Monthly Archives: August 2013

Writing Through Cancer | For the Week of August 4, 2013: Can It Get Any Worse? Part 2

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Part 2

My strength comes from the Lord, my family, and my handsome husband Barry. I draw a bit of strength from each of these people. Together, day by day, problem after problem, we grow stronger as a group. The easiest way to deal with issues is one at a time, one day at a time.”Hope springs eternal”, from Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. That quote says it all. Keep hope alive.

Barry and I are adapting well to dealing with our illnesses. We had to get re-acquainted with each, but everything has worked out. He had to retire.  The stroke left him unable to handle working full-time. Barry  made adjustments around to house to aid me in normal daily function. He helped Libor and Jonny build a porch and ramp off the front of dad’s home. Worked beautifully.

There is no course reversal for my illness. There is only management and learning to cope. You keep up with your yearly appointments, take your medications as prescribed, eat healthy, and exercise. Cowden’s Syndrome is a rare disorder about a mutated gene in my DNA. To learn more, follow the link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowden_syndrome is related toLDD: which is just a symptom of Cowden Syndrome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhermitte%E2%80%93Duclos_disease

No one looks forward to losing a loved one. I for one, can definitely say, I am not ready to lose my dad, Barry lost his father at a younger age, so he is helping me deal with the emotions, while I take care of my health. My sister’s are in the boat with me. We’d like to keep mom and dad around forever. But that is not in God‘s Plan. Only he knows when it is our time to be with him. So, One day at a time. Slow as we go, enjoy every minute we have.

 

The daily prompts I write from each week come from the following blog by Sharon Bray:

http://writingthroughcancer.com/

Follow the link to her blog. She is incredible! Thank you, Sharon…..Jill Baynes

Writing Through Cancer | For the Week of August 4, 2013: Can It Get Any Worse?

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Can it get any worse?  Maybe so, but then again, maybe not.  Hope keeps us moving ahead, one step at a time.  Think of a times you were dealt bad news, your own or someone else’s?   How did you first react?  How did you get through a difficult period in your life?   What helped?  How did you find the strength—even hope—to cope and begin to heal?  How did you find a way to reverse the course and bit by bit,  make your life better?

When life decided I needed to make lemonade, someone had a truck load of lemons delivered and dumped them by garage door. I guess for easy access from the kitchen. God knows I have trouble walking, I guess he was just trying to help out.

Hope keeps you going, but the Lord above is raining that hope down on our situation. We need a good saturation of hope. Through our bible studies and attending church regularly, I think we are finally relaxing as issues occur and giving things to God.

Dealing with my diagnosis has becomes easier daily. I’m adapting the attitude. when

I am working on handing all my issues over to the Good Lord above. Currently Barry and I need all the help we can get. It seems like everyday day gets a little tougher.

If you follow our blog, you know our history, but what you do not know is that my mother lives with us. She has her separate living space, but has no boundaries. Mom is newly diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and the beginning stages of Lewy Body Dementia. If interested. to find out more about Lewy Body Dementia, follow the following link, http://www.lbda.org/

It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Leaving mom at a hospital to treat mental health issues. That’s my mommy! I’m supposed to take care of her. I cried the entire day we took her over to the hospital.

On top of managing chemotherapy for breast cancer, managing my mom’s care, making sure Barry is OK and assisting my sister when I can with my dad; Barry and I do what we can to help out at church. We are slowly working into volunteering more often, as my energy level rises. We are truly enjoying it.

My dad has been given an undetermined amount of time to live. He is suffering from  heart, kidney and liver failure. He has moved into my younger sister’s extra room and monitored by hospice. If anyone needs help with anything, please let me know. Barry and I will see what we can do.

When we first found out about dad, it was the day I found out I have breast cancer. I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. Dealing with the two is a t of emotion to handle at once.

Talking with my sister’s and my blog has helped me pull through this mess. We are taking one day at a time, one problem at a time. We are all hoping daddy will surprise us all, and turn things around. Hope keeps us going, but knowing his salvation will  bring peace to each of us.

On chemotherapy, I have not been able to aid my sisters as much as I would like to with dad.  The brunt of his care has fallen on Sandy and Kristie. They both know I would be right there with them if I could, dad knows to. My daddy knows I love him. Barry lost his father at a young age. He is my rock, my strength as usual.

I’ll finish this up tomorrow. I’m pooped. Sweet dreams. Mom has gained a little weight. We need to take her dress shopping tomorrow. Could be interesting.

The daily prompts I write from each week come from the following blog by Sharon Bray:

http://writingthroughcancer.com/

Follow the link to her blog. She is incredible! Thank you, Sharon…..Jill Baynes

 

Weekend Vocabulary | Footle

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footle\FOO-tul\
verb
 
1 :
to talk or act foolishly
 
2 :
to waste time : trifle, fool
 
“La Queue exclaimed that they were just being lazy and footling about.” — From Douglas Parmée’s 1984 translation of Émile Zola’s story “Coqueville on the Spree” (originally published in 1907)
 
“Well, we could not possibly intervene ourselves. We are far too busy footling about online, bemoaning how the country has gone to the dogs.” — From an article by Will Batchelor in the Liverpool Post (United Kingdom), March 14, 2013
 
“Footle” may be an alteration of “footer,” which an 1847 dictionary of archaic and provincial words says is a verb meaning “to idle.” That word is connected with “fouter” (also spelled “foutra”), a word describing something of little value or someone worthless or bungling. But the link between “footle” and “footer” is speculative. What we can say with confidence is that “footle” is a verb of 19th century origin that—along with the adjective “footling” (as in “a footling amateur”)—is still apt when discussing foolish or trifling people or things.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/

I’m feeling better, so Awards Night is here…..Drum roll please…….

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Well, it has been a while since these awards were bestowed upon me, but I have been a little busy! Life is slowing down, so I’d like to pass these awards along to those that deserve them! Please forgive me for taking such a long time!

Many thanks to Tanumoy Biswas! Your kindness, wit, friendship and support has meant a lot to me. I enjoy finding comments from your on my blog. Thank you for the nominating my blog for so many awards. It was very kind of you. If you would like to check out Tanumoy blog, follow the link below. You will not be disappointed.

http://thenomadicsoliloquist.wordpress.com/about/

So, each of these awards has a certain life value attached to them, something we must imbibe and invoke within us. And these gifts are a constant reminder that we must remain Versatile in our thoughts, light up the dark corners of our mind with Sunshine, Never forget to respect our Inner Peace, bring changes in other’s lives by being positively Influential, and make this pale blue planet of ours an Awesome place to live in. Cheers!

The ABC Award requires me to write a word or a phrase about myself for each of the English alphabets, so here it is:

A: Apple- I love apples. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I enjoy apples daily. For the old saying to actually work, I’m not sure how many I would need to eat in a day!

B: Barry- I cannot imagine my life without my sweet!

C: Cats- My mother’s cat is cute, but vicious! I do not like that cat!

D: Dogs- Man and woman’s best friend! Our sweet Maggie is part of the family!

E: Easter– The day the Lord rose from his grave.

F: Flowers-I love flowers!

G: Gardening- I enjoy gardening. It is such a joy to watch the plants you put in the ground, come to life. It can be very therapuetic.

H: Hawaii- One place in the USA I’d love to visit.

I: Income- one of the hardest things to live without today!

J: Jack- with my name being Jill, I honestly have never met a Jack I could get along with.

K: Krispy Kreme–A place that would be my second home if it would not make as big as the side of a barn!

L: Lantana-One of my favorite flowers

M: Maggie May– our favorite puppy dog

N: Naive- I have often been called naive, I have a tendency to believe anything you might say

O: Oreo-the perfect cookie

P: Poetry-I would love to learn to write poetry, but I haven’t got a clue where to start

Q: Queues-things given to elderly people to help them perform daily tasks

R: Ricochet- I just like how this word sounds.

S: State-There are so many states you can get yourself into. {State of panic, state of mind, state of confusion, state of Georgia, etc,,,,,

T:Tchaikovsky- composer

U: Umbrella-Now that I only have one hand to use, this is a totally useless instrument. But a cool word.

V: Vanilla-such a wonder spice

W: Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: {Gene Wilder version}-Thank goodness this is not real, but it is such a good old movie

X: Xena: Warrior Princess–stupid television show

Y: Yogi Bear–one of my favorite cartoon characters

Z: Zipline-riding a zipline is at the top of my bucket!

 MY NOMINATIONS:

(feel free to choose all, any or none of the awards)

http://goomfh.wordpress.com

http://likereadingontrains.wordpress.com

http://foodandwinehedonist.com

http://tylerpedersen02.wordpress.com

http://transcendingbordersblog.wordpress.com

http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com

http://mariejulietteleblog.wordpress.com

http://momentsinyourlife.wordpress.com

http://proverbsgirl.wordpress.com

http://healthisfromheaven.wordpress.com

http://dshenai.wordpress.com

http://kregianmiralpoems.wordpress.com

http://corbanwilkin.com

http://eugenejferguson.wordpress.com

http://renardmoreau.wordpress.com

http://doncharisma.wordpress.com

http://michellemarieantellg.wordpress.com

http://goodtimestories.wordpress.com

http://mcclendonvilla.wordpress.com

http://mjraik.wordpress.com

http://harshitmoon.wordpress.com

http://thoughtsfromanamericanwoman.wordpress.com

http://bearspawprint.wordpress.com

http://anaturemom.com

http://inlovewiththelord.wordpress.com

http://walterbright.org

http://secretangelps911.wordpress.com

http://rickmallery.wordpress.com

http://alluglyboysdo.wordpress.com

http://randomlyabstract.wordpress.com

I believe, more than the nominations, it’s the feeling of connectivity with a community of great bloggers that matters at the end of the day. So, there are no rules, no limitations. Congratulations to all! Spread joy, stay connected and keep smiling! One Peace, One Love, One World. Tanumoy, I liked what you said here, please do not be upset with me for using your words.

I chose newer blog visitors for my nominations! I have read each blog and enjoy them all. Have fun!  As the person nominating me did, I chose to only do the requirements for the ABC Award. You can chose to do them all or none!

Related Content:

• Awards, Nominations & LOTS of Self Talk!
• Lighten Up My Day
• Inner Peace Award
• 2 Awards Combined in 1
• “Moment of Inspiration”: Two Very Special Awards!
• Blog Awards Galore: A ‘Four’some Treat!
• Dessert Served Warm: “Super Sweet Blog Award”!
• Shine On Tanumoy with the… “Shine On Award”!

Daily Prompt| Origin Story

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I have always kept a journal. Summarizing the day always seemed to make me feel better and helped get any feelings out that I usually would let build inside myself until I got angry.

I gave the journals up with my first marriage. I missed the writing, but I was focused on being a new wife,  no time to write.

Barry and I started the blog after we both dealt with serious illnesses.  Barry suffered a Massive Right MCA Stroke in 2011 and I had brain surgery in 2009 to remove a brain tumor. The tumor was benign, but it left me with a few after effects. The tumor he was unable to remove, started pressing into my cranial nerves causing twitches, voice trouble and neck problems.

The tumor ended up being a side effect to a genetic disorder that can cause all sorts of health issues. Barry has been released from his neurologist care, but just needs to call if any issues pop up. My neurosurgeon has released for the next five years. As long as I have no issues, I only have to see his funny face every five years, I love it!

The blog was originally the idea of our Neurological Counselor. She felt that if we wrote our feelings down, we could manage any issues better. It has truly helped. Barry and I communicate better, we aren’t cranky with each other, and our relationship has improved. This helps us transition through issues as they come up.

We continue to blog today, because it is helping to retrain our brains and keep our writing skills as sharp as we can. We work on the daily prompts together. Keeps the brain sharp. We enjoy writing together. We pass ideas around until we come up with a good response to the daily prompt. I do the weekend post. Barry does two post a week and I do the other two days. Most of the time, we work on all the post together. It has become an important part of our day!

Just When I start to forget I have a Brain Tumor, it rears it’s ugly head and smacks me in the face

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Yesterday, I woke up not feeling right. As the day progressed, my head began to hurt worse.Through through the day, the pain only got worse. I took a round of my assorted medications attempting to gain some relief.

I gained a tiny reprieve from the pain in my head. By the time we headed home from church, the pain was back, full force. I just felt awful. By this time, nausea had creeped into the mix. Once home, Barry checked my blood pressure, loaded me up with more drugs and put me to bed.

The next morning, when I woke up, my eyes did not want to open. Mom had a house full of company coming by 10:30. Last I heard, it was to be her sisters only.

By the time everyone arrived, we had a total of nine guests and two toddlers. I loved seeing everyone of them and would not change the day for anything. I enjoyed the visit, with my brain tumor acting a fool and driving my head past pain. I tried to focus on the postive and visualize the pain away.

Hear we are again, close to bedtime. My head feels like it is about to blow a gasket and I refused supper. Didn’t think it was a good idea. I’m about to turn the lights down low and attempt closing my eyes. I have a lot to do tomorrow, so I hope I wake up feeling like myself.

Too much going on in my life to get sick now. I need to wake up well-rested and ready to get busy. I will saybthis, at least my brain tumor headaches are getting fewer and farther apart. I thank the good Lord for that! Hope everyone hs a great night! More tomorrow.