Farewell to Leya

After work today, our department went out to bid farewell to my friend who is moving to San Antonio. She got a really good job there and I wish her the best. She was the one who told me about this job opening from the very start. I had once worked with her. As I told her, she's one of the good ones. And will do just fine. She will be missed.
I had such a good time with the group, non stop chattering the whole time. I do think I made a good choice in moving to this department. Very friendly people.

Friends

While shopping at lunch today, I met a woman who has been a faithful bloggin' poster: Gerri. It was very nice to finally meet her. Her comments along with everyone else's, have been muchly appreciated.

I may not write every day, but please know that your thoughts keep us going.

Thanks..

PS. Day 2 of school is complete. First football game is this Friday.

A new school year

Today was the first day of school. Hard to believe that Tim is a sophomore now. Harder to believe that summer is over for the kids. Not like the old days, when kids were able to be kids during the summer. Now it is all about planned activities and camps for kids. Oh well.

Looking forward to first football game this Friday (well that probably will depend on the hurricane effecting us). Hoping it is dry enough for us to attend. As you may remember, football is a chance to socialize with our friends. And of course to listen to Tim play in the band.

I'm still here....

Sorry for not bloggin'. Gave myself a late summer vacation from bloggin'. So here's a quick update on our lives.

The past two weeks Tim had soccer camp which took up a lot of time. It was held in the morning and afternoon for over 3 hrs. each time. It is now over, thank googness. I missed having him at dinner time, not that our dinner is anything fancy. But he is good company.

School starts on Tuesday. I am wondering where the summer went, like a lot of other people I'm sure. It seems between band and soccer camp, the time went too quickly. From what I remember in my childhood, summer was a time away from school. A time just to enjoy being off. Times do change. Tim's band practices actually started the week he got out of school, and still continue at least once a week.

Today Tim had another soccer scrimmage. Didn't win but at least it was time spent practicing for the real season. He has made the varsity team, quite pleased at that.
It was a hot day, Barry didn't come. He sweats even in air conditioning, so didn't need to be outside. He has been sleeping better at night though.

After the soccer scrimmage, Tim went swimming at a friend's house. Can you believe that it was his first time in a swimsuit this summer! Never went to town pool at all. And considering how hot it was today, it was a perfect day for the pool.

Tonight he is at a party to celebrate the end of soccer camp. Certainly is ending the summer with a busy schedule. Oh yes, one more party tomorrow night for another friend in his class who is turning 16.

While he partied tonight, I cut the lawn.

My new job is great. I really like it and the people in the department. I only wish I had made the change sooner. I'm being kept busy, but without the constant ringing of a helpline telephone. Able to concentrate on deskwork. A friend of mine in the dept. will be moving to Texas, and we are having a party after work for her on Friday. I'm going to miss her but know she will do great.

Well, time to pick Tim up from party.

First day on new job

Today was my first day for my new job. From just the first day, I feel that this is a good fit for me. Since the department has been short staffed, there is a lot of catching up to do. I was just doing some data inquiries to help one of the ladies in the department today. And I was also able to go out to lunch with the department! This never happened in my other department since no two people could go to lunch at the same time. It was very enjoyable having nice conversation at lunch. Nicer also because I knew them before I got this job.

Barry was unable to sleep last night. Think it's the steroids. Hopefully he'll sleep tonight. Other than that, no complaints from him. Doing quite well with this treatment.

Barry's 4th chemoembolization complete

Just got home from Barry's 4th treatment. More to follow. He feels good. It was a good day for him yesterday.

After eating lunch I just woke up from a 2 hr. nap. Actually Tim is now home and he is also sleeping. And if you want to know, yes: Barry is the 3rd on the house doing the same thing!

Here's a summary of what happened since yesterday (from what I recall):

Got the hospital at 6 a.m. and Barry was hooked up to his IV for liquids. At 8 a.m. he was taken for CT scans and didn't return to short stay until 11 a.m. A long 3 hrs. for him. He then was prepped for his chemo treatment. At noon he was taken for his treatment. Earlier in the morning I called to see if I had a remove at the Family House, guest accomodations for patients' families who are going through serious health issues. I was so happy when I was told they had a single room for me. Here is the link to their website. Please check it out. If and when I win the lottery, my first donations will be to the Cancer Center locally, UPMC Liver Cancer Center and to this non profit organization. They truly deserve the monies.

http://www.familyhouse.org/welcome.asp

I stayed at the McKee place, just a couple of blogs from the hospital.

After Barry was taken for his treatment, I went to the Family House to check in. It was cleaner than any hotel I've stayed at. So friendly and helpful, having any possible needs you could mention. I did take a couple of pictures using my cell phone, and will attempt to download them for you. A single bed, desk, TV, shower and the whole house was nicely decorated. Could not beat the price of only $25.00 per night.

Barry did not appear on the floor of his room until 3 p.m. Had to wait an hour for his room to be cleaned. The nurses ended up moving a bed from another room into his room since cleaning dept. never showed up to clean it. Barry never minded, just continued to snore in hallway. I was the one that minded, for his own privacy. And I knew that vital signs should be checked every 15 mins.

The whole afternoon, he slept and snored. Occassionally I went out to the end of the hallway and worked on puzzles that were there. Have never made puzzles but this was so relaxing, a nice break. Barry never required pain meds during this chemo which was a blessing for him. It was at about 8 p.m. that he was allowed to sit up from being flat on his back. And for the first time he had a conversation with me. He ate the sandwich that I had bought in cafeteria at lunch, along with his favorite cookies and had some Ginger Ale. As he was eating, he was given benadryl again and quickly was back to nodding off. Dr. G stopped in to check on him. The CT scans showed no change in tumors, which we have learned to take as a good sign. After, I felt that I could leave him knowing he was fine. All this earlier time I was just sitting next to him, leaning back in chair just trying to relax.

It was about 8:30 when I left the hospital and walked to a Wendy's for a bite to go. I ate my dinner on the front porch of the Family House, rocking in a chair. If only someone could have taken my picture. By 10 p.m. I was in bed for the night.

Got back to the hospital by 8 a.m. and Barry was awake. He was in good spirits. Dr. G made his morning rounds and discharged him. We left the hospital at 10:30 a.m.

All in all, a very good chemo treatment. No growth in tumors, no pain from chemo. Barry never required pain killing meds this time. And I had a great place to go to after the day was done. Next time I've learned this: once Barry is back in his room, since he just sleeps, I will go back to my room and also rest. There is no need for me to sit there all day.

Again, thanks for all the prayers, as they are working.

Tomorrow is my first day on new job. Take care. And do check out that link.

PS. *******************
Since some one is sending SPAM links to my blog, I'm back to having to approve the postings. So bear with me.

PSS. *******************
Forgot to thank Lisa and family for taking such good care of Tim while we were gone. It was so nice knowing that Tim was in good hands. A load off of my mind. Again, thanks!

Tim's marching at the local fair this evening. I did not go, thought if better to say home with Barry. Who by the way, continues to be a real trouper.

One job ends and another will start

After 3 1/2 years in present job, today was my last day. And it ended like I remember most days to be: very busy. Got there 1 hr. early to get work done from Friday, and worked through our lunch hour. End result: 10 hr. work day. The one thing good about it was that my new job starts on Thursday. And I'm pretty excited about that. Something new and a chance to work once again with someone I had worked with previously.

Tomorrow Barry goes once again for his chemoembolization treatment. I've decided that it was best to go by myself, not take Tim with me. Too long of a day for him. If I'm not mistaken this will be his 4th such treatment. He will be having his CT scan done before the treatment. Usually it is done a week before but doing it the same day saved us a trip into the city. Fingers crossed and prayers are being prayed for good news.

This is the picture that got published in our local newspaper. Am very proud of it. Amish boy looking down the street towards the fair.

  

I made the news...

I was quite pleased to see that a photo I had sent to the local newspaper was published today! First one ever for me. I had emailed it to the newspaper earlier this week. It was a photo of the back of an Amish boy looking down the street at our local town festival last weekend. Notice that it was the back of his head. The Amish do not like to be photographed, and this was tastefully done. Honestly, I didn't even look through the lense when the picture was taken. I took the picture just by holding the camera in front of my waist and pushing the button, just hoping to get a good picture. It worked.

I have just one day left to work at my present job. Today was one of those days with no lunch break, hectic to say the least. My only comfort is I only have 8 hrs. left to work in that department. Today was supposed to be a party for me after work, but that had to be postponed until another day.

Next week Tim starts 2 weeks of soccer camp. He's also going to play golf for the school team. He's been asked by the golf coach to play and is looking forward to it. Has had clubs for a few years and has shown interest in playing. He's quite excited to have the opportunity to play another sport. Normally I would not allow him to play two sports at the same time, but since there is a shortage of players for golf this has been approved by our athletic department. I think he'll do fine. A chance for him to learn. And heck, most corporate deals are made on golf courses! A good sport to know.

A brand new family of turkeys have arrived

  

Chain saw art

  

Hand loomed rugs for sale

  

Amish market place at the Town Fair

  

Amish boy looks down the street

  

Music that touched my heart today

  

A song dedicated to us

This weekend our town is having a street festival. My neighbor had told me that she and her friend were going to be singing Christian songs in the afternoon. So I went down and got a front row seat. Unknown to me, she dedicated a song to "a neighbor who went through cancer, along with another family member and who always had a smile on her face while doing so." Can you believe that! I must admit, as I sat alone in the front row, that I shed tears as she so graciously sang the song. Once again, angels walk among us. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends! Thanks, Terry and Mary

No SPAMMIN' on my blog

Spammin' my blog is when someone leaves an anonymous comment on the blog, just a few words. But in the short comment there is a hyperlink that they want you to click for you to be sent somewhere else. That somewhere else is a place they want to benefit from you visiting. This has happened to me, but now I'm in the driver's seat and am taking ownership of my blog. I have fought cancer, I don't need to fight spammers.

Tim's back home from band camp. He was gone all week. I sure did miss him. It's amazing how much these kids learn in just a few days. Memorization of the music and the marching that goes along with it. Truly wonderful to watch. House was too quiet.
Football season, here we come!

Trying to stay cool

Today I was told that they are having a going away party for me next week at my job. A bunch of us are going out after work to a Mexican restaurant. Am really looking forward to that. It was a choice between a food day at work or restaurant after work.
And since you can't really enjoy yourself at work with the phones ringing I chose the restaurant. Should be lots of fun.

Am so tired of the heat. Every day it's in the 90s with humidity. I guess next February I'll be wishing I had some of this heat.

I have gone two days this week to spinning. Today I felt a bit out of place though at this class. I think I was the oldest one there, others looked like they didn't need to exercise at all. Very young and in their workout attire. And the music that was played was not the type I would ever listen to. I don't think I'll go back to this day's class again. Too loud and I just had trouble keeping up with them.

Have been eating out a lot this week. Tomorrow I've been invited for a girl's night out at local restaurant. Unless something changes, I'll be there.

PS. Had my first follow-up visit with my radiation oncologist today. Everything looks great. Only thing he said I should do is to have colonoscopy. Had that on my "to do" list this year but... He gave me the name of a doctor who uses the pill camera for this exam. You swallow what is a small video camera (size of jelly bean) and it takes many many pictures in an 8 hr. period. You wear something around your waist that records the insides of your body as it makes it way through the dark tunnels. Will look into that. Just hard to think of making an appt. since I'm starting a new job shortly.