CHEMOTHERAPY---3 DOWN, 3 TO GO

It’s Friday, the day of chemo which is over, but I feel pretty good! We will sit around watching some good basketball tonight and for the next few days. We will return on Sunday to the cancer care center for preventive fluids and anti nausea drip drugs to insure a good vs. bad next week. The trip to FL did me good! We arrived home last night before chemo. Moderate sun intake, moderate Malibu rum intake (with every healthy juice mix available-including digestive friendly PLUM JUICE)…trying to be good! I was very relaxed and when TIM wasn’t snoring, I slept very well…as did the rest of the house guests. Developed some migraine headaches down there which COULD have been due to the MU WARRIOR loss!! I even had my ‘Buck the Fadgers’ t-shirt ready in case MU met UW in the sweet sixteen…back on the shelf until next season.

April 10th, Good Friday, I will be having a CT scan of my chest, liver and other body organs and also a brain MRI to see if we are making progress with the chemo. Since everyone I know MAY be in prayer mode on this day, please say one for me…that I get some really needed good news after these diagnostic tests.

Read a great book in FL that I highly recommend to all…’The Shack’…Great story and you will see God in a whole new light!!

Tim’s family will be coming to visit at Easter…we have never been home for Easter, always in FL so this will be new to us. We will welcome Maggie and Tim, Beth with son Matt and new fiancé Shannon, Charlie (Anne) and maybe Charlie and Franny…Jake and Abbey and Tim and I can’t wait to see you! Danny is gearing up for graduation and cannot make the trip.

I came home to some great cards from the loyal crew that sends them every week to keep up my spirits!! THANKS to Jaki & Mike, Patricia, Mary A., Aunt Evie, Aunt Dorothy, and Joanie B. (Mrs. B)

Creative Happiness 24/7

I am finding how hard it is to always stay happy and positive these days. YOU have all done such a great job of lifting my spirits (even though I cry when I am happy now-HAPPY TEARS) and have shared some really powerful prayers from a variety of sources. I keep your individual names on each of these prayer snipits or books and smile with thoughts of you as I pray each day.

CHEMOTHERAPY---2 DOWN, 4 TO GO

CHEMO #2------ONE WORD-IT’s OVER!!!!!!!!!! Here is the clinical update first. The FIRST chemo cycle was one bad week, one great week and one so-so week. I was able to work steadily during my good week but only sporadically the other times. I have been able to stay healthy between #1 and #2 but have had to sacrifice my social life for it and staying away from people!! It’s hard to do! But my Blood count stayed healthy.The so-so week was NOT due to the chemo but due to the continued healing process of my surgical site where the lung was removed. And this pain continues. All the nerves and muscles are starting to regenerate and come back to life from numbness…all at the same time---OUCH---BUT GOOD that this is happening!!! Tim went off to a silent retreat last weekend while I had my chemo #2. My girlfriends, sister and I do NOT understand this quiet concept for 4 days. My second session chemo escorts were Sherry and Mary and we laughed, talked and the 8 hours we were there went pretty quickly.chemo #2 had 2 new drugs and one similar drug to chemo #1 so I have been experiencing better physical results without the horrible nausea stuff. We are so confident of this continuing, we booked a flight to Florida for mid March and will stay a week and return for my next #3 chemo treatment on March 27th. I hope my only complaint in Florida is that I ran out of ice in my “whatever-tini” I am drinking that day. God willing with me AND good weather, I should have a nice tan and a relaxed body for chemo #3. After the next chemo, they will be doing another (CT) Scan to see where the treatment has been effective and where it is trying to hide next!! Thanks again for the continued flow of cards, I seem to notice more deeply, the added written words, more so than in the beginning when my brain was too crowded with medical stuff. I am going back and re-reading them again. I received a beautiful card from my Aunt Evie this week------one of my many faithful weekly writers------and her last line was, "Remember Lynnie, SPRING ALWAYS COMES”. How simple, how true, how relevant to so many issues in our lives.These words and so many of the words you send me carry me for hours and days---and then more hours and days and I re-read all of my cards again. I find your “words” of encouragement at this time are more meaningful than entire books I read. It took me so long to post this update because I anticipated the same chemo experience and was pleasantly surprised that in this cancer business, it’s not always what you expect, sometimes better, sometimes worse, you need to just remain open for change.
A little added update. Our kids are all doing very well! Abbey is home this weekend from St. Mary’s University in Winona…she arrived with books trying to impress me!!
Danny is 7 weeks away from graduating from Regis University (Denver) with a double major in English Literature and Visual Arts and has many requirements to fulfill before we see him receive that diploma in 7 weeks. He is already exploring opportunities for after graduation.
Jake lives in Chicago and is with UNUM insurance company and finished his 9 month training program and has started his sales position in his Southern IL territory where he will be a few days a week calling on brokers who need his products for their clients.

This cancer/treatment/cure process takes a heck of a long time. Thanks for sticking it out over the long haul. I feel like I am in a time warp right now and appreciate how many tell me they think about me every day! Thank you, thank you, as I know how your days fill up and become overloaded…thanks for keeping me in that busy day.

Hope you all go to watch (Joe King's of Irish Fest) St. Patrick's Day Parade in Milwaukee and stop by a few places for a few green beers!!!!