Monday Morning Question:
What about you irritates people?
My directness is appreciated by a lot of people, but to some people it is irritating!
How about you?
Monday, October 31, 2005
This Week's Hunt
This Week's Photo Scavenger Hunt (#48) will be due on Sunday,
November 6, at 11 PM EST.
When you have completed your entry, please leave a link to it in the comments section below.
Category: Photo of your choice
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Mocktails
I awoke this morning with tears streaming down my face. WHEN is this pain going to end, and how did I possibly stand it before I got the pain meds and and muscle relaxants a few days ago? I can't even fathom. Oh well, the pain has to end eventually. So I swallowed some pills and got on here. I am not one to stay in bed too long, lol...
So today is Sunday. Sunday is my favorite day of the week. The day I go to church and worship the Lord. The day that I take all day to concentrate on Him. Not that I don't do that other days, that is silly. But I have more time on Sundays to set aside to do Bible reading and such.
So tomorrow John and I have a "fun night" planned. It was ordered for us to have by one of his "chemo angels". She sent us a DVD to watch, and some classical music to listen to. She also sent us some candy. John's other chemo angel sent us a Wallace and Gromit movie. I love Wallace and Gromit! This one is called "The Wrong Trousers"! So we will have movie night.
I was also thinking about making some "mocktails". I have a few recipes that I found online:
Non Alcoholic Pina Coladas
1 (8 oz) can crushed pinapple (or use fresh)
2 1/2 cups vanilla ice milk or ice cream
1 teaspoon rum extract
coconut milk to taste (or you can use coconut extract)
1 tablespoon sugar
Directions: Place all ingredients in blencer. Add ice. Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
Virgin Mary
6 oz. of tomato or V8 juice
1/2 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 drops Tobasco Sauce
salt and pepper to taste
celery stalk
Directions: Shake with ice and strain into chilled glass. Add celery for garnish.
So that's about it for what we have planned. And by the way, does anybody have any suggestions for good movies to watch? We are thinking of maybe taking in another one this week. You can rent them very cheaply here. What are you all's favorites?
Krissy :)
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Vivi Voting
If you haven't voted yet, you can cast your vote for the Vivis through 11:59 pm Sunday, Oct.30.
http://viviawards.bravehost.com/votenow.html
If you would like to vote for SometimesIThink, it has been nominated in the category of Most Inspirational Journal. ;)
You are not required to vote in every category, if you'd like to vote for me.
Check back at a later date for either my acceptance or concession speech, lol.
Love you all, Krissy :)
Friday, October 28, 2005
Chelsea surprised us!
Chelsea - My sister Val's daughter
********************************
So here I am after a few days, writing an entry. It has been a few because I have been in such tremendous pain. I have been in bed a lot. Yes, I cheated and got on the net some (I can't stay in bed all the time!), but I have been on some bed rest too. The muscle relaxants and my looopy pills have cut down the pain about half. And I start physical therapy on Tuesday. That should be fun. How am I going to find the time to go to therapy three times a week?
Let's see, what else is new? John's oncologist's nurse called. She said John's oncologist was going to send his bone marrow biopsy slide results to the Mayo Clinic so they can look at them. They are going to look at the cyogenetics. Whatever that means. Wow, the Mayo Clinic.
Meanwhile, in my household, there are three birthdays this week! Happy birthday to my sister Therese, my brother Carl, and my sister Valerie. May this coming year be everything you want it to be plus more.
Yesterday was my sister Valerie's birthday. Last night Chelsea showed up. Chelsea is Valerie's 19 year old daughter. She just walked in and surprised her Mom! Valerie was so excited that she cried and laughed, she said. Chelsea will be here for a week, so I plan on seeing her. My sister Therese is here too, so I want to spend some time with her also. It will be so nice doing some family things. Hopefully John will wake up and be able to join us for some activities this week. He is asleep right now and it is 6 PM...
Well, I need to get off of here and do some things. Hope everybody is doing well. Love you all lots, Krissy :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
I didn't block you, my dears!
If you are a reader of my private journal "John's Journey With MDS", and are unable to get into the journal, please put a comment in the comment section below and let me know, or email me. I just went to the MDS journal and noticed that about 50 of my readers have been removed from the list. I am horrified as I don't remember the names of all my readers, so I don't know who to invite again.
Please know that I would never block any of you. I am really beside myself right now.
Yes, I should be in bed with my back and all, but I slept all day, and just came on the computer to check something out. And I am glad I did, because I received an email tonight from a journaler saying that they couldn't get into the MDS journal. When I went and checked and noticed half of my readers had been dropped, my heart sunk . I have heard other creators of private journals say their readers have also been wiped out, so this must be a common occurence. So I am off to fire a letter to Joe journalseditor and let him know what has happened.
Like I said, if you want to be added back, and you can't get in, leave a comment in the comments section, or leave me an email.
Love you lots, Krissy :)
PS I just checked my other private journal - "Krissy Is Thin Within". That is missing over half it's readers. If you want added back to that one, let me know. Please specify which journal you would like to be added back to. Thanks. Krissy :(
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Get up on the bed!
Today started out beautifully. When I awoke, I noticed large white snowflakes falling to the ground. Wow, the first snowfall of the year, I mused. I wanted to run and get my camera and take some shots. But then I became aware of the gripping spasms in my back and knew I wasn't going to take any photos at all. Actually the spasms have been hurting me severely for three days, and I had called the doctor on call in the middle of the night last night and he told me to call my primary doctor first thing this morning. So I called this morning and his office said they would call me back today.
When nobody had called me today, I called back at 4:30 and asked why nobody had called. After talking over my symptoms with me, (and me crying into the phone because of the pain), the doctor's office told me to go to the ER.
At the hospital the triage nurse asked me some questions,
and then took me back to a room and told me to get up on a bed. My back was burning and spasming. Whenever I had a spasm my back would grip up and then I would be wracked with pain. Anyway, she quickly told me to get up on the bed and then she left. John sat down in a chair. I stared at the bed. It was high. My body had waves of pain going through it. I couldn't maneuver myself up onto the bed and turn around. I was thinking, "Don't you get it Lady, I am in pain!" I told John I couldn't make it onto the bed, that the bed was too high. He told me he would go get somebody to help out. He came back with a nurse. She looked and said, "We can't make it any lower, that is as low as it will go," and then she walked away. I started thinking, "Don't you get it Lady? I am in pain, my back is spasming. This is ludicrous. I can't climb up there. You won't help me. I can't stand here with my back spasming? Can you say PAIN??? Can you not at least help me to a chair or the floor while my back spasms???" Then I couldn't stand the pain any longer and I just burst into sobs. I mean I really sobbed. So much for bravery. Maybe it was because I didn't know how long I would have to stand there and I couldn't go out there and ask them again to get me into the bed. I was in too much pain to even walk out there and ask for help.
This time another woman heard my sobs and came running. She had a stool. "Let me help you get in bed," she said. She put the stool down and helped me climb in. I knew there was a solution to that "We can't lower the bed" problem! She asked me if I could get in with the stool. I told her I could if I went very slowly, and I did.
Shortly the Physician's Assistant came in. He did some tests on me. He wrote me a script for some muscle relaxants, and some loopy-loop medication. He also prescribed bed rest for four or five days (no, I am not supposed to be on here, lol), heat, and massage. If I am not better if five days I am supposed to go to my Primary Care Physician. Now, how am I supposed to stay in bed when I have so much to do?
So anyway, if I get on here and my entries are loopy-loop, or I leave loopy comments in your journals, you will know why, lol. Just thought I would warn ya.
Well, that's about it. Hope everyone is having a good day. ;)
Monday, October 24, 2005
Two donors!
Wow I'm ecstatic today. I can't contain it. After months of wondering if John would find a donor for his bone marrow transplant, I found out he has two donors. Two. That's right, two! I called his Transplant Specialist's nurse today. She told me the news. She said both donors were a "perfect match"! A perfect match means ten identifiers match. Ruth (the nurse) said that if there is more time before John's transplant is to take place, she will have time to
examine other things within each donor's makeup, including their blood type, thereby determining the very best donor for John! She also said that one of the donors could be used as a back up for him!
I remember an entry I did when I first found out John needed a donor. I was a little discouraged back then. It was predicted that there was an 80% chance that he would get a donor. I thought, wow, I just know it, he will be in the 20% that will never get one, and he will just die. Because he has had such bad luck. I wasn't thinking positive at all.
Well today I feel real good. There is always a reason to think positive! As a matter of fact, I feel this is downright miraculous that John got a donor this quickly. I have gone on message boards and I have never found anyone who has found two donors in this amount of time. Actually, I have never met anyone who has found one donor in this amount of time! I really believe God is behind this. Not that God isn't helping somebody who didn't find a donor right away. I just feel like John is supposed to have a donor. And I am glad he has two. What a relief! I told John today that this is of course better than winning the lottery. It is a chance to save his life. And I believe he will live.
Thank you all who have been praying. And who have been staying with me and listening through all these twists and turns. You are the best! Love you lots, Krissy :)
Monday Morning Question
Monday Morning Question:
Given the chance, what would you tell somebody going through high school right now to help him in his life?
My answer: That being popular is not important. That having the popular kids like you is not important. That some day it all won't matter if the popular kids thought you were important or not, because they may not be the popular ones in life at all, and that you will soon find lots of friends after high school.
Why am I picking this answer? Well, I wasn't in the popular crowd, I was the one picked on by them some of the time. Hey, kids can be cruel. But times change. And that is something I would never have believed. Things changed very quickly after high school ended, and this is what I would want to pass on. I would tell the unpopular kid to just hang in there.
What is your answer? What would you tell somebody going through high school?
This Week's Hunt
This Week's Photo Scavenger Hunt (#47) will be due on Sunday, October 30, at 11 PM EST.
When you have completed your entry, please leave a link to it in the comments section below.
Category: Cute
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Volunteer Job
I wanted to say congratulations to all who have been nominated for a Vivi Award. I am very surprised that I was nominated for Most Inspirational Journal. That is all I will say about that. Except thank you all who voted for me. It is such a great honor. Thank you, thank you.
A few weeks back I mentioned that I was in a Cancer Survivor's group. It is for Cancer Survivors and their spouses. Well, I just wanted to mention that they created a really cool volunteer job for me!
What the volunteer work entails is going into the oncology unit at the oncology department near my home and doing crafts with the patients while they get their chemo.
First let me say this is a really nice oncology unit. It is a very nice atmosphere there. Yes, it is HORENDOUS going through chemo (when John had Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma I went with him every time he had a treatment), but this oncology department tries to make it as comfortable as possible. There are wonderful chairs for the patients to sit in while getting chemo, and tables in front of the chairs. The patients can do things while sitting there and waiting for the chemo to be done (John's chemo used to take three or four hours to complete). They can even eat if they are not too nauseous. I used to bring lunch and drinks in for John because he was able to eat! Also, each person has his own TV to watch at his chair.
At any rate, The Cancer Survivor's organization got the idea that we could go in there and do crafts with whomever wants to while they are receiving chemo. We have several projects in mind.
We have two purposes to have somebody go in and do projects with those getting chemo. The first is to have the patients have something fun to do to keep their mind off the chemo. (Not that they can really keep their mind off of the chemo, but we hope to keep them a little distracted.) The second is to tell them about our Survivors group, in case they want to come, or get any services from us. We want to provide any services to them that they want.
Well, I am excited about this, and amazed that they picked me out of everybody to do this. If I don't do it alone, then I will be the director of everyone who does it.
One thing that will be hard is that I will have to work around the times that John needs his medicine and care. I will either tell them I will have to go early morning before I have to wake him for his first dose of medications, or after 12 noon when he takes his second dose and goes back to bed. And before he needs to each lunch and get hydrated. The timing will be tricky, but John is my first priority. Maybe I will only do it once or twice a week, for a couple of hours. I will tell them WHEN I can do it.
Another thing depends upon when John will have his
bone marrow transplant. If it is soon, the whole thing is going to have to wait a year until after he has it. Because he will require a year of care at home. We shall see. I will make it work out.
Well, that's about it for now. Hope you all are doing well. Love you all, Krissy :)
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Bone Marrow Biopsy
Well, we survived. Awhile ago John and I got back from Hershey Medical Center where John had a check up with his oncologist. The check up turned into a bone marrow biopsy. This is a painful procedure in which the oncologist removes some bone marrow from the patient. This time they gave John two atavan, morphine, and a bunch of local anesthetics. He has had bone marrow biopsies done four times before at a different hospital. The Hershey staff was surprised to learn that the other hospital did not use atavan or morphine. This time, due to the medication and the Hershey doctor's greater experience, the procedure hurt John a lot less.
John's oncologist (transplant specialist) asked him to call in one week to get the results of the bone marrow biopsy. The biopsy should indicate the progression of his bone marrow cancer, and help to determine when the transplant needs to be done. Barring an emergency, John doesn't have to come back for six weeks (Dec. 1).
Now that the appointment is finally over, John is feeling relieved. He says the anticipation was worse than the
procedure itself. And feeling good on the morphine is not hurting him either right now, lol.
I will give a further update when we have the results from the bone marrow biopsy.
Take care you all, Krissy :)
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Monday Morning Question
Monday Morning Question:
What are two things that you bring to a friendship?
Me: loyalty and encouragement
What is your answer?
This Week's Hunt
This Week's Photo Scavenger Hunt (#46) will be due on Sunday, October 23, at 11 PM EST.
When you have completed your entry, please leave a link to it in the comments section below.
Category: Color of your choice
Entries for Scavenger Hunt #45
Category: A few small items I find necessary
firestormkids04 did Autumn
robinngabster did My Favorite Bracelet
valphish did My Favorite Bracelet
Thank you all for participating. It was neat to see the items you came up with! Love, Krissy :)
Monday, October 17, 2005
My entries are being gobbled up!
Yikes. I just posted all of the entries for the Scavenger Hunt and the computer ate them. Seems like the computer is eating all my entries tonight. I am getting some kind of error message that I have never seen before. So because I no longer want to waste my time, I am not going to post tonight. That means no Monday Morning Question either. Hopefully things with be better tomorrow (Monday).
Grrrrrr, I hate when my entries get eaten, it wastes my time. And I hate when you all do so much work and I can't post your Scavenger Hunt entries. Sorry. I will get them up as soon as I can, Love, Krissy :)
Scavenger Hunt #45 - A few items I find necessary
My first necessary item is my cat brush. I have to brush Michael every day because he is long haired. I used to not know that I was supposed to. He became matted and I took him to get groomed but no groomers in town would touch him. I ended up having to get the poor cat put under anesthesia and he had to be brushed out while asleep. After that I have brushed him daily without fail.
My second necessary item is my inhaler. I carry it on my person at all times.
And finally there is salt. What can I say? My family has joked that they will get me a salt lick for Christmas. My diabetic doctor doesn't think it is funny...
Monday, October 10, 2005
Monday Morning Question
Monday Morning Question:
What are three things that you like about Fall?
My answer: Gathering with family at Thanksgiving, God's display of beauty in nature, and sitting around at home under throw blankets.
What's your answer?
This Week's Hunt
This Week's Photo Scavenger Hunt (#45) will be due on Sunday, October 16, at 11 PM EST.
When you have completed your entry, please leave a link to it in the comments section below.
Category: Take a photo of a few small items you find necessary
Entries for Scavenger Hunt #44
Category: Anything Autumn
See mine in my entry below. Thanks everybody for playing!
Scavenger Hunt #44 - My Autumn Photo
It was hard for me to find a Fall photo. The leaves haven't changed too much yet. And then today my husband left the house wearing a jacket for the first time this year. I realized that would be my photo! Here is his handsome self in his new Fall jacket!
Happy Autumn!
Saturday, October 8, 2005
Update on John
It's been awhile since I gave an update on my husband John. For you new readers, he has bone marrow cancer and will have to get a bone marrow transplant. Well, the news is that he may have to get the transplant this winter. We were just told this about a week ago. It came as a surprise. We will find out more when we go to his Transplant Specialist on October 20th. Wow, I just realized, that is less than two weeks away.
How do I feel about the transplant being done so soon? I have mixed feelings. On one sense, the sooner it occurs, the sooner it is over with. On the other hand, it is a very frightening procedure for him to have. He will have to stay 30 to 100 days in the hospital, receive some outpatient care, and then recuperate at home for a year. However, with the Lord's help, John and I will be able to handle it.
Well, that's about it. We will let you know more when we know more.
Monday, October 3, 2005
Monday Morning Question
Monday Morning Question:
If we were to look in your frig, what is something we would always find in there?
My answer: unsweetened iced tea
What is your answer?
This Week's Hunt
This Week's Photo Scavenger Hunt (#44) will be due on Sunday, October 9, at 11 PM EST.
When you have completed your entry, please leave a link to it in the comments section below.
Category: Anything Autumn
Scavenger Hunt #43 - My Favorite Bracelet
Here is my favorite bracelet. Somebody I met online made it for me and sent it as a present. No special occasion! Patti you are the best!
Next is John's favorite bracelet. He wears it all the time. It is a Cancer Awareness Bracelet. It says HOPE on it. It means hope for a cure for cancer.
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