Don Wood

Preston, welcome to our little family here. Much info and support awaits. Just let us know how we can help. Glad to hear things are going well so far. Don

Kelly, my sincerest condolences. It is hard to lose a sibling. I lost my sister to heart failure in 1993 and my brother to a brain tumor in 1998. We do manage to go on. My prayers are with you. Don

Peggy, my sincerest sympathies. Don

Great news, Dave! Go, Tiger!

Well said, Fay! And it needed to be said. Don

Ginny, thanks for missing me. Rick has outlined the problem. I will be on here infrequently until the problem gets solved. I have to go to a friend's computer to log on to you all. I do miss all of you. If anyone wants to contact me via E-mail in the meantime, please do so. Don

Happy 50th birthday, TBone! Just a kid! Don

Prayers comin' for TBone.

Beautiful, Gail! I have tears in my eyes. Congratulations! Don

Welcome, Renee! Let us know how we may help you. We're all in this together. Don

Julie, you are being a great daughter to your mom, and the distance and your own family limit what you can do. Does your mom belong to a church or other organization that can be called upon to help? It is a large task being the caregiver, and we need all the help we can get. Hang in there. Don

Charlie, don't give up! Don't give up hope. Continue the fight with whatever you can. My wife was given 9 months and she is now 21 months out from diagnosis, and doing well at the moment. There are a lot of supportive folks here to lean on -- do so. Don

Halleluiah!!!

Halleluiah!!!

Happy birthday, Andrea. Friday was my sister's birthday also. Enjoy! Don

Shelly, there are a lot of people here who care about you and hurt for you, including me. Don

Lucie was put on Celexa when she started treatment and she is still on it. She takes half a pill in the morning and half a pill at night. She believes it helps her, and I don't think it is addictive. It is hard to comment on the sleep because she takes other things that have that side effect. Don

Lucie got Neulasta shot about a week after a chemo treatment a couple of times while she was taking chemo, and it helped her WBC. Don

"Think of caregiving as a marathon, not a sprint. Marathoners get through a race by pacing themselves." I think this is a great analogy for primary caregiving. This quote is from an article by Jon Caswell, "The Job No One Asks For", summer 2004, Heartbeat, the National Magazine of the Mended Hearts. Mended Hearts is an organization for info and support of heart surgery patients and their loves ones. Other notable ideas from the article on primary caregiving: 1. The first law of successful caregiving is "don't neglect yourself". Don't deprive yourself of necessities, which include sleep, exercise, proper medication and some personal quiet time. (I have read from another source that caregiving is like the heart -- it feeds itself with blood before it feeds the entire body, so it can perform its function properly and well.) 2. To fortify yourself emotionally, it is important to find or develop sources of emotional support. 3. The job is simply too big for one person, so relying on others is crucial.

Go, Rachel!!!

My sincerest sympathies at the loss of your wife. My prayers are with you. Don

Tina and Charlie, prayers for you both. Don

Dean, congratulations to you and Gay! What a milestone! Celebrate big! Don

Francine, my prayers are with you. Don

Go, Ray!