Quote of the Day: We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. Kenji Miyazawa
Good Luck to Sue O. and Donna- they are Boston Marathoning today! Run like the wind!!!
Exercise Log: Yesterday, Joe and I walked 3.80 miles in the turtle preserve. (+ .90 miles) We headed up Halfway Wash and then circled back along Turtle Rock. St. George has received a lot of rain this year which is evident in the desert flowers. Beautiful yellow and purple flowers along the trail and it never ceases to amaze me that a cactus- so prickly and unattractive could have these big fuschia pink blooms. The rock formations always make me want to understand the puzzle of how they got where they are. Some rocks look like they just landed after being thrown down by a huge giant- some teetering on the edge as if they are about to roll again. A turtle looking rock complete with shell stands sentinel at the beginning of Turtle Wall. We saw lizards, some rodent like animals and heard many birds and when you stand at a vista, you can see all the way to Tuacahn and Green Valley and beyond.
Today I met up w/ Lori, Denise, Kathy E., Sue B. and Melissa. It was drizzling rain but rather warm. We went 3.74 miles (-.37 miles).
I woke up this morning feeling markedly better than I have felt since my last chemo. The desert was good for my cold and my morale. I awoke @ 5 A.M. raring to go- it’s makes sense that when you have energy, you also have hope in your life. I can’t believe how much my motivation is a reflection of my energy. I remember someone saying that with chemo, as soon as you start to feel good again, you get zapped with another treatment. Today, I head in for the port placement @ 8:30. I will be glad, once again, to have that surgery behind me. My arm is still sore from the chemo IV two weeks ago, so a port feels like the right choice.
Today while I was having the IV put in and all the other things they do to get you prepped for surgery, I kept thinking of something Maggie likes to sing. “I can do it, there’s nothing to it”. Might sound silly but it became my surgery mantra. I am so impressed with the care that I have received from IMC. The nurses, doctors and PAs have been fabulous. I’m pretty sure that the PA who did the surgery was about 25- so sorry that I don’t have a picture of him- he was gorgeous also. They always engage me in talking, and I always go away feeling like I’ve met a new friend. Sometimes, it may be better to not know entirely the medical procedure. They placed the port in my left chest with a small tube that leads into a vein so they can just release the medicine directly through the port into that vein. One of the risks, I found out right before surgery, is that they could possible puncture your artery and we all know what that means. They didn’t put me completely under so I could hear them speaking but I really don’t know what they were saying or somehow my brain didn’t care what they were saying. It ended up taking about 6 hours-from prep time to leaving the hospital. I’m so glad to have that done but really I don’t know how many more surgeries I have in me! Oh, my!
Erin sent me the most darling photo book I have ever seen and the kindest note, the card said “At times, life’s path seems filled with things that make the going rough, and we wish there were a smoother road, for we feel we’ve had enough. But, if we pause a moment and remember Who’s in charge, the hills that loom ahead of us no longer seem so large. And every rook before us, when we know were not alone, becomes not just a stumbling block, but one more stepping stone”. Emily Matthews
Before surgery @ IMC Taylor in Jocotenango, Guatemala
Everything you said about Jim, Thilda, Lynn, Owen and
Vernessa was true.
Living through the great depression was very difficult.
You and I should not condem them untill we have had to
survive a situation that difficult.
love,
Dad