Friends and Official Health Updates

I am somewhat behind on all the things that have been going on in my life, but I am slowing catching up! I want to first go over some most recent news…stuff that is only minutes old. I always text my family members first, then wait a bit before putting information on here, but the text has been sent, so I am golden!

Rich and I met with my sarcoma specialist from the Mayo Clinic via zoom about 30 minutes ago. He went over the results of the CT scans of my abdomen, pelvis, and chest that was done back on Sept 9th here in Omaha. His radiologists agree that everything is stable…maybe even a bit smaller. He was happy that I had my COVID booster and my flu shot. We agreed to give my immune system a break and put the idea of a shingles vaccine on the back burner for awhile. It always jolts me a bit when he talks about me having advanced cancer because I am able to be so active right now. I know that will not always be the case, and I no longer wake up every morning thinking this was all a bad dream…but for now I am feeling pretty good. I told him about my magic supplement, MSM, that is allowing me to have some joy back in my life. It really has cut down the pain in my joints tremendously. So much so that I started the Live Strong program at the YMCA. I have also taken a POUND class where you do aerobics with drum sticks…quite fun but I was sore for…well, I am still sore! I am trying a Zumba class tonight which may or may not be embarrassing. I feel like I have rhythm and am pretty coordinated, but I bet everyone thinks the same thing! We shall see… The Mayo doctor is excited that I have good quality of life and we’ll rescan and evaluate in December. So this is all good news.

Friends…I read a Bible verse recently that really stuck with me. Proverbs 18:24 says, “There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” So many “friends” of mine dropped out of my life when I was diagnosed with cancer. Some of them were not surprising but others lack of interest in my well-being was really hurtful…and some of them so deeply that it is still hurting me today, nearly 2 years later. However, there have been some really wonderful surprises as well. People who I never thought would step up and walk by my side have done so. One friend, who has been in my life for 24 years, through thick and thin, and Minnesota blizzards….and raising 6 kids between us with husbands with jobs that took them away quite often…is my friend Judi. She lives in Minnesota and we don’t get to see each other often enough….but goodness, the months and years just melt away whenever we are able to talk. She and her husband were visiting a city 2.5 hours away from Omaha and made the time to drive to see Rich and me for a couple of hours before heading back. It was so great to see her…as you can see, we are both grinning like idiots. I laugh as I think about a song I used to sing in the Girl Scouts a million years ago when I was a brownie…..’make new friends, but keep the old….one is silver and the other’s gold.’ She’s my golden oldie, and I mean that in the nicest way!

Tallinn has a friend as well. Our mailman, Tony, is the nicest guy. He stops whenever we are out and about and gives Tallinn (and all the other dogs in the neighborhood) a treat. Tallinn knows the word “mailman” and knows a mail truck on sight. I have avoided every taking him behind our store on the weekends because we have the 2nd largest post office in Omaha that shares a wall with us. There are DOZENS of mail trucks parked back there on the weekends. Poor Tallinn would probably stroke out if he saw them all. It is bad enough when we are walking in another neighborhood and I have to tell him “That’s not your mailman.”, when he sees one driving around. It is like having a five year old and an ice cream truck comes around the neighborhood giving out free ice cream everyday. Tony will even leave a dog treat on top of the package he leaves on our front doorstep. I have given him boxes of dog treats in the past, and as I type this, I think it is time to help refresh Tony’s stores again. Anyhow, he’s the best.