stand4hope

OH MY!! Addie, I can't believe those numbers. Thank God you got them checked, and Thank God you are better. And yes, I ditto being grateful for blood donors. GOD BLESS THEM ALL!! Love, Peggy

Thank you, Andrea, I was going to visit my mom (and now also my dad's) grave today, but with everything else going on I decided my emotions just couldn't handle it, so I spent the day shopping and spending money instead. GREAT THERAPY! My mom died in Jan. 1999 and I didn't visit her grave until Mother's Day of that year. Emotionally, I handled her death pretty well until I went to her grave on Mother's Day. I cried and choked and carried on for several hours. No matter how much tension there was between me and my mom, I always took her flowers and a card on Mother's Day, and she loved it! I thought I would make that a tradition even after her death, but I just couldn't do it this year. Neither my husband or my son need to see me bawling right now. I know my mom understands. Love and hugs to everyone, Peggy

Becky, That just made my mother's day even happier. Thank you, God! Love, Peggy

Well, I don't even have a clue what a Dos Equis is, but I sure am happy about all the good news. I'll pick up a Starbuck's Gold Coast blend on my way over since you probably don't have it in stock. Love to all, Peggy

Get well soon, Dave! Karen, it's already time to turn in your hall pass and let us know how Dave is doing. Love, Peggy

Oh, Val, I'm so sorry your mom is having such a hard time. I pray that she will start having some good days very soon. I am thrilled that she can at least cuddle a little bit with that precious beautiful daughter of yours. I was able to get a precious visual picture of that happening and it really warmed my heart. I can just see your mom smiling. How sweet! Love, Peggy

Dear Nancy, Well, I'll tell you one thing - nobody can ever accuse you of not being able to express your excitement in writing. I felt your excitement just by reading what you wrote, and it was contagious. So glad to hear this good news. We all needed to hear some of that. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm! Love, Peggy

Hi Pat, We've already talked in PMs, but I just wanted to say again that I think having to give up their work is sometimes the hardest thing to come to grips with. I hope Brian can come up with some gratifying hobby that will take the place of his work. You are such a wonderful, loving wife and caregiver! God's love to you, Peggy

Hi Tammy, Your profile doesn't say what kind of chemo he's getting, but it very well could be side effects of the chemo. Most everybody just has to do whatever the doctors say to treat the side effects. Like Don said, it's poison, and the good parts of our body don't like it as much as the cruddy cancer doesn't like it. Hang in there. You will probably be very surprised to see how quickly some of the side effects can be minimized with whatever the doctors recommend. Love, Peggy

Oh my gosh, Beth. This just took my breath away and gave me goose bumps all over. What wonderful good news and what a great way to start the day. Oooooh. I'm not kidding. I keep getting waves of goose bumps. I'm so happy for you. All my love, Peggy

Try to cheer up, Nancy. There are just a lot of really tough times with this disease. I truly thought that when my husband was having chemo and radiation that it was going to kill him instead of the cancer. He slept so much that I thought one day he just wouldn't wake up. Now he's working full time and doing pretty darn good. Hang in there and stay close to this board. We will help you through the tough times. Love, Peggy

Hi Deb. I'm glad you and your mom and dad found our site. We've got a lot of very smart people here who have been down this road and have answers to just about any question you could come up with. Ask anything you want, no matter how silly it seems. It's probably been asked before. We also have a lot of fun. Don't forget to check out the Just for Laughs forum. It's very helpful to get through this fight with some good humor. Lots of love coming your way, Peggy

Janet, I'm so glad to hear that Ron finally got some sleep. That is a miserable feeling when you can't sleep and get rest. Maybe when Ron gets to feeling better, he can join our group and talk to us, too. Love and hugs, Peggy

Oooh, that sounds scary. I will pray for your friend. Can you give us a first name? Love, Peggy

Hi Don and Lucie, I'm glad you guys got through the past several weeks ok. I've been wondering how you were doing. I'm sure you plan to talk to the onc about Lucie's continued leg pain, so keep us posted. Keep taking those walks. Now that the weather is getting nice, it will be even more enjoyable. Love, Peggy

Well, hi there, Ray. Somebody started a thread not too long ago asking if anyone had heard from you. So glad to see you back, and that you are doing ok. Don't do that again! Love, Peggy

Val, Ouch! That sounds awful, especially 50 times a day and lasting for 2 minutes. I hope she gets it checked out soon. Love, Peggy

Bruce, I hate hearing that you are having any kind of trouble. I hope you get some answers soon and getting to feeling better - fast! Love, Peggy

Dear Melanie, Again, I repeat, you are a remarkable woman, a woman of faith and peace. I wish you nothing but strength and good days ahead. God bless you! Love, Peggy

Dear Jen, I'm so sad to read your words. Hang in there, honey. Sending you big hugs and saying special prayers just for you. Love, Peggy

Doug, I'm sorry you got hit by this bullet. If the person is who I think it is, I don't think they are a bad person, just opinionated, outspoken, young, and just doesn't understand. I pray that this person will learn some tact and acceptance as the years go by. I was unfortunate to have severe alcoholism in my family and spent my teenage years wailing and condemning the alcholics. I was fortunate to attend Al-Anon at the age of 21 and after 3 meetings learned "acceptance". That didn't mean I had to like it or even be around it, but I was able to throw away the judgment and love the alcoholics unconditionally until the day they died. There isn't a family anywhere that isn't touched by the long-term effects of addictions of some sort, i.e., smoking, drugs, alcohol, xxxography, food, sex. I don't think we should condone any addictive behavior as a good thing, but I do hope that the world will come to a point of acceptance and dump the condemntation and judgment. It is what it is. I had a doctor tell me one time that continuing to smoke even with an illness doesn't have anything to do with intelligence or logic. He also said if I could figure out the answers to the why and how questions, I would be one of the richest women in the world. I like the sound of that, so I'll be working on those answers. Love, Peggy

Cindy: Thank you for trying to contact Betty. Please let us know when you do. Betty, I'm going to do a special happy dance today just for you. It might hurt your eyes to watch, though, so just picture me looking just like Jennifer Lopez and then it might help instead of hurt. Love, Peggy

Dear Nancy, Your stress level must be way above tolerable. I know - been there, done that. Poor Mike! Please tell him we really care and prayers are being said for him. You hang in there, too. Keep us updated. I know it makes me feel better just to have a world out there that will listen. Love and hugs, Peggy

Sandy, Your panic was understandable. Believe me, we all do it with every little thing that could mean something is wrong. I'm glad to hear that you don't have to have the surgery. You sound very relieved. Take care and enjoy the rest of the week. Love, Peggy

THANK YOU, GOD!!!! Love, Peggy