Long Days and Scary Times

I think I have mentioned before, when you work in tourism the summer months, especially July and August, are crazy busy. I know my days are about to be very busy. Coming home late and barely getting to bed before I have to get up and do it all again, is going to be the norm for a couple of weeks. Ahhh retirement is starting to look so delicious.

My husband and I spent a few days last week at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. Vanderbilt is where we had the kidney transplant. I say we because it is my kidney that he now has. If you are new to this blog and would like to read that story you can read it here and here.

The kidney transplant took place fourteen years ago. We have been trucking along just fine with great creatinine levels for hubs. We make a trip to Nashville three times a year for his checkup. The last year or so the creatinine levels have started to creep up. The creatinine level is what determines how well waste is being filtered out of your body. Finally in May after several blood tests the doctor ordered a kidney biopsy. If the kidney was in rejection we needed to know.

We checked in on Wednesday morning last week. The biopsy was to take place at 10:30 that morning and we would spend the night and be back home by Thursday afternoon. It didn’t quite work out that way. The biopsy did take place at 10:30 that Wednesday morning and hubby had to stay in bed for eight hours so that the possibility of bleeding was reduced. We were supposed to get the biopsy results by Thursday morning. The lab was running behind and we didn’t get the results until late Thursday evening. The kidney is not rejecting. The age of the kidney and the hit it has taken from anti rejection meds has made the kidney show some usual wear and tear, figuratively speaking . So it is not uncommon for those levels to rise. There may be some adjustments to his meds but nothing serious at this time.

Whew!!! We were so relieved!!! We had been holding our breath for a day and a half, heck who am I kidding? It was more like weeks, waiting to hear the results. This was the best possible news we could have gotten.

Because we got discharged from the hospital so late we decided it was not a good idea to try to make the almost four hour drive home. We were both exhausted. I had gotten little sleep in the pull out chair-bed in the hospital room the night before, and I would have to do all the driving. Mark wasn’t allowed to drive for a few days. He still can’t lift over ten pounds, sorry Gus, and he is very limited to daily activities for two weeks. We spent the night at the nearby hotel where we always stay when we have appointments. We treated ourselves to room service and got a great night’s sleep.

We got home on Friday afternoon I started laundry and did some work around the house. All of the babies were so glad to see us. They were so needy for a few days, especially Gus. We had to leave Bunnie outside while we were gone. I hated that, but she has shelter and my nephew came over every day to check on her and make sure she had plenty of water and food. He always checks on the kitties for us while we are away. He is a gem. I don’t know what we would do without him.

I went to work on Saturday to take care of a report that was due. I did a grocery pick up after work. I also returned to the Farm Market and bought okra and squash and a lot of other goodies. I was off on Sunday and I caught up on laundry and baked sourdough bread for the week. We had a feast for dinner from the vegetables I had gotten on Saturday.

***The sourdough bread was yummy. I’m starting to get the hang of folding and stretching the dough.*** ***If you know you know.***

***I got quite a bit of this shawl finished while we were in Nashville. I try to do a few rows every day so I was able to do quite a lot while we had some down time.***

It was back to work for me yesterday. A lot of long days ahead. You know, when you or a loved one has a health issue it very much rules your life. No matter how much you try not to worry or give it all over to God, it’s still there to some degree. I told my husband that we would get through this and continue to forge ahead. That is really all you can do. And no matter how many hours I have to work this week it is better than being in a hospital waiting for test results.

Have a great week

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Goodbye January

I am very happy to say goodbye to January. January was a scary month around here. It seems as though you worry about little day to day things, and they seem really big at the time. But when you are faced with your health or the health of a loved one, you realize that those other things don’t mean anything. That is how January was for us.

I mentioned in a previous post that my husband and I had been to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville at the beginning of the month. This was for his four month check up for the kidney. The kidney is now almost fourteen years old. Well that is if you don’t add the years it was just mine. I think I have mentioned that we named the kidney Baby Kay. The actual transplant date was February 24th, 2011. If you haven’t read our kidney story you can read it here and here. Some of the pictures may be missing, thank you WordPress, but the story is there.

***A picture of us leaving the hospital at Vanderbillt just after the transplant. 2011.***

Anyway, I got a little side tracked. The blood work for the kidney was slightly elevated in areas that were not good. Not a lot but enough that Vanderbilt wanted the tests repeated the next week. My husband did this through our local hospital so we wouldn’t have to drive back to Nashville. Those tests did not show a lot of change. Another set of tests were ordered. These would actually check to see if the kidney was starting to reject. It’s hard for me to write that because it was so scary to think that could be happening. We prayed, and our faith is strong. So we knew we would be led in the right direction no matter what happened.

The last set of tests were done last Tuesday. Vanderbilt notified us a few hours later that the blood work looked good, the levels were back to normal and no worries of rejection. I was at work when I got the news. I screamed. Amy my co-worker jumped and said what has happened? I told her the news and then all of my other co-workers and of course notified all of the family. What a relief. What happened? we don’t know for sure. It could have been a slight infection or just something off. All I know is that it was a really scary time. But then we know that life can be that way a lot of the time.

So February is here and it is almost like spring here. Although, I know colder temps are predicted for next week. I spent most of yesterday crocheting these small hearts. They are so easy. There’s several videos on YouTube with step by step instructions. I made about 35 of these small hearts and I strung them on a garland to hang on my mirror near my front door. I love hearts and I had so much fun making them.

So lots of knitting, crocheting and reading and work and just enjoying our life every day. That’s what has been going on around here. How was your January?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

What A Difference A Year Makes. (My Sister’s Cancer Journey)

Hello and Happy New Year!!! I have gotten complete permission from my sister Sandy to share this post with you. I know that this is an inspiring story to me. We never know what trials we might face. I have seen first hand how faith, prayer, family love, and determination can change so many things.

Since the day after Christmas my mind keeps wandering back to last year at this very time. My sister Sandy was sick. Very sick. We knew it. We knew things weren’t right and hadn’t been for a long time. For months she had barely been able to get off of the couch. A trip to the grocery store was out of the question. She was weak and just plain didn’t have the strength to do anything. It was scary. She had always been the energizer bunny and could do anything.

We tried to do a short shopping trip before Christmas last year and it turned into a huge challenge of finding somewhere for her to sit before she literally fell out.

She had been to so many doctors because her blood work was off. One doctor would say this and another would order more bloodwork. Another doctor would ask if she had reported this to her regular doctor and the cycle continued day after day and nothing was being done. We were quite frantic as we watched her get weaker and weaker.

On the good advice, given by a retired doctor friend, the day after Christmas 2022 her husband and son took her to Knoxville to University of Tennessee hospital and took her through the Emergency Room. They started running a series of tests. Within a couple of hours they had discovered she had a mass in her spleen. They thought it was probably cancer. Why this couldn’t have been done before I don’t know.

She was admitted to the hospital for more tests. Her oncologist was a doctor that we had seen many years ago when my dad had cancer. At that time we were not very fond of him. But he came highly rated and several people that we knew praised him for the things he had done for their friends and family. We would put our faith in him.

My sister was in the hospital for several days. She was dehydrated so she was given fluids and protein. Her body was very run down. Because she was so susceptible to infection only two people could be with her during her stay. My brother in law and I took turns staying day and night with her at the hospital.

On Friday, the day before she was released from the hospital, we sat in her hospital room and waited for the doctor, the oncologist, to come in. We heard him outside the door speaking with someone in the hallway. It was as if we were holding our breath waiting for the verdict. We knew it was cancer, but we had no idea how bad it was or how much it may have spread.

The doctor came into the room with his assistant. He told my sister that she had large b-cell lymphoma. He also said she had some small spots in her upper rib cage. He told us he thought, with treatment, she could make a full recovery. She would need 6 chemo treatments, three weeks apart. Halfway through the treatments they would do more scans to see if the chemo was working. He seemed upset that she would lose her hair. She said “I’m not worried about my hair I’m more worried about getting rid of this” To us this was news that we could work with. Cancer in our family is not new to us. We know the drill. We had a plan. We love planning no matter what it may be.

Her first appointment after getting out of the hospital was to get more blood work and set up the schedule for the chemo and the scans that would be done at the halfway point. The doctor and his assistant tried to prepare us. They said it would get worse before it got any better at all. We didn’t think it was possible. It was.

My sister is a 35 year cancer survivor to start with. She had colon cancer at the age of 35. She is a tough cookie. She had had radiation in the past but never chemo.

The treatments were bad. We fought right along with her but let’s face it. We didn’t have cancer and she was the one going through hell. But this was a family commitment and we were all there to help. We brought her anything she could and would eat. Her son shopped continuously to search for high protein food, shakes whatever she could keep down. The fact that she had already lost weight and was very weak when she started the chemo made things much worse. Some people do not go into chemo like this.

In the picture below my sister was at one of her lowest points. She told me she could not eat, or sleep, or walk and she didn’t think she was going to make it. But she didn’t give up. I felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do but what I was doing.

She was already so far down it took a lot to get back. But she did. She started physical therapy to help her balance. She had been traveling everywhere by wheelchair and she was soon able to get rid of that. As the chemo shrunk the mass in her spleen, it allowed good blood to circulate through her body. She was getting stronger every day. Her hair came out, and she got a wig and some scarves. She dealt with it.

Mid March and it was time for the first set of scans to see just how well the treatments were working. The scans showed that the cancer had pretty much shrunk to NOTHING!!!! What???? We were in shock. It was everything we had prayed for. Prayers were definitely answered. She still had 2 more treatments and her doctor wanted to finish those.

She finished all of the treatments and on May 5th she rang the bell that signaled the end of treatments and that she was cancer free

This picture was taken during the summer. What a difference those months have made. She is the energizer bunny again. I can barely keep up with her. I lost two of my sisters and she is my only sister I have left. I would do anything for her. She is the backbone of our family. We just can’t imagine life without her and we are so glad that she is here with us. We thank God every day for that.

Again, I tell you this story because it gives me hope that if I, or another loved one, should go through something like this I will remember my sister. I will tell this story. She fought such a battle because she wanted to be here. I asked her if she minded me sharing this on my blog. She said No!!! If this can give someone hope that means everything. She continues with check ups and blood work and scans and so far everything is great!!!! She is my hero.

So you never know just what a difference a year can make.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!