Tears of Gratitude....A Little Humor.....And One Down - Four To Go...And 1800...

My Wonderful OH Family

I am humbled and so grateful for your response to Alison's post.  I had no idea she was going to do this.  She is a child of my heart and I cannot begin to tell you how amazing she is.  Her thoughtfulness, kindness, and generous spirit comes through like a sun beaming it's Good Morning to us each day.  That her powerfully loving nature was reflected in your responses to her post just proves to me once again that "family" isn't about blood all the time......it's about good souls meeting and supporting each other through the good and bad times.  I don't know how to say thank you well enough to express what I feel, so please accept my THANKS given to you all from a warm and happy heart.

I just got home from my first chemo treatment.  I was so lucky that I had no reaction to any of the meds the way so many people do.  If I hadn't brought my Kindle and netbook, I'd have been bored half stupid!  They tell me that Thursday and Friday can get a little dicey and I may have some nausea problems and be extra tired.  We'll see.  I have 4 more to go, so no Medi-Port, but I'm happy about that.  The 2 radiation treatments I've had were easy to deal with -- those are daily, M-F.  You just recline on this hard table in the "form" they make for each patient so your arms and head and in the exact same position each time and then they line up the "tattoos" and you then get ZAPPED!!! 

The humor came this morning when they took the first digital pix of where I'm being zapped.  Since I'm OLD and the girls are OLD and SAGGY -- one tends to go East and the other goes West.  They can't see my side tattoos because of that, so they had to tape the girls up under my armpits to get the proper pictures!  I just had to laugh!  All I could think of as this was going on was that I knew I'd post that and would be bombarded with "No Pix, Didn't Happen!"  LOL LOL LOL  I told the radiation tech who took the pix and she said to tell anyone who was interested in seeing the pix to go to www.tapedupboobs.com!!!   You just have to luv people with a great sense of humor!!!

All in all, up to this point, I think this whole thing is pretty good.........I feel fantastic, have no typical cancer symptoms yet -- other than being tired more than usual.  I also met with the Oncology Nutritionist this morning.  She told me she wanted me to eat at least 1800 calories a day!  I said "Are you out of your freakin' mind?"  The words fell out before I thought.......I shouldn't have been so forceful, but that was a HUGE shock!  We negotiated down to 1000 calories a day.  I can lose up to 9% of my body weight and still avoid the feeding tube, but if I get to 10%, negotiations stop and they'll put the tube in.  NOT HAPPENING!  I'll east a mini bucket of ice cream every night first!   Those are the little Dixie Cup size servings.  Many of you are way to young to know what I mean - about 1/2 cup of ice cream in them, I think.

That's the update now that I've had both kinds of treatments.  As time goes on, I'll update again.  For now, I must repeat myself.........Alison is a miracle in my life and I hope in yours as well.  And all of you who are giving so generously of your time and kind words, prayers, good wishes and e-mails...........I hope you are all blessed in your lives they way I have been blessed.  I've said it before and I mean it..........I feel like one of the luckiest people who has ever walked on this wonderful Big Blue Marble we call Earth!

Much love,

Ree xoxox

 

You are class and grace in one of the most soulful bodies that I've ever encountered. You are a treasure, Ms Ree and I'm richer for having you in my life and on my journey.

Sandra, you are simply lovely.  Your kind words touch my heart.  I'm just an ordinary person who has been lucky in so many ways that living in gratitude is easy for me.  Sure, there are some crappy things about my life, but who doesn't have it.  We live in the now and try to forget/forgive what others have done to hurt us.  You know all about that from what you've been through.  So, we try to make our world as pleasant as we can for all those we can touch.

You are one of my finest blessings.  I knew it from the get-go when I saw your dedication.  You've proven me right given your wonderful successes so far.  And I know you'll continue to knock our socks off!  Be proud, Honey!

Ree xoxox

You are in my thoughts and prayers! Praying for a speedy and complete recovery!!

Thank you for your continued support with thoughts and prayers. I believe they help very much.. Ree

Well in making the photos of you this morning, you got a discount boob lift! 

Glad you are feeling ok other than the fatigue.  Sending you good healing thoughts.

And I remember those mini buckets...were they the ones that had the cardboard top? 

LOL Yep, that was a great boob lift -- sadly, they "filled out" on my sides, not where they belong! Hahahaha! Thanks for your good thoughts -- I know they help. Yes, the little buckets had cardboard tops and little wooden spoons attached. They need to bring them back! Ree :-)

I just love you, Ree.  That is all I can say, it covers it all.

Diana!!! Thank you for your sweet words! And look at you!!! Almost at goal. What a great job you've done! Be proud of yourself! Ree

Blessings to you, Ree! Praying the angels continue to watch over you