however. Next week we see the oncologist so we'll see what else is in store for our trooper. She is one tough cookie! Thank the Lord!
Here's a pic of the Thanksgiving group and of Vic and Brenda at the pub (Helio Basin Brewing Company)...the craft beer was delicious and the food yummy. It's always fun to look at pictures.
Sunday, November 20, 2016
You Really Need and Advocate!
Happy Sunday before Thanksgiving to you all...
Over the last week it's become quite apparent to us that in order to successfully navigate the maze of modern medicine, especially when dealing with a devil of an issue like cancer, one needs a strategically placed medical ADVOCATE to help get the machine rolling in the right direction. I know some of you will say..."Boy! Is that an understatement!"
Brenda tried to call Dr. Yousell's staff on Tuesday to see if the required paperwork from Houston had arrived so we could get this radiation show on the road. You can probably guess how the phone call went. How many of us have used the same strategy when you didn't have the answers that the caller wanted! Once they knew that it was Brenda that was calling and that she wanted to know if the paperwork had arrived as promised...the employee had suddenly stepped away from her desk! GROAN! We didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday!! We gave up that day with a message to cal us.
Brenda had an appointment with Dr. Rehl, her ENT, the next day. Let me tell you...if you EVER need a fantastic ENT, this is definitely the doctor to go to. He is kind, gentle, considerate, humble, and a GREAT doctor. He has helped Brenda in so many ways. Well we told him how much trouble we were having getting ANYWHERE with Dr. Youseff and his staff and without a hiccup, he offered to personally call him and find out what was happening and to call us back. God love our advocate...Dr. Rehl.
We weren't 15 minutes from the office and Brenda's phone rang. It was good ole Dr. Rehl who had already talked with Dr. Youseff and found out that the M D Anderson paperwork had arrive that very morning and they were just waiting for the insurance approval for the treatment and they would be able to schedule things. AMAZING! Everyone needs an advocate...I'm just sayin!
By the end of the day Brenda had an appointment to have her radiation mask made on Monday (tomorrow) and had the MRI simulation scheduled for Tuesday evening. Once that was completed the actual "Cyber Knife" treatments could begin. Yea! Lets kill this damn thing.
Dr. Rehl sensed the beginning of a sinus infection so he put Brenda on some antibiotics and after a couple days of needed sleep, Brenda is finally feeling better and has more energy. She's still anemic but her endocrinologist put her on a new iron pill with a vitamin C tablet. She feels much better today so hopefully she's on the upswing. Maybe she just wants me to do all the house reorganizing! LOL!
I've spent the last 2 days working on getting the house back in order...what a job! I'm changing out all the door hardware and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. You get one layer of construction dust gone and another one follows it!. But we LOVE the renovation. If you need a great company to do yours, check out Premier Kitchen and Bath. They have been fantastic!
Now we're getting ready for a wonderful and very thankful Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family. We send you all "thanks" for your friendship, your good thoughts, and your prayers for a successful treatment.
God bless you all...
Nurse/Project Coordinator...Dee
Over the last week it's become quite apparent to us that in order to successfully navigate the maze of modern medicine, especially when dealing with a devil of an issue like cancer, one needs a strategically placed medical ADVOCATE to help get the machine rolling in the right direction. I know some of you will say..."Boy! Is that an understatement!"
Brenda tried to call Dr. Yousell's staff on Tuesday to see if the required paperwork from Houston had arrived so we could get this radiation show on the road. You can probably guess how the phone call went. How many of us have used the same strategy when you didn't have the answers that the caller wanted! Once they knew that it was Brenda that was calling and that she wanted to know if the paperwork had arrived as promised...the employee had suddenly stepped away from her desk! GROAN! We didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday!! We gave up that day with a message to cal us.
Brenda had an appointment with Dr. Rehl, her ENT, the next day. Let me tell you...if you EVER need a fantastic ENT, this is definitely the doctor to go to. He is kind, gentle, considerate, humble, and a GREAT doctor. He has helped Brenda in so many ways. Well we told him how much trouble we were having getting ANYWHERE with Dr. Youseff and his staff and without a hiccup, he offered to personally call him and find out what was happening and to call us back. God love our advocate...Dr. Rehl.
We weren't 15 minutes from the office and Brenda's phone rang. It was good ole Dr. Rehl who had already talked with Dr. Youseff and found out that the M D Anderson paperwork had arrive that very morning and they were just waiting for the insurance approval for the treatment and they would be able to schedule things. AMAZING! Everyone needs an advocate...I'm just sayin!
By the end of the day Brenda had an appointment to have her radiation mask made on Monday (tomorrow) and had the MRI simulation scheduled for Tuesday evening. Once that was completed the actual "Cyber Knife" treatments could begin. Yea! Lets kill this damn thing.
Dr. Rehl sensed the beginning of a sinus infection so he put Brenda on some antibiotics and after a couple days of needed sleep, Brenda is finally feeling better and has more energy. She's still anemic but her endocrinologist put her on a new iron pill with a vitamin C tablet. She feels much better today so hopefully she's on the upswing. Maybe she just wants me to do all the house reorganizing! LOL!
I've spent the last 2 days working on getting the house back in order...what a job! I'm changing out all the door hardware and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. You get one layer of construction dust gone and another one follows it!. But we LOVE the renovation. If you need a great company to do yours, check out Premier Kitchen and Bath. They have been fantastic!
Now we're getting ready for a wonderful and very thankful Thanksgiving celebration with friends and family. We send you all "thanks" for your friendship, your good thoughts, and your prayers for a successful treatment.
God bless you all...
Nurse/Project Coordinator...Dee
Friday, November 11, 2016
Surgery and Beyond
What a week this has been! But let's get to the important stuff right away. Brenda had her surgery on Monday. It was a very systematic biopsy of sites in her sinus cavity and up in the cribaform (SP?) bone where they found that nodule during her last surgery. They did find a pocket of cancer cells about the size of a dime in diameter and about the thickness of about 3 to 4 dimes in that bone above her sigmoid sinus and her brain. It's not in an easy place but it can be treated and that's the good news. It's not bone cancer, but the neuro-endocrine cancer she had that's in the bone...there is a difference.
Brenda stayed the night just to make sure she was OK from the procedure...she did wonderfully! On her discharge paperwork they said to get in touch with Dr. Youseff (radiation oncologist) ASAP for the radiation to start. Since we were right there where that will be happening, we stopped by the office to make that appointment. This is where things went to shit.
When we first saw Dr. Youseff he said that they would send away to MD Anderson in Houston for the files and necessary documents they would need from her last treatment. Well the office told us that they had requested it on several occasions and have received nothing and that we can't make an appointment until Dr. Youseff gets those files and reviews them. I about lost my mind! No one called us to tell us they were having problems. In true Brenda fashion...she remained calm while I was ready to take a plane to Houston and get all the records myself. So we get home and Brenda calls M D Anderson only to be told that they never received any request...Now I'm really pissed. This is the love of my life who has a time bomb growing in her head and we can't get folks to do their job and get some paperwork! REALLY? Brenda and I got so frustrated with their lack of followup that we just had to have a couple beers!
So it was about 7:30 on Wednesday when I got a call from my mothers assisted living facility that said she had fainted that morning and was unresponsive for a time but finally did wake up. They called the paramedics and she was taken to the local hospital. She is 95 so it's never a good thing when this happens. I zoomed over there to see what was up and found her sitting in her hospital bed in the ER, wide awake and very alert. I could breathe again! It appears that she became extremely dehydrated...she's on water pills to bleed off excess water...she has congestive heart failure, her blood pressure dropped and she fainted. The good news is that the care team was with her at the time to give her her morning meds and they caught her as she went down so she didn't hurt herself. They did a full workup but her kidneys took a hit because she got too dry and so she had to stay the night. I went back to her apartment and got some clothes for her release and her coloring books so she tolerated the stay watching TV and coloring.
While that was going on, Brenda actually made some headway with the paperwork problem. We got Venessa from Dr. Youseff's office to actually take over the responsibility of getting the records and apparently they should have them today. The images that he wanted could be e-mailed so I guess I don't have to fly to Houston right now. But we still can't make the appointment until the doc reads all the material which makes no sense to me. Shouldn't you make the appointment...it's never the next day...and then he can review the stuff in the time before we actually come in? Some of this stuff I just don't understand.
So our house remodel is almost done. We actually get to move in this weekend. We're meeting our designer there today to go over things and they are supposed to finish the plumbing install and the carpet install today which means we can move furniture back in. We gave away our old couch and chair so we also have to go look for some new stuff...that's always fun.
So I think that covers this weeks episode of "As Our World Turns Upside Down!!" We so appreciate your good thoughts and prayers...please keep them coming. We are also accepting BEER! LOL! Love to you all...
Nurse Dee
PS: Mom got out yesterday and is doing fine...I just have to get her a bunch of follow-up visits with her doctors.
Brenda stayed the night just to make sure she was OK from the procedure...she did wonderfully! On her discharge paperwork they said to get in touch with Dr. Youseff (radiation oncologist) ASAP for the radiation to start. Since we were right there where that will be happening, we stopped by the office to make that appointment. This is where things went to shit.
When we first saw Dr. Youseff he said that they would send away to MD Anderson in Houston for the files and necessary documents they would need from her last treatment. Well the office told us that they had requested it on several occasions and have received nothing and that we can't make an appointment until Dr. Youseff gets those files and reviews them. I about lost my mind! No one called us to tell us they were having problems. In true Brenda fashion...she remained calm while I was ready to take a plane to Houston and get all the records myself. So we get home and Brenda calls M D Anderson only to be told that they never received any request...Now I'm really pissed. This is the love of my life who has a time bomb growing in her head and we can't get folks to do their job and get some paperwork! REALLY? Brenda and I got so frustrated with their lack of followup that we just had to have a couple beers!
So it was about 7:30 on Wednesday when I got a call from my mothers assisted living facility that said she had fainted that morning and was unresponsive for a time but finally did wake up. They called the paramedics and she was taken to the local hospital. She is 95 so it's never a good thing when this happens. I zoomed over there to see what was up and found her sitting in her hospital bed in the ER, wide awake and very alert. I could breathe again! It appears that she became extremely dehydrated...she's on water pills to bleed off excess water...she has congestive heart failure, her blood pressure dropped and she fainted. The good news is that the care team was with her at the time to give her her morning meds and they caught her as she went down so she didn't hurt herself. They did a full workup but her kidneys took a hit because she got too dry and so she had to stay the night. I went back to her apartment and got some clothes for her release and her coloring books so she tolerated the stay watching TV and coloring.
While that was going on, Brenda actually made some headway with the paperwork problem. We got Venessa from Dr. Youseff's office to actually take over the responsibility of getting the records and apparently they should have them today. The images that he wanted could be e-mailed so I guess I don't have to fly to Houston right now. But we still can't make the appointment until the doc reads all the material which makes no sense to me. Shouldn't you make the appointment...it's never the next day...and then he can review the stuff in the time before we actually come in? Some of this stuff I just don't understand.
So our house remodel is almost done. We actually get to move in this weekend. We're meeting our designer there today to go over things and they are supposed to finish the plumbing install and the carpet install today which means we can move furniture back in. We gave away our old couch and chair so we also have to go look for some new stuff...that's always fun.
So I think that covers this weeks episode of "As Our World Turns Upside Down!!" We so appreciate your good thoughts and prayers...please keep them coming. We are also accepting BEER! LOL! Love to you all...
Nurse Dee
PS: Mom got out yesterday and is doing fine...I just have to get her a bunch of follow-up visits with her doctors.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
The Best Laid Plans Took a Dive Again!
Good morning village people...
So let me update you since my last entry. Brenda had to leave our beloved mountain home on Sunday Oct. 30th to help with some things in the valley on the 31st and to go to a hearing test and get a haircut on Tuesday. She came back up to Pinetop on Wednesday. We celebrated her return (I stayed up there with the dogs because our house isn't finished) with our favorite pizza dinner at Red Devil Pizza...yummy. We enjoyed the night watching Survivor (we're total fans) and then watched a couple more episodes of Season 3 of "The Fall" on Netflix...great series!
We were enjoying Thursday morning with our iPad's, a steaming cup of coffee, and a cozy fire in the pellet stove...it was in the low 40's and a rainy morning. It was heavenly. So we were just planning the day when Brenda's phone rang and our calm peaceful world shifted into high gear. I know you know the feeling when that happens. It was St. Joseph's Hospital calling to tell Brenda that she needed to be in the hospital for her pre-op tests on Friday because the surgery had been moved up to Monday. Are you kidding me???
So remember...we don't have our house in the valley, and the dogs need to go to Tucson to stay with our dear friends who volunteered to watch them. Plus the lodge hadn't been cleaned or winterized and it was already 11:00 am. We shifted into high gear, packed up stuff for some unknown time down in the valley and away we went. My totally awesome friend and her husband from Tucson said they would meet me in Casa Grande...about an hour south of Phoenix, to take the dogs and to save me that time driving. God love them. I'm telling you...it really takes a village and we are so appreciative to everyone for all they do to help us get through this.
We got to the valley in the late afternoon, went to our house, and I picked up the dog gear needed for the Tucson transfer, and off I went to Casa Grande. Brenda went over to our dear friends Becky and Vicki (that's where we will be staying) and proceeded to cook a fantastic dinner for them...that's just what she does for folks. She's such a good cook. I had dinner with my friends and told Caden and Penny (our Dobies) to be good guests and got back to Becky's around 9:00 pm. Can you say "POOPED!"
The next day Brenda went off to her tests at the hospital which took most of the day and I went to a funeral of a man I worked with at the police department for about 20 years...his death was unexpected and such a surprise to us all. Life is precious and should be appreciated to the max each day.
Saturday was full of errands and today we are taking my Mom, sister and brother-in-law (visiting from Michigan) to the movies ("Inferno") and dinner at the local restaurant/pub. It'll be a nice distraction before tomorrows surgery. I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen tomorrow except they are going to try and determine the margins of the cancer...hopefully take out what they can. I just don't exactly know. I'll be able to tell you more tomorrow. Please say an extra prayer or two that this is SMALL and can be successfully treated. We are so appreciative of your prayers and good thoughts.
So dear ones...more tomorrow
Enjoy the day...
Dee
So let me update you since my last entry. Brenda had to leave our beloved mountain home on Sunday Oct. 30th to help with some things in the valley on the 31st and to go to a hearing test and get a haircut on Tuesday. She came back up to Pinetop on Wednesday. We celebrated her return (I stayed up there with the dogs because our house isn't finished) with our favorite pizza dinner at Red Devil Pizza...yummy. We enjoyed the night watching Survivor (we're total fans) and then watched a couple more episodes of Season 3 of "The Fall" on Netflix...great series!
We were enjoying Thursday morning with our iPad's, a steaming cup of coffee, and a cozy fire in the pellet stove...it was in the low 40's and a rainy morning. It was heavenly. So we were just planning the day when Brenda's phone rang and our calm peaceful world shifted into high gear. I know you know the feeling when that happens. It was St. Joseph's Hospital calling to tell Brenda that she needed to be in the hospital for her pre-op tests on Friday because the surgery had been moved up to Monday. Are you kidding me???
So remember...we don't have our house in the valley, and the dogs need to go to Tucson to stay with our dear friends who volunteered to watch them. Plus the lodge hadn't been cleaned or winterized and it was already 11:00 am. We shifted into high gear, packed up stuff for some unknown time down in the valley and away we went. My totally awesome friend and her husband from Tucson said they would meet me in Casa Grande...about an hour south of Phoenix, to take the dogs and to save me that time driving. God love them. I'm telling you...it really takes a village and we are so appreciative to everyone for all they do to help us get through this.
We got to the valley in the late afternoon, went to our house, and I picked up the dog gear needed for the Tucson transfer, and off I went to Casa Grande. Brenda went over to our dear friends Becky and Vicki (that's where we will be staying) and proceeded to cook a fantastic dinner for them...that's just what she does for folks. She's such a good cook. I had dinner with my friends and told Caden and Penny (our Dobies) to be good guests and got back to Becky's around 9:00 pm. Can you say "POOPED!"
The next day Brenda went off to her tests at the hospital which took most of the day and I went to a funeral of a man I worked with at the police department for about 20 years...his death was unexpected and such a surprise to us all. Life is precious and should be appreciated to the max each day.
Saturday was full of errands and today we are taking my Mom, sister and brother-in-law (visiting from Michigan) to the movies ("Inferno") and dinner at the local restaurant/pub. It'll be a nice distraction before tomorrows surgery. I can't tell you exactly what's going to happen tomorrow except they are going to try and determine the margins of the cancer...hopefully take out what they can. I just don't exactly know. I'll be able to tell you more tomorrow. Please say an extra prayer or two that this is SMALL and can be successfully treated. We are so appreciative of your prayers and good thoughts.
So dear ones...more tomorrow
Enjoy the day...
Dee
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