It's Race for the Cure time!

It's been a pretty uneventful (thankfully!) summer. There has been lots of family outings and events. This coming weekend is Emily Lamb's wedding. We have all been looking forward to this wedding.

Pauline had a rough late spring with the passing of her sister, Marilyn and then a month later, her dear friend, Betty. She is doing well, feeling better and now ready to conquer the 5K race that is Race for the Cure. This year's race is Saturday, September 10th in downtown Cleveland. We had a great group last year and we are half way there to have the same group this year. Pauline is gearing up for the walk and this time vows to make it the entire way. Last year she was close to it since they didn't have the trolley to take her back from Terminal Tower.

As I've mentioned before, my good friend, Barra Terrigno is also a breast cancer survivor. She gave me and Mom plenty of hints in the days before surgery and chemo. I walked with Barra and her team, Barra's Backers, when she was diagnoised in 2008. I missed the 2009 walk as I was out of town, but I was with the walkers in spirit. Last year I started Pauline's Posse to celebrate Pauline. Barra and I decided to put together a video celebrating the Race for the Cure and our participation in it for our company's blog. The video is a slideshow of pictures from the past few years of Race for the Cure. I dare you not to get emotional. I get emotional every time I see it! View the video here

There are two purposes for the video-sharing the story of Barra and Pauline, but also to encourage people to donate. So, please don't hesitate to donate or join Pauline's Posse today at: http://neohio.info-komen.org/site/TR?team_id=172149&fr_id=2180&pg=team

A Small Tribute

Aunt Marilyn passed away on Wednesday, April 27th early in the afternoon. Her battle with congestive heart failure was over and she was at peace. I was able to spend 3 hours with her and other family members the night before she passed away. Those moments will always be embedded in my mind, especially when she opened her eyes really wide when my cousin told her that I had just walked in. It was special just to hold her hand or help her eat ice cream (her favorite)that evening. This coming Saturday will be a celebration of her life. She planned most of the church service and picked out hymns, etc. It will be a funeral fitting her personality. Her obituary appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer today.

Mom has her up and down moments, but I know that the services will be hard on her as well as the rest of the family. Family was very, very important to Aunt Marilyn. She was our matriarch and she will be missed.

A Long Goodbye

It's been a busy few months of birthday parties and family gatherings. I'll post pictures in the next few days of Brynn's 2nd birthday and our family Easter gathering this past week. It is so wonderful to have small children around for the energy and the joy of life.

It was great to see the family for Easter dinner at Sue and Jeff's house. However, there was a sadness that lingered over the celebration. My Aunt Marilyn had a relapse in her battle against congestive heart failure 2 weeks ago. She went to hospital for immediate treatment of fluid retention. However, this time she has not bounced back. She was moved under hospice care to a nursing facility near her home a week ago. This week, she took a turn for the worse. I hate to type this, but it is now just a matter of time. I want her to be at peace and leave in a dignified manner, which is very much her personality. She has battled and been so strong for so long. Now, it is time for the rest of us to be strong for her.

This is Mom's only surviving sister. Aunt Marilyn was the 2nd oldest of 5 in my mom's family. My Aunt Norma Gene passed away in 2003 and Aunt Annie passed away in 1996. Obviously, both were hard on everyone. Mom has been the stabling factor through it all, making daily visits to the hospital or nursing home or where ever she is needed. I'm afraid this time, Mom won't be as strong. I told her that she doesn't need to be. There are others that will be strong for her.

Now, it is just the waiting for "the call". I will be going to the nursing home directly after work, with the hope that I can say goodbye.

It's been awhile.......

Yes, I know, it's been quite awhile since I wrote on this blog. January for me was a blur of hospital stays, doctor visits and recovery. But, I'll leave that for another blog post. I would like to say a big thanks for everyone for their well wishes during those crazy days. I can say that after tests and follow-up procedures, I am fully on the road to recovery!

It is hard to believe, that it's been over a year since Pauline had her first chemotherapy treatment. As, I write this, she would have been through that scary first treatment and on to her second treatment. What a trooper!! Mom just had another 6 month follow-up visit with her oncologist. Her blood tests look fine and he said that she is doing well. She'll go back again in 6 months for her next follow-up. Mom has gotten very involved in her support group and taking classes at The Gathering Place. She is helping neighbors who were extremely supportive to her during her treatment when they are having health issues. I think all of this volunteering and speaking out has really helped in her recovery.

Sue and I sent Mom and Dad on a trip to Florida for Christmas. They have friends and family that live in Ocala, north of Orlando. They spent 5 days with them and then spent two days at Disney World. Dad really wanted to go to The Animal Kingdom.. After working through the anxieties of going through airport security and traveling on their own, which they haven't done in over a decade, they enjoyed their trip. Mom was even pulled aside for additional check for security in Cleveland because of her prosthetic. Once she told them that she was a breast cancer survivor, they let her go. Thankfully, she didn't have the same issue going through Orlando security. These are all big steps for Mom after the last few years. I'm so glad that I can help to make that happen.

Turning the Tables

Happy New Year!! It was a busy holiday season for my family filled with lots of family gatherings and watching the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a 4 year old and a 21 month old. Mom is a one year breast cancer survivor. That is the most important thing!

For me, it hasn't started out so well or 2010 didn't end so well. It's been an injury and illness plagued end of the year for me. I twisted my ankle on Christmas Eve when I slid down stairs carrying Christmas presents. That, is thankfully recovering. Then, I was hit with what I thought could have been stomach flu while visiting friends in Columbus on New Year's Eve. I had lunch and soon after started getting a severe pain in my lower chest/upper stomach. I thought that it would go away, but it didn't. I didn't eat any of the lovely spread of food that my friend prepared, but I was able to ring in the new year. I felt better the next day and was able to eat regular food again. The pain came back Saturday night, but not as severe. However, the pain kicked in Sunday night, while I was at my parent's house. I made a promise to the parents and sister that if the pain continues, I would go to the doctor. Strangely, the pain subsided on the way home from my parent's house. I took the day off of work to recover and was feeling better by Tuesday.

Tuesday night, I had another severe attack while at my part time job. I left there and drove myself to Fairview Hospital, not knowing what the pain was. I was admitted right away, as anyone over 30 with chest pain and sweating profusely will be let into the Emergency Room right away. I was hooked up to heart and blood pressure monitors and given an EKG. My blood pressure was sky high for me, which obviously was a concern. The PA came in to see me to ask a few more questions and let me know that he didn't think that it was a heart issue, but something to do with my gallbladder. They were doing more tests to find out. The nurse gave me morphine and an IV of fluids. I had never had morphine before. What a weird feeling! I was given a chest X-ray and then taken for an ultrasound. The ultrasound technician kept having to press on my ribs and chest bone to get an accurate reading. Boy, did that hurt, even with the morphine! My ribs still hurt from that (and that was 5 days ago!) The attending doctor came in about an hour later. He told me that the blood tests were fine. The ultrasound was good, except that I had gallstones. He said that my gallbladder wasn't infected, so I wouldn't have to be admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery. However, I needed to consult with a surgeon right away and get the gallbladder removed. He also said that I had to be on a bland diet, so I wouldn't get another attack. A few minutes later, the PA walked in and said that the doctor forgot to say that my potassium is low and I will need to be on a supplement for a week. Swell. Now what? I was released with a list of prescriptions for pain (if needed) and nausea(if needed)and the potassium supplement. I was also told if the pain came back or I felt feverish and looked jaundice to return immediately to the hospital. My dad drove my car home while Mom drove me to their place for the night. I stayed there, but of course, my mind wouldn't settle, even though I was exhausted. Everything kept going through my mind. I think that I finally fell asleep at 9am for a few hours. I made the appointment with the surgeon for this coming week. We'll see what happens from there. I've talked to many people in the past few days that have had something similar. They tell me that it will be fine and the surgery and recovery is very simple. And that I will feel so much better when this is over.

So, now the tables are turned. Mom gets to take care of me as I took care of her last year. Who would have thought....

In the Clear!!!

Mom had her yearly mammogram this morning. She just called me with the results. She had a good test and they didn't see anything abnormal!! I was holding my breath all morning waiting to hear this news. Getting through this test is a huge next step in the healing process. It was exactly a year ago that we didn't get the good news. WOW, a year! We've gone through and survived so much!

Mom was also asked to be in a focus group for cancer patients at the Moll Center in January. This is perfect for her. If information about what she went through can help another person who is just starting the battle, then this is one of the most important things that she can take part in.

Go Pauline!!!

Happy Birthday Pauline!!!

Today is Pauline's 70th birthday! What a year it has been! It is one that I do not want to repeat! Here's hoping her 70th year is so much better than her 69th year!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday DEAR PAULINE!!!!
Happy Birthday to you!!