Joppette

This is fantastic, and good news for the rest of us still in the battle. Thank you Muriel! Judy in MI

Hi there, Welcome here. None of us like the reason we are here, but thankful this place is here because the friends you can make here will help you all along your journey. NSCLC is less aggressive than SCLC. I was like you in that department. Thankful that my cancer slow growing and easier to treat. I had surgery to remove a lobe, and follow up chemo. Four and a half years later I was cancer free! I hope the prognosis for you is comforting, and do let us know what they say about the staging of the cancer, treatment plans etc. We'll try to help you wade through the myriad of good hearted doctos, and what they say. Lung cancer is curable. Please know that. Hope is an excellent medicine for this. Stay hopeful, and positive and it will help you in this journey. Judy in MI

Judy, we understand about the scan. Doesn't it just get tiring? Try to focus on something else my friend. Well I am stuck here. The pain has been out of control. I could write more but I need to talk to yet another doctor that is sitting here. Sigh. Judy in MI

Judy, I'm so glad you had such a nice time! It sounds like so much fun, especially the cheesecake! Rest up. I'm still at the hospital. The changes are so frequent and don't make much sense that I don't even want to post about them. When I'm in the wheelchair and they are taking me to the car, I'll let you know how I'm doing! MI Judy

Hugs Randy. Cancer bites! But it is good to see that they improving things for those of us in the battle! Mi Judy

I laughed when I saw all the add-on's in Thursdays air. Well, I've been sequestered for 19 plus days so maybe it's not Friday? LOL. I have no sense of time here, so whether it's Monday, Thursday or Sunday makes no difference to me. I'm sitting in my cozy little room, looking outside my window at a very snowy, bleak and frigid picture. That is one thing to be thankful for. I'm not out in that! I guess it's like 3 degrees out there. I convinced R to spend the day with his brother from Texas. He flies home tomorrow, so I wanted them to have a little goof off time together. He was worried about me being "alone" here. You are never alone at the hospital. Just when you think you may be alone enough to take a snooze, a beeper goes off, a phone rings, pagers page, and machines whirrrrrr. LOL. I am enjoying a quiet day here with just me. After I get done catching up on line, I've got a good old fashioned crossword puzzle book just begging me to dig in. The recommendation is for me to have chemotherapy again. Not sure what to think or do about that, so since it's Friday I am putting that all on the back burner until Monday or later. I just pray for the lobe to heal enough to allow me to get off the epidural, and see what oral medications I can take to help with the pain. I can't wait to get home. I miss my puppies more than ever. I just want to take Olive's bushy little face and mush it, and pull Gibson's tail and have him fake growl at me. I can't wait. Just when you think you have things figured out, real life happens, and it becomes something you can't begin to understand. If I've learned anything it is that there are no constants, no promises made that can't be broken, and no looking into the future to see what it brings. My pastor came by today and reminded me that if we stand back and look at all the situations in life that challenge us, we have to realize that we can't do a thing to change tomorrow. So we might as well just stay in today and make the best of it. I hope I convinced R to sleep at home tonight. The roads are treacherous, and his brother flies home tomorrow. I hope they stay put, enjoy a glass of wine, and just relax. I am fine, I am being well taken care of. I can get around in my room if I am careful of the myriad of cords hanging from various parts of my body. LOL. So at this late hour, not sure if anyone will chime in, but am glad that I could feel well enough to put my two cents in for today! Judy in MI

Hi friends, I'll do a Care page update later, but a quick note before they drag me out of here to walk without oxygen. They want to see how long I can walk without it and then put oxygen on and see the difference between the two. Got the path. report back. Not sure what it all means, so am waiting on a professional to come in and interpret. But we do know it is NSCLC, adenocarcinoma, stage IIB. It's possible they may recommend chemo again. Beyond that I'll not speculate. Once I get more from the doctors, I'll post more details. Still in the hospital, and no release date yet. The lung is still emitting liquid at too high of a rate to try to figure out when the tube can come out. After that, they will try to get a handle on pain control. So? I've missed you all. Will update later! Judy in MI

Well, no surgery today. I'm wiped out by the news that I got and just limp as a noodle as I try to comprehend the breadth of what they said this morning. I can't write it all again. Please see my care page for the update. Love to you, Judy in MI

Remain calm...remain calm....remain calm....remain calm.... The surgeon never showed for a pre-surgery consult. No instructions were left for meds, liquids, or food. I asked for Motrin at 7:00 and they took it out, and then I thought "maybe I shouldn't have that the day before surgery", so I questioned it reluctantly. Turns out I should not have it. REally, I am still being the doctor? As I ate a light supper, it also didn't occur to me that this might be the last food for at least 15 to 18 hours. At 10:00PM, I thought about it and asked the nurse. She was not given pre-op instructions, so they are taking away water after midnight, and no food. No water for 14 hours. I can't imagine this. I didn't eat breakfast this morning, had a light lunch and supper and no one from this very large medical facility bothered to get pre-op instructions. I know I am b@t#hing. I just can't wait for this thing to be over. Sorry. Going to bed now. Judy in MI Since it's late, I'll beat Mike to it and turn the lights out.

Ah Gina, thank you for this update. Your faith is inspiring. God is so BIG! He's got this and his mercy and grace will be with you no matter what. I pray that the trial will work out. I pray for miracles, which God is big enough to do. Judy in MI

Hi all, I started a post, then got distracted by doctors, and came back and the server at the hospital logged me off. So I'll try to do a little update before more folks come in and ask me to breathe, etc. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. Don't have a time yet. Typically in the Heart Center, they treat serious heart issues first (makes sense) before doing lung surgeries. It's likely I'll be fit in between somewhere. I'll be off line then. R won't be updating because he will have his hands full. Looks like I'll go into ICU due to the complications I've had for the last 11 days. So! R will update my Carepage for me. So I'll put it out here for you again. It's http://www.carepages.com It's easy to create your "account". Simply put in your email and a password, and then go to search. Type in joppette, all lower case. It will bring you to a page, and you'll need to scroll down and look at the bottom for my page. You will click on joppette, and it will bring you to me. Once you write a note to me, it remembers you and will send you an email when an update has been written about me. Thank you all for all of the well wishes, support, love, and prayers. To say I'm not worried would be a lie. When the surgeon explained the complication possibilites last night due to the lung not repairing itself, the tube in it, the infection possibilities, it did frighten me. I'll do my best, with prayer and support to face this head on, and get it done and over with and start my new life. It will be a different life on oxygen, but I'll learn how to adapt for sure. And who know? Maybe I'll only need the oxygen for a few months and can be weaned off of it. That is my hope. Things are crazy here today as we prepare. Packing up everything because technically I won't have a room tomorrow. You can't bring your stuff to ICU. They told me to take the flowers home, but we're going to donate them to other patients that haven't received flowers. So, I'll try to get back today, but if not, I'll see you on the other side of this surgery. It's likely to be a couple of weeks. Take care, MI Judy

Hi all, I'm still here Judy. Sitting in my jail for day #8. The surgeon finally came in today to say that they want to operate on Friday. But then he threw out the ringer that Janet B experienced, or similar to it. He said if the suction water seal machine stopped bubbling on Friday morning, he would cancel the surgery and send me home for a couple of days. Oy! He said he wanted me to spend a couple of days at home, breathing normal air, without a foreign tube in my lung. He said the chance of rejection of this object, after being there ten days was good. He wanted me to not breath bacterial air for a couple days before surgery too. What? I thought hospitals were sterile. So it's back and forth and back and forth. I didn't get in to post today because it was the normal day of doctors in and out over and over. Everyone and their brother listening to my lungs. Here's a funny. Gallows humor I guess. A lady came by to deliver flowers to me, and when she came in it was on the heels of yet another lung check by another unit. As she entered, I said HI, Would you like to listen to my lungs too? LOL. She looked at me strangely, and I laughed saying it was hospital humor. The flowers came from Randy's work. They are beautiful. Anyway, I should be around tomorrow, unless of course they take me in early with no warning. I should know if my food tray does not arrive in the AM. Sheesh! Sorry for not responding to everyone, I've got my hands full right now. But thank you for the notes and support. It is so appreciated. Judy in MI

Good morning, Today should be a pivotal day here at Butterworth Hospital. The lung is healing, but still has a hole in it that won't go away, so the decision to stay or not is no longer an option. Now watch, just as I say that, they will come in and say go home! LOL. Not going to happen. I have a nice routine down now. They bring me my thyroid med at 6:00 and take vitals. I have a window of about an hour to wake up, get into the bathroom to sponge bathe and clean up before the insane busy times begin. I don't need an hour, so once done with that, I can come here and relax on line before my sumptuous hospital breakfast comes. Then the troops begin to arrive and continue through out the day. I got two surprise visitors yesterday! They both work downtown, and just popped in unexpectedly. They stayed the polite amount of time, and it was a nice diversion! Not much to talk about these days beyond the four walls of this tiny room. Soon, I imagine I'll be transferred to the heart center to have surgery. I'll be back here before that I am sure. Until then? Have a good one. Judy in MI

All I can say is YEAH!!!!! Celebrate! This is such a great milestone! Judy in MI

Ann! I have had those chapter like dreams before. I'll wake very slightly, and maybe use the potty, and back to sleep and I take off onto the next chapter. They actually can be very interesting, can't they? We'll have to swap stories one day. Eric, i don't know many women that appreciate the weight scales anyway, and now they beam at us and tell us our body fat and water weight? Oy! Not a good thing. I hope I never get one of those. LOL. Sounds like you had a grand time at Costco. That store can be so much fun. Find all kinds of interesting things that you never needed before but seem like such a good idea now. One I got was a pasta measurer. It had round holes, and the idea was to put the spaghetti through the holes to measure how many servings you wanted. Never used it! LOL. Cleaned out the utensil drawer a few weeks ago and tossed it. Well I kicked R out this afternoon. He's been here every day all day and late into the night since last Wednesday. I told him to go home, wash my pajama's and go have a beer with his buddies. LOL. Hope he did all of that. It's so nice and quiet here. It was a busy afternoon with lots of docs again. Two friends were visiting when someone doctory looking came in and asked to have me breath deep all around my lungs. She left, and I told the girls to watch, that at least ten more people would be coming in and doing the same thing. They did! It was funny. Anyway, I'm going to veg the rest of the night. No more doctors. I'll get a shot of morphine at bedtime and sleep like a baby again. Judy in MI

Back, until another medical person enters the room. The syndrome I was talking about is Stockholm syndrome. LOL That is me. We are so adaptable as human beings. It is truly amazing. The sun is shining, and I guess the temps are in the 40's, very crazy for winter in Michigan. We've only received a couple of inches of snow. This is the BEST winter ever! Except I do feel bad for the skiing and other winter sports companies. This is their time to shine, and it's not working. My Aunt brought this brain teaser book, and it's filled with pictures, and you have to compare one against the other and find the things that are different. I love this kind of thing. Have been kind of obsessing with it, but somehow find it enjoyable. Ok, back to docs. Have a good day. Judy in MI (again) P.S. If no one else gets in here, this may be a somewhat interesting self-talk all day in between tests! You poor people.

Good morning! Ah......two full nights of blissful sleep! Even the vitals checks didn't bother me. I feel like a new woman today! Yesterday everyone decided to visit all at once. It was crazy. At one point there were 9 people in this tiny hospital room! I'm not whining here....I know the drill. But the hours drag along all week long, and all day Saturday with barely a visitor and then on Sunday, BAM, here they all come. I asked R to quarter back this if it should happen in the future. That was just a lot going on at once. However, it led to a great nights sleep, so no complaining! I don't really know if I've been a Debbie downer these days or not. Everything has been blurring into each other, and just so much going on. But I feel good today, and ready (I think) to face the craziness of the medical world once again. The lung machine is still bubbling, which means it still has not healed. It's strange and wonderful how we adapt. The first night in this room, I thought I can't do a second. The bed is hard, pillows horrid, noise awful, etc. But then as the days go by, you get your own pillows, get to know the nurses and assistances, get used to the noises, and now I feel like I'm in my own little teeny apartment! What's that Syndrome they call when people get kidnapped and begin to fall in love with their kidnapper. Anyway, got to go, the regime of doctors is starting. Love to you all! MI Judy

Welcome back Jamie. Looking forward to getting to know you and what that CD thingy means Judy in MI

Hi friends, thanks for your continual thoughts of encouragement. Day 4 in the hospital. Still lots of complications and no indication of when I can go home or if I will be able to return home before the lung removal. Then I get a call from home at 7:00AM, "where the hell do you keep your underwear?". I tell him and he tells me there are none in there. I"m like dude, I got all the laundry done except for 2 loads before I left. One load is in the dryer, and one in the washer, but I KNOW not all of my undies are in there. He's on the way to the store now to buy new underwear. *sigh* But there are much bigger things to be concerned about. There are a ton of doctor's visiting me in the hospital from every walk of life. All of them have differing opinions. Many of them say that I need to opt for quality of life, not quantity, and that having the lobe out would be the best. They said my lung function is moderate, and will be negatively impacted by this, which means I may have to be on oxygen at least part of the time. What do you do? Many of us have been here, trying to decide which treatment to take, which will allow us to live the best quality and as long as possible. I just need to be quiet and listen to my heart. I think God will guide me and that is best I can do. Judy in MI

Hi ladies! Well I wish had good news but i don't. I did get a private room that is positioned over these gigantic fans for the whole hospital. They gave me an Ambien last night to sleep,and it did help but gave me huge nightmares. The pain is not better, and they may not send me home this weekend. We are to have a discussion with the surgeon today about whether to take the lobe no matter what. We know it's cancer, and we know it has to come out. It does not want to heal from the biopsy. I hate to be whiney, but I'm tired of all of this. I'm tired of the pain, tired of the doctor's tip toeing around the issues. I fell asleep this afternoon into a very deep sleep and dreamed that all of what is going on was a dream. I wish that was true. Judy in MI

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'll post in Test Time/Updates. MI Judy

Ah, this is better, posting from my lap top rather than the phone. Got disappointing new that I won't be going home today. The machine that measures my output shows that the whole is still here and bubbling. I do have an in-patient nurse facilitator that stopped by today. I asked if she could try to escalate my request for a private room. This room is so very tiny, and no place for R to relax. I'm crammed in here and feel like a sardine. If they can't, they can't, I understand. Pain is getting better. Just downed my morphine to 2 mg. I have that every four hours and a Torodol chaser once every 8 hours and it's tolerable not. Had to step down on the morphine, it was making me groggy. LOL at Steph! I was pretty high yesterday, and needed to be with the pain I was in. I guess the Multi-function team want to meet with me today to talk about next steps. So? The fod is ghastly. They have me on a heart healthy diet. If this is what you have to eat to be heart healthy, phooey on that. I want salt and flavor. Think R will have to bring in dinner for me. Do I sound like a whiney complainer? Maybe just a bit. The roomie has pneumonia bad, and coughs constantly. Yesterday she had a room full of visitors which didn't allow for sleep either. Anyway, it'll be fine. I asked for sleeping medication for tonight just in case I can't get a private room. I'll probably be back later. Not much to do in this joint. They do not want me to get up and walk until the puncture hole heals. Judy in MI Hospital

That would be newsy sit NOT needy. Lol.

I missed such a long, wonderful and needy air yesterday I was a bit preoccupied. I'm typing this from my iPhone so pardon any pesky "auto corrects". I am residing at a two bed hospital room as we speak. It's about 1;30am and can't sleep so thought I'd pop in while I wait for the morphine to kick in. Yesterday ranks right up there as one of the most excruciating pain days of my 57 year old life. Went in for the needle biopsy. Good news: they were able to get a tissue sample. Bad news: they poked a hole in my lung and it collapsed. OMG is all I can say about the pain. They began the battle with Fentanyl. That wore off quickly so 2mg of morphine. To no avail. Another 2mf of morphine plus zofran and a very strong anti-inflammatory and I wasn't climbing the walls. It took 7 hours of experimenting and they got a pain cocktail that worked. I have heart monitor on, oxygen, leg compression tubes and I V. Hard to believe I walked in under my own steam and now can't walk to the b- room without help. The lady in the other bed has bone cancer with mets to her kidneys. She is dying based on the conversations I've heard her have with her family. Sad. Anyway I'll be here a couple more days. We'll get results by then too. ( we hope). As for Angry birds? I LOVE that game. It's addicting and fun. I'll respond later to all the posts. Hard to do that when reading from the phone. R brought my lap top in but was too ill yesterday to get on it. Hoping to get sleep now and have a better day today. MI judy.

So nice to see everyone here today, which ever day it is! LOL I forgot to mention on the dumplings, when you are in the 10 minutes uncovered, I do take a spatula and scoop under them to help them not stick to the pan, and get cooked correctly on the bottom. Tiny detail, but important! Judy in MI