Joppette

We have missed you!!!!! Looking forward to your update> Judy in MI

Great article Barb. It was also nice to read an update on you. What wonderful news about your eye sight! I had cataracts in my left eye and was amazed at how well I could see when they fixed it. Judy in MI

Good morning! Alan and Bud, it was so good to hear from both of you. Alan, I do understand about Sports. Between Sports and hunting, I am alone a lot this time of year. Maybe that's why I'm wanting to see a lot of folks here! I love College football, but not that crazy about Pro football. It irks me that these are all millionaires running around on the field, when so many of us are working hard just trying to eek out a living and not making it. (Stepping off soap box, but want to say feels the same about baseball players too). R has been at employee meetings each evening this week. When he has to do them for the plant workers, they go into the evening when their shifts are working. Tonight he will be at one until 7:00 and then home to cook up a storm for his deer camp buddies. He will be out the door at 5:00AM to head to his home town for a weekend of hunting and fun with his friends. He has a new cross bow he is itching to try out on something more than the target in our backyard. He will come home Sunday night, tired, unshaven and unshowered (yech). He'll take a shower and crash for sure. Today is supposed to get into the mid 80's, which is very unusual for us. It's getting quite cold at night though, so when the sun sets, it cools down really fast. It's nice. My allergies are finally easing up. It's really nice and I'm just going to appreciate every Kleenex free moment I have! Hope you all have a nice day! Judy in MI

Ann, I'll come back and enjoy the video later! It won't play here at Gilda's! I want to know where all our guys are! I know Eric is busy. Bud? Bruce? Alan?? Our friend from S. Africa? Anyone else that I missed?? The Air feels stale without you guys! And the MIA women too! I miss all of you. Judy in MI

Hugs Nick. Judy in MI

Hi everyone. Randy, I guess I missed the announcement about your Father too. My deepest sympathies. Annette, it was good to see you. Even if you didn't realize it, the sense of humor is coming back! Keep a shovel in your car!!!! Hilarious. Ann, looking forward to seeing your new updated picture here. I really liked that picture. You are so pretty! Well, it's fantastic here. Sunshine, 80 out, and the trees are breathtaking. We're not quite a peak yet, but getting close. I'm at Gilda's today for 6 hours volunteering, and then off to the support class. Going to be a long day but a good one. Judy in MI

Thanks Ann. If you'd like me to re-size your picture for you, send it to me. I have an application that can change the size of pictures quite easily. Let me know! MI Judy

Hi all, Judy, I hope you can get rid of the pests with the olive oil. I'd love to see pics of your orchid room. It sounds so beautiful. Well, it's awful here. It's 44 and sunny blue skies, and highs of 76. Just horrid. LOL. I actually can't believe it but they are forecasting 80's for the rest of the week. What is it that all of us women are in love with purple? It is truly my favorite color now. When I was younger, it was racy red. My color palate is winter colors, if you know what I mean. Ann said she is Autumn, and I can see that with her picture. I'm definitely winter, which is bright colors, cobalt blues, brilliant reds, whites, etc. Muted colors don't work on me. I spent most of the afternoon yesterday at the hospital. One of my Gilda friends is in there. He is 36, SCLC Stage IV, and it's trying to win the battle. He's frustrated because his doctor has pretty much given up on him. But he went to Karmanos http://www.karmanos.org/, and they gave him three treatment options. They told him to go home and present these options to his doctor. His doctor won't do any of them. He's ready to fire his Oncologist, and find a new one. I don't blame him. He is young, has a 4 year old son, and wife, and just isn't ready to give up the fight. I"m working to get my shifts changed at the club. There is an adult Christian Cancer Support group starting tomorrow, and I'd like to go to it. It happens during my volunteer shift at the front desk though. So we're trying to find someone to take the later shift, and I'll come in at noon and work until 4:30. I'm hoping it will work out. Well, hope lots of folks come in and post. Have a good day! Judy in MI

Hello again! Judy in KW made some great points. Any of us, no matter what, can only live our lives one day at a time. None of us know when that time will be over. As Judy said, spend time with loved ones, and do things that give us joy. I think all of us should do that no matter what a doctor says. Life is precious. God bless you for being there for her. That is so important. Do feel free to come and write here when it all gets to be too much, or even when it does not! Judy in MI

No need for embarrassment! You are more than welcome here! This place is for anyone affected by lung cancer. If you friend is affected, you are affected. I'll go read your other post now! Judy in MI

Beautiful morning to you all! It's gorgeous here! As Ann described, we have the crisp evening temps, and mid 70's during the day. It was awesome to open the house up yesterday afternoon and let the breezes flow through. This is absolutely my favorite time of year. It seems like every single evening, Mother Nature gets her paint brush out, and goes crazy drafting a new canvas of colors for me to enjoy in the morning. What a blessing. Ann, I think the doc is right about shingles. They typically follow a nerve pathway. Mine was my right waist and up the spine, all on the same side. I hope and pray they figure it out. I know it seems minor compared to what others are going through, but we're all going through something aren't we? Speaking of Fall Festivals, we have one here called the Fallasburg Park Festival http://www.lowellartscouncil.org/Defaul ... eId=586157 A couple of years ago, I bought a scarf that was weaved by this little old lady, very sweet and cute. Somehow I lost it, and I loved that thing. It was the perfect weight to take the chill off on a cool day. So I looked on purpose for her and she was there. I ran up to her like she was a dear old friend. LOL. Told her how much I loved that scarf and bought another one, bright purple! Eric and Judy, I watched the news with great anticipation yesterday about the Knox trial. I didn't really follow it 4 years ago, and now I'm glad I didn't for I would have been so upset by it. When I heard about that nasty prosecutor and the games he played, I was so worried for her. By now she might already be back in the USA. Thank God! Have a good one. MI Judy

Good morning all, Yeah, Judy, I've been following the Knox trial. I didn't a year ago when this all started. I don't know what to think. It's pretty sensational! Well, it's 38 here and supposed to get to 70! Wow what a giant swing in temps. It's supposed to be very cold at night, and in the low to mid 70's all week. Nice. I don't have much to write about. This week is relatively quiet for me. I miss it when only two or three post in here because there's not much to write about. I enjoy it when a bunch of us come in and then it gets interesting and fun. So, I'll just wish everyone a nice day. Judy in MI

Hi! KW Judy it is awesome to read of your plans and excursions. Love it. I laughed about the KFC, because yesterday I was dealing with a lack of appetite, and I was driving and saw a KFC and decided that was the trick. I did manage to eat a couple of pieces and the mashed potatoes, but after that I was done. My allergies are upsetting my tummy and I am struggling with nausea. I know the solution is to get food in my stomach, but it can be difficult. Brad's funeral was yesterday. It was beautiful. However, I was up all night. Dealing with a strange dilemna right now. I don't know what to do with these feelings. Every single person at Gilda's Club that has lung cancer is not doing well at all. And here I sit, doing quite well relatively. I don't know how to name what I am feeling. Someone said "survivor's guilt", but I don't feel guilty. But I do feel bad. So many of them are so young. They have little children, and newly married lives, and............ I just don't know what is going on in my head. I've debated taking a break from there, but if I do? I know that two more in the group won't be around much longer, and how cowardly is that for me to leave when my story gives them hope? I need to just pray on this (which I've been doing) and ask God to help me clarify what is going on. Sorry....did a little rant there. But my brain has been exploding with these thoughts, and tears are flowing and I just don't know. Shouldn't I be celebrating? I see a post here about celebrating survivorship. I'm off to read that now! MI Judy

Heather, you ROCK!!!!! You inspire me. Judy in MI

Good morning! It's a sunshiney beautiful day too Judy, but like Randy it's c-c-c-c-cold! 47 degrees here too Randy. High today of 54 and tonight, expecting low of 34!!!!!!! I was hoping to go to the Art show downtown, but it is outdoors, and it's too chilly for that. Will try to go tomorrow when it's expected to be in the low 60's. Tonight is a friend's surprise 50th birthday party. It's at a very hip and young (ironic) bar in downtown G.R., and that is just for a couple of hours. After that we've been invited to hitch a ride in their limo to pub crawl. I'm not much of a pub crawl person. It's fun, but drinking and driving is not. He knows my paranoia about this, so he told them we'd hang out for an hour but then we'd have to be dropped off at our car to go home. So, I'm going to go fry some eggs and bacon and get this show on the road. Hope you all have a wonderful Fall day. MI Judy

Meg, thank you for this update. What good news that she got into the trial and got the actual drug and not the placebo. I'm praying that this helps immensely. Do know that even when you don't have an update, you can come and "talk" about anything that is on your mind. We're here for you! Judy in MI

Hey! Where is everybody!!!! Miss you! MI Judy

Good morning! Ah, it's a blustery day here. The wind is howling, the trees are slapping the windows. It's awesome. A great thunderstorm rolled through last night. I'm afraid that a great deal of our leaves were blown off the trees. May have to move that trip up North up a week or so if we want to see the colors. I went back to read the last couple of days to try to catch up and was so glad to see, Randy, that things are improving with your Dad! That's good. Bud, I've never heard of a "heat bonus" but think it's fantastic. What a nice little reward to the crew. It's hard to imagine you are still suffering with 100 degree days. No wonder you think it's so cold up here! It is compared to you. We have a high of 50 today. KW Judy, sounds like you are having a nice week, getting more active, and enjoying life. That's nice to see. Eric, I think KW Judy nailed it on the head with her discernment about your 20 year Junior friend. Hmmmmmmm.................. I hope you are having fun, and I hope it is truly innocent! Today I'm going to stay in PJ's for a while and swab the decks, and then head out for a manicure, and a visit to the chiropractor. I usually go every two weeks, and lately I've been slacking, and I can tell. It really helps me to have it tweaked a couple of times a month. well, I hope you all have a good Friday. This weekend, I think I'll do the annual swapping of the clothes. They say we still have a few days that will be warm, but now a days I'm running downstairs to find something warm, more than I'm wearing something cool that is in my normal closet. It's time to swap. Judy in MI

Hi friends, Have not been here for a couple of days. So busy. But happy and not complaining. Allergies are still causing big issues, but nothing to complain about, just something to deal with. I normally am here a lot but this week a lot is going on. A friend died of a heart attack and her funeral was today, and Saturday is the memorial of my friend from Gilda's that died from lung cancer. Beyond that other stuff has taken over. Hope all is well, and feel bad that I've not been here. MI Judy

Judy this is great to explain in detail this treatment. I'll put the eyebrow solution here so you know where to find it. You can only get it in finer salons, or maybe the internet? It's Aura eyebrow wax. The color they gave me was called Pamela, which looked blonde to me. They assured me that it would be perfect and it was and still is. My eyebrows are still sparse so I use it still. You get an angled eyebrow brush and sweep it so it looks like fine hairs. Works great. As for the tongue blisters, I used a concoction much like you are, and did it religiously, and it really helped keep it under control. Thanks for the good information. MI Judy

Diane, I don't think the number of years matters when it's grief. My sister has been gone 24 years now. While I don't at all actively mourn her, every once in a while I experience a wave of it. It can come out of no where, and just a empty feeling of longing. Thankfully it's not a lot anymore, but still.... Annette, that umbrella sure is serving it's purpose huh? LOL. Sounds like you are buried at work. That can actually be good when stressed. Randy, I had to laugh when you said that he was even making up some bad names. My Mom always told me that she knew when I was getting better from being sick, because I got really ornery! LOL. Randy I also know the feeling of going back to the location that means nothing good. I felt that way last week. My uncle was on 5West, which is the cancer floor. It made me feel creepy walking the halls with so many memories of my sister, Mom and Dad. Didn't expect that to happen, but it did! Judy in MI

Hi all, Well, today started nice with a lunch with a bunch of girlfriends. But got home to find out that a friend of ours passed away from a heart attack. She was a wonderful woman, and will be terribly missed. So this is funeral week, for her and for our Gilda's friend. But this is the stuff of life right? Just found out my girlfriend that has tried to get preggers and lost the last 4, is pregnant again! She is so happy. I pray this one takes for her and her husband. She already has five kids, but she loves being a Mommy. Cold and windy, rainy and icky today. So I have a pot of home made chicken noodle soup in the crock pot. Going to get busy cleaning this kitchen, it so needs it. Judy in MI

Eric, the panel sounds so interesting. Ann, I have a bad habit of sitting on one of my calf/foot when I'm on the couch watching TV. Been doing it for years. And for years I get up, the leg hurts, foot is asleep, and I limp around for a while until it feels better. R laughs at me everytime. My Mom used to do this all the time, and it reminds him of her. I don't know why we do this either! MI Judy

Well, I'll start, but if someone else does at the same time, please have a moderator merge the two. It is a chilly, very windy and cloudy day here. The leaves are changing so fast it's just amazing. Not much going on right now. Today is errand day. Lots of running around to get stuff picked up, shopped, etc. And pay bills. Love that! LOL This time of year, the birds are wacky. It's only the little finches that do it. They fly into the windows a lot. They only do this in the Spring and Fall. Strange. But when they fall to the ground, my Olive will run out there and bring me "presents". I've got the hunting dog trained now. I point to the dead bird and say firmly "Gibson: outside now". He immediately picks it up and takes it out the dog door. I love that! Have a good day all! Judy in MI

Welcome back. Katie's experience sounds promising for your Dad. I understand the feelings of isolation and having friends that don't understand. I wonder if there is a Gilda's Club near you? Some one on one support would be a good thing for you! Or if not, just stay here and we'll give that to you. I've heard the gamma knife surgery is very effective. Has he had whole brain radiation yet (WBR)? That is very effective as well. Wishing you the best with all of this. Give Dad a special hug today. Judy in MI