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Anniemac

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Posts posted by Anniemac

    Prayers and Crossed Fingers

    in HOPE

    Posted

    Tim is having a CT scan tomorrow on his chest and abdomen. He has had his 2nd round of chemo and it's time to see how things look. His stomach has been bothering him also. He always feels full and has no appetite. He had put on 10 lbs, slowly, since his lung surgery and last week he lost 4 of them. It sure comes off quicker than it goes on! We asked if they could scan his stomach, just in case, and they agreed. I have read the posts of too many people who wish they could go back in time and have a test done. Don't want to make that mistake.

    On Tuesday, the 9th, he is having surgery to repair his vocal cord. When his lung was removed, they had to remove the nerve to his left vocal cord and it left the cord paralyzed. His voice is raspy. breathy and weak. They will fix the problem by moving the left cord over so it meets the right one when he talks. I didn't even know that's how vocal cords worked!

    So keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Keep your fingers crossed that everything comes out OK. Sure hate waiting for the scan results...pure torture. Thanks everybody.

    Annie

    For those of us with dogs

    in JUST FOR FUN

    Posted

    Can you relate??

    Dear Dogs,

    When I say "Move," it means go someplace else, not switch positions with each other so there are still two dogs in the way.

    The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

    The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help, because I fall faster than you can run.

    I cannot buy anything bigger than a king-size bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort.. Look at videos of dogs sleeping - they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other and stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking

    tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing but doggy sarcasm.

    My compact discs are not miniature Frisbees.

    For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, don't paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. In addition, I have been using bathrooms for years & canine attendance is not mandatory.

    The proper order is kiss me, and then go smell the other dog's butt. I cannot stress this enough. It would be such a simple change for you.

    Rules for non-pet owners who visit and like to complain about our pets:

    1. The dog lives here. You don't.

    2. If you don't want dog hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.

    3. I like my dog a lot better than I like most people.

    4. To you, she's a dog. To me, she's an adopted daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

    5. Dogs are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called, never drive your car, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about buying the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and if they get pregnant, you can

    sell the pups.

    The same applies to cats except they ignore you until you are asleep.

    When you have a chance. . .

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    Al, what a heartfelt tribute to Margret. How wonderful that you found the love of your life and how awful that your time together was cut short. I know that she will be waiting for you with open arms when the time comes.

    Annie

    Mammogram

    in JUST FOR FUN

    Posted

    Thought you ladies might enjoy this--and no--it didn't happen to me!

    The first mammogram is the worst. Especially when the machine catches on fire. That's what happened to me. The technician, Gail, positioned me exactly as she wanted me (think a really complicated game of twister - right hand on the blue, left shoulder on the yellow, right breast as far away as humanly possible from the rest of your body). Then she clamped the machine down so tight, I think my breast actually turned inside out. I'm pretty sure Victoria's Secret doesn't have a bra for that. Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise. I looked down at my right breast to make sure it hadn't exploded. Nope, it was still flat as a pancake and still attached to my body.

    "Oh no!" Gail said loudly. These are perhaps, the words you least want to hear from any health professional. Suddenly, she came flying past me, her lab coat whipping behind her, on her way out the door. She yelled over her shoulder, "The machine's on fire, I'm going to get help!"

    OK, I was wrong, 'The machine's on fire,' are the worst words you can hear from a health professional. Especially if you're all alone and semi-permanently attached to A MACHINE and don't know if it's THE MACHINE in question. I struggled for a few seconds trying to get free, but even Houdini couldn't have escaped. I decided to go to plan B: yelling at the top of my lung (the one that was still working). I hadn't seen anything on fire, so my panic hadn't quite reached epic proportions. But then I started to smell smoke coming from behind the partition. "This is ridiculous," I thought. "I can't die like this. What would they put in my obituary? Cause of death: breast entrapment?" I may have inhaled some fumes because I started to hallucinate. An imaginary fireman rushed in with a fire hose and a hatchet.

    "Howdy, ma'am," he said. "What's happened here?" he asked, averting his eyes.

    "My breasts were too hot for the machine," I quipped, as my imaginary fireman ran out of the room again. "This is gonna take the Jaws of Life!"

    In reality, Gail returned with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. She gave me a big smile and released me from the machine. "Sorry! That's the first time that's ever happened. Why don't you take a few minutes to relax before we finish up?"

    I think that's what she said. I was running across the parking lot in my backless paper gown at the time. After I'd relaxed for a few years, I figured I might go back, but I was bringing my own fire extinguisher.

    _________________

    Surgery Scheduled

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Cheryl-great that you get to have surgery! That's a good thing.

    Tim went though it and had tumor that had grown onto his pulmonary artery. They had to go into his pericardum to remove the tumor--but they did it! When he got back to his room--no ICU for him--within a 1/2 hour he was sitting in a chair watching a baseball game. He was totally out of it and very funny, but really not too uncomfortable. He had his ups and downs during the week he was in, but they removed his chest tube within about 3 days and he was home in a week.

    Take all the pain meds they give and ask for what you need. He had his done in June and is doing pretty well. He takes walks and swims a few laps now and then.

    You'll do fine. Your young and plus you have all of us praying for you.

    Annie

    Race Results

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    David-I'll be the 2nd to congratulate you!! We are all so proud of you. Don't know how you do it, but we all aspire to live like you do. I checked the website for the 24 Hours of Adrenalin, so I new you had 9th place. What a ride. You're great!!

    Annie

    Stage 3B

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    My husband was dx with what they thought was IIIA and they did chemo and radiation to shrink the tumor and then did surgery. The surgeon found the tumor was more extensive than they realized and called the oncologist from the operating room and was going to give up and close him back up. Our onc knew we wanted to be aggressive and that my husband was relatively young, so he told the surgeon to do what he could. He did and was able to remove it all, even though it had grown onto his pulmonary artery and they had to open his heart sack to get it off. They did restage him to IIIB and he is doing some follow-up chemo now to make sure that nothing is left.

    Not quite remission yet, but we are hoping for it. The next scan is on 9/8 and we hope it will show nothing!

    So, it is possible, with the right doctors, to have surgery. Staging is not very exact and there is a thin line between A and B. You would think that they would at least try! Maybe they could do something to shrink it first with the hope of surgery. Get 2nd and 3rd opinions.

    Annie

    I feel so Alone Tonight!!!

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Oh, I know exactly how you feel. You are never alone--all the spouses feel the same way. I want my life back. I want to see Tim the way he was and I worry that he will never be that person again.

    The memory problem is probably "chemo brain" as our onc calls it. He told us that Tim would start putting his keys in the fridge and forgeting lots of things. He sure does. We went to Social Security today to start disability. He couldn't remember so many things the guy must have thought he was crazy. The man asked Tim what was the last job he worked and he told him he was a chimney sweep. :shock: That was more than 20 years ago. He was a satellite dish installer with his own company when he got sick---I guess he remembered he was up on roofs but that was all. :lol: Of course after he said it he knew it was wrong, but where do these thing come from??

    I hate cancer and what it does to families. This is not how we planned our life. This is not what was supposed to happen. I don't know how long Tim and have left together and I try to tell myself that no one ever does and we could all be hit by a bus--blah blah blah. This is so much more immediate. This is something we have to live with 24 hours a day. Things can go wrong. I want to grow old with my husband. This is not fair.

    So we all just go on. What choice do we have? I'm sorry you have to go back to work. I worry about Tim all the time when I'm at work, but we have to eat, so off to work I go. It's like living in hell and I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

    Have you or your husband read Lance Armstrong's book? I just listened to it on audiotape (while I drive around all day). It gave me hope that if he could beat this, then we can too. He had it much worse that Tim does--mets to lungs and brain and everywhere--and they almost killed him with the aggressive chemo. But it worked. And it can work for us too.

    Annie

    Not so good news

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Terre, I'm sorry too about your mom. We are praying for your family and for peace. How nice that she gets to take her kitty, and that you will be by her side. It will be a great comfort to her.

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