Joppette

Hi Frank, just thinking of you both today the day after her first chemo. She most likely felt quite hyper from steroids yesterday???? Asking. If yes, have the doc give her something to calm her down, like Ativan or something like that. Hoping she breezes through this therapy, some of us did, and some of us didn't, but I wish the best for her. Judy in MI

Hi All, lovely day here, high 40, blusterey winds, and lots and lots of rain. But better than Oklaholma! How frightening to be on the 28th story of a building and have to evacuate! Wow! All this talk of lakes. Don't know if I mentioned that we live on a small lake. It is only about 80 acres, and is private. It's loaded with great fish as the lake is 85 feet deep in the middle. I'm thinking a meteor landed and created this giant hole thousands of years ago, and thus this beautiful little lake was created. There are only four homes on the lake, so it's so nice, quiet, and serene. Great ice fishing, and awesome fishing in the warmer weather. Our neighbor is an ex-navy seal and scuba dives the lake and says there is a gigantic tortoise in the lake. He said he must be hundreds of years old. Makes me nervous when I bump something underwater! I don't know why but this year the geese have decided to live by our dock. Don't like them much, they are very noisy and extremely dirty critters. My dog won't chase them off and that is strange because he is a bird hunting dog. They've never made their home here before. We thought the lake was too deep so they couldn't forage for food very well. Well, they changed their minds this year. Eric, getting a bike. Fabulous! If you are on facebook, friend us! Oh nevermind, I'll friend you and then you can track me there. Bye! Judy in MI

Keli, good to see an update on you. Sounds like you have a good team helping you make decisions. Good! Keep us informed! Judy in MI

LOL on both! Loved the jokes!

Yes, definitely contact Dr. West. I have no experience with this, so am unable to give any advice other than talk to Dr. West. Wishing the best for you and Mom. Judy in MI

Definitely! Early detection is awesome. Will wait to hear the news on Wednesday. Judy in MI

Hi All! Had a busy day so just getting here now. Worked at the church office until 3:00 then remembered I had to get home to get the dog to the Vet. His paw was looking rough from the raccoon fight. Got him on anti-biotics, and pain meds, and am hoping all heals well. Then to the chiropractor, then to the pharmacy to pick up meds then home! Test driving an Acura ZDX car tonight. So excited to check it out. My lease is up in a month, and I'm looking at some really cool cars to be my next ride. Donny, I'm kind of a thrill seeker when it comes to cars too! Bud, you drive 12 1/2 miles to work on your bike? Yikes! That is just way cool. Very cool that you have the lung capacity to do that too! I do not for sure. Well, I have not been on Facebook all weekend and probably won't get to it until tomorrow night or Wednesday. Phew! Busy! Loving it though. Judy in MI

Eric, Sounds like you had a wonderful Birthday! How interesting to read about the contest, and the location you were at. Very nice. How lovely that they gave you that nice pen set. I'd tell you about the crazy Michigan weather, but I already wrote about it in Judy in KW entry. You can read my update there! Have a great day! Judy in MI

Happy Mother's Day to all Mom's out there! I was not able to have children. And today at church, they featured a woman who also could not have children, but talked about all the children she has Mothered through her mission work. Nice touch for Mother's Day. In Michigan, we got a virtual smorgasbord for weather. In Northern Michigan, it snowed. Where I'm at in the mid-Michigan, we got blustering winds, rain, sun, wind, rain, sun, wind, rain again. Then in Southern Michigan, they got the warm front, and had tornados, and violent storms with lots of power outages, trees down, etc. Crazy stuff this Spring in Michigan. Glad to hear you are enjoying your time with your children, and the beautiful campground Judy in KW!!!! Eric, too funny. I'll go read your entry now! Judy in MI

Good morning all! Thursday mornings are my "day off" until I go to Gilda's at 2:00. So I slept in until 11:00!!!!! This muscle thing wears me out, so once a week I indulge and sleep in, it felt fantastic. I slept like a baby last night. So thankful. KW Judy, I'm thinking the Ativan did you in girl! It is a small dose, but Ativan makes me so sleepy. Wishing and hoping for good results. Hope you and Laurie have a wonderful time together. Pics please! Katie, your work is so amazing, helping those with new diagnosis, sponsorships, etc., God bless you for what you do. It does take it's toll doesn't it? At Gilda's Club, it can get overwhelming at times too. We see all sides of the cancer journey, the tough stuff and thankfully the good stuff. Calin, good news about your Mom. Yeah! Well, it's 12:30 here, got to get moving to get to Gilda's. Good day everyone. Judy in MI

I wish for the best for you and pray for you and your Mom. It really is so difficult when they are 90, with dementia, and now this complication. I pray for peace, and healing. Judy in MI

Hello all! Nice to hear from Eric two....no three times! LOL! It's okay Eric. Judy, the doll story was absolutely creepy. Sure would love to see the work that you did Eric! Did you keep the page you did in a document that you could copy and paste here? Congrats, even if no one showed up! Next time will be fantastic. I'm working at the church office today. Got a new copier/printer yesterday, and am teaching everyone how to use it. Installing it on their computers too. Busy time for sure. But fun to see their eyes light up when they see all the whiz bang stuff this new machine can do. Judy, hope you relish the food you will be able to eat again! Nice when the test is done huh? I'm not due to see my Onc. until the beginning of August, but doubt he'll order a CT unless something comes up with the muscle issues I'm having. They have not diagnosed neuropathy yet. First is the EMG test next Wednesday, and then we shall see. Have a good one! Judy in MI

Judy, sorry your eyes are still bothering you so much. Wishing you the best on the tests tomorrow. There's not much to report here. Weather: gorgeous. Spasms: not so gorgeous. But I'm hanging in there. Getting the EMG next Wednesday, so we shall see if that shows anything. They are looking at possible neuropathy now. Yippee! Judy in MI

No experience with that here. Best wishes. Judy in MI

Hi Van, glad to hear you are out! prayers coming your way for sure! Wishing you a good meeting with Onc. Judy in MI

This was a good read. She is the embodiment of courage, and positive attitude. Her strength resonates off this page. Thanks for sharing this. Judy in MI

Hi there, We all feel for you, and have felt these feelings, no matter what stage our diagnosis was. Cancer is frightening. I don't see by your post where you live. There are Gilda's Club's in the USA and I wonder if one would be by you? Gilda's Club is a free cancer support group that gives support to the care giver, as well as the person with cancer. It's an amazing organization and helped me and my husband through my cancer journey. To see if one is by you, click on this link, or paste it in your search bar: http://www.gildasclub.org There's a place on the left side of the home page to look for a club by you. Also, if you contact the American Cancer Society, they may have some support resources too. But I highly recommend Gilda's Club. Know our hearts and prayers are with you. The proverb that laban has in his signature is one of my favorite bible verses. It gives me great peace. Another one that has helped me is "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Cor. 4:13 Judy in MI

Hi Everyone, Stupendous day here today, 68 degrees, with a awesome lovely wind blowing beautiful spring smells through the house. Sun shining, blue skies, no complaints here. Saw the muscle/skeletal doctor today. He asked lots of questions about my cancer, neuropathy, and shingles too. He took tons of notes, and ordered an EMG for next Wednesday. He told me to follow up also with the Neuro and Rheumatoid doctors. He said he'd consult with my Onc. too. One way or another they hope to find the answer to this. I pray this happens, as I had that attack Friday night almost put me in the hospital ER. The black madonna story was funny Eric. Respectful indeed! Hope everyone is well and starting the week off with a positive spin. Judy in MI

So sorry you are not feeling well, I hope it improves over the weekend. I had to lend my lap top to a friend yesterday, so just got it back just now. Felt weird to not have it around, but I must say I was much more productive! Had a bad go around with the muscles yesterday. Had an episode that scared the folks I was working with that they were ready to call 9-1-1 and haul me off to the ER. Whew it as bad. So I stopped taking the muscle relaxer NorFlex because the side effects were horrible. And it didn't help. Made me dizzy, my head felt fuzzy, was nauseated, dry mouth, and still had spasms, so enough of that drug. Hoping for a productive doctor appointment on Monday. Wishing you all a beautiful weekend. Judy in MI

Good morning! Ah, what a beautiful day. We may get to 80 today with sun shining and gusty winds. It's beautiful. Judy, hope you get to feeling better. Don't know what is up with the eyes, but hoping it clears up soon. Glad to hear Rose is home and doing well, Bud. A week off! Relax and have some fun! Today I have to prepare for a convention coming in tonight in our town. Lots of work involved. So I'm dashing a note here, and then off I go! I hope you all have a lovely day. Judy in MI

Welcome here Keli. You got so great advice already, don't really have much to add that hasn't already been said. I agree that a second opinion is a good idea. But even if, after getting that, you find surgery is still not an option, then look at the alternatives here. Glad you contacted Grace. Keep us posted on what is going on. Judy in MI

Hi! Happy Thursday. Eric - thank you! And the tribes we had along the river were the Ottawa, Ojibwa (Chippewa), and Potawatomi. And our State allocated very large amounts of land for the Native Indians to live on their reservations. They do to this day. In modern times, our leaders realized that these people needed to have a focus for their energy, and allowed construction of huge casino's that are scattered all over our state. They are the beneficiary of the profits from these. It's great to see! I enjoyed the story about the tombstone that says "see I told you I was sick." Cute. Bud, hope the surgery went well and she is resting comfortably. As for how I'm feeling, nothing's changed. Woke up screaming at 2:00AM again. It's the weirdest thing, when the spasms start, they invade my dreams, and in the dream I'm trying to walk it off, and nothing is working. Suddenly I wake up and I'm disoriented and just out of a deep sleep. I have to get a towel, soak it in hot water, and wrap it around the affected area. It's very distressing. But I remain optimistic that the doctor on Monday will be able to figure what is messed up. My hubs is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the next 3 days, so I'm baching it! I adore my husband, but do enjoy when I get short amounts of time to stay in my jammies all day if I wish, which guess what I did today????? Judy in MI

Congrats! Two years is fantastic! I'm so happy for you. Judy in MI

Hi everyone, Got in late today, work is so busy right now. Yes, it's volunteer work, but it's work none the less, just work that I love. Fun fact about Grand Rapids. It was occupied with Native Indians back in the 1860's, and an explorer came and saw this amazing wide river, and thought it'd be prefect for floating logs from the forests up North, to the new town, to build homes, and businesses. Hence the name, GRAND Rapids. I grew up in a home in the City that was built in 1865, and it was so cool! It had 4 stories, and an elevator. An original Otis elevator. I could do laundry in the basement, load it on the elevator, stop at each floor and unload what I needed and keep on going. It was cold here this morning, but that's not unusual. I never plant my flowers until after Memorial day because it's inevitable that we will get some more hard frosts before then. But I love Spring, with the cool mornings, mild afternoons, and evenings. I adore this weather. Have a good night/or day depending on where you live. Judy in MI

Wow, what a fabulous poem. It brought tears to my eyes, and a chill - it is so awesome to think about our loved ones who passed, and that they are closer than ever, just on the other side. Thank you, Judy in MI