Surgery, etc.

Well, first, today (Jan 2, 2021) would have been my mom's 98th birthday! Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mom!

I had my surgery as scheduled on December 29. It went well. I have two incisions and Percocet. I wish I had more Percocet. The incision under my arm, where a lymph node was removed, suddenly hurts like HELL. I literally walk around holding my b**b in place so the stitches don't pull. Then again, at least I still have my b**b. (I kind of hate that word. "Breast," otoh, sounds too formal.)

Christmas was lovely. Just had the kids over, plus Katherine's boyfriend, Andrew. It was a very low-key holiday. I did not even go to John and Noreen's. Had to keep away from germs because (God Forbid) if I got sick I might not have had my surgery on time. We needed to get it done in 2020 because I switched to Medicare and other insurance as of yesterday (Jan1, 2021).

Current pain aside, at least I feel I can get moving on with life.   

COOKIES

 Katherine and I baked a family favorite last night (Mon. Dec 8), Spritz Cookies. Actually, she did most of the work with dough I had made earlier. The cookie gun is fun to use.

It's so much fun to use we actually broke it. I've had it for a few years now, and it's my second one. Looks like I'll be buying #3 for next year!

Almost Gone

 The PET scan I had shows the cancer is 'resolved.' That means there is no visible cancer, but not that I'm totally out of the water.

I will be having surgery later this month to get rid of nearby cells so that will hopefully mean I'm done, at least as far as breast cancer. 

Dr. S is aiming to December 29, but it also might happen Christmas Eve. I guess that would just mean we do our 'party' at another time. I hope for the later date, but either way we are getting it done in 2020. 

I have to call Dr. B for a pre-op exam. And I will have a Covid-19 test a few days before the surgery. Damn Corona Virus just wants to hang around. They are talking about vaccines. Soon, I hope!

Forty Years

On Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020 Mike and I celebrated 40 years of marriage. "Celebrated" is a relative term since we stayed home and had sauce like every other Sunday. Between Covid (restaurants aren't running at full power) and worry about my recent tests (no results yet, but mammo looked okay) I just said we could celebrate another time. And that was fine! After all these years, we don't need to do fancy romancy. 

Kids gave us a card and a gift card. Mike gave me a card with the promise we will look for a new couch soon. The one we have is a hand-me-down from Michael and it is awful.  

Katherine's Birthday at Michael and Megan's

 Michael did me a favor and made Katherine's birthday dinner this year. She had the usual "Western Hospitality Casserole" and it came out delicious as usual. Michael is an excellent cook.

Michael showed us the basement he and Megan are having finished. It looks good so far!

I'm never in any of these photos but you can see my reflection in the mirror. That is, if anyone ever reads this blog in the future.

More News

 So now it is November 2nd. My breast cancer is down 85%!! 

I had 3 rounds of radiation two weeks ago for the cancer on my spine. (T2 vertebra, that is.) It will be several months before we know if it worked. Meantime, I am having the side effect of 'esophagilia', or something like that. Hard to swallow things so I'm living on liquids and things like yoghurt. I am uncomfortable. The radiation does damage to the esophagus, but it is only temporary. I am starting week two of feeling like this, so I'd like to know how 'temporary' it really is.

Enough of that. Michael turned 38 on October 11. James turned 34 yesterday and Katherine will be 36 on the 9th. I could not enjoy Jamie's cake, alas. He had scungilli and sauce for dinner. Katherine usually requests Western Hospitality Casserole. Michael is doing me a favor and cooking her birthday dinner this year. God, please, let me be able to eat like a normal person by then!

I treated myself to a crafting 'toy.' It's called a Cricut Joy and you can make all sorts of things with it. I have cut out some neat things for the wedding album I'm making for Michael and Megan. Also learning how to make pantry labels. It really is a cute thing and lots of fun. A nice diversion from all the cancer crap.

I've also taken out my Christmas crafts. I hope to finish off some things I did not get to do last year. I have a set of "12 Days of Christmas" cross stitch magnets I started 2 years ago! Nobody is going out much these days, since the pandemic is still around, so I should be able to get a few things done, at least.

We vote for president tomorrow. It scares me to think I will have to wait on some long line, because my meds mean I am more likely to 'catch' something. Also, not being able to eat makes me feel weak.

But I will definitely go with Mike to vote. I pray to God that Trump wins again. People are actually boarding up store windows because they anticipate rioting. God help our country.

Looking Up

 In case I didn't already blog this, I got some good news. I had a sonogram of my breast and the tumor has gone down 30%! The meds are working. We will keep monitoring this to see if I need surgery by the end of the year. Hopefully, not!

Not only did the breast tumor go down but he couldn't even find the one in the lymph node.

As far as the one on my vertebrae, they will be zapping me with radiation to take care of that. I went for another MRI today. It will be more concise than the previous one. Tomorrow I get to do another CT Scan. The radiologist will put the two tests together so she can have a precise area to shoot the radiation.

I am told I will only have to go a few times, and that there are no side effects (except I might get tired). 

It would be nice if I can have all this done by the end of the year. The oncologist told me if I had to have cancer, this was the best kind to get. Very curable.