My LMS adventure

Today I hit the high points, consolidating some boxes, wiping down the dirty bits, and generally straightening up. My goal: By the end of the day, I want two filled trashbags, a sparkling kitchen, and clean floors. And there's a paper list, to keep me on task. The walking is helping keep my heartrate down... when I was debilitated last April, my heart rate was racing, with very little effort. I've moved the treadmill onto the porch, so I can walk a couple miles, a couple times a day. -- In theory. So far I've not even touched the treadmill. My three good things for today: Quiet two hours on the computer, nice, slow start to the day. Made a list so I stay on track today. Walking with friends 3 miles this morning.. Soft, relaxing rain. Seems appropriate. Today is the funeral of my roommate's aunt. She died of cancer, after many years of fighting and remission. Whenever he tells me I've got a long future ahead, he's referring to her and his sister...

1. Knitting group today. Last week I was the only one who showed up, probably due to the holiday. But I got a lot of knitting done, and had some good hot cocoa. 2. Made progress sorting yarn and clothing. Three boxes gone. 3. I'm getting cable tv... I know... everyone else in the world has it... but they're finally running a really good special. This means I'll need to plug the TV into the wall.... No, none of these good things are about cancer.. because right now... cancer is a small part of my life. (and the grumbly part of it is that I can't swim in the heated pool because of that pesky non-healing wound...NOT a good thing. .. okay, a slowly healing good thing. I guess i'm supposed to learn patience. I've not lived someplace with a heated pool before.. So I've not swum in January before..so I'm not able to do something I've never done... )

In 2014, I had surgery on December 23rd. I was discharged from the hospital on Christmas Day. The following Monday I got a call from my surgeon. She kept apologizing, and told me the pathology report showed Uterine Leiomyosarcoma. I had a flashback to medical terminology... Leio- smooth, Myo- muscle, sarcoma - Cancer. Later after some Internet research I realized why she was apologizing. "Rare and aggressive" were the two terms used to describe this. I dug until I found statistics... how long will I live? I reached out to others with this disease. ---Even found a few who were diagnosed at the same month I was. My surgeon had done a residency with a gynecology oncologist, Dr. Chon. She had made phone calls to Dr. Chon, and gave me the phone number to make an appointment with Moffit Cancer's Women's Center. And that's how this adventure began a year ago. What a wild ride it has been. Everything changed... Where I live, where I work (ummm, I don'...

It's been a week since I started caring for the open hole in my abdomen. I've changed dressing twice a day. Here's how I'm coping with some unexpected situations. The surgical pad wicks the moisture away from my body... however, that means my clothing gets damp. So I'm wearing dark pants/jeans.... but I'm also putting clean dry washcloth over the pad, to gather more moisture. By the way, pouring Hydrogen Peroxide on cloth removes blood. Not that there is much blood on the washcloths... but enough that I don't want them stained. It's the little things I do that make it better. I'm walking more. Went to a movie today... The holidays are here. I'm enjoying the lights, the music and the movies. 3 good things: Finally got to see the Star Wars movie. Got out and walked in the sunshine... glorious day (I live in Florida...) Planned the next few days... lots of cleaning and organizing. Room by room. I want this place to feel like h...

1. I'm emptying a box of papers/paperwork, and filling it with clothes to donate. 2. My goal is to organize and keep only the clothes I love... because I don't have room for the ones I don't love. 3. Quiet day to play on the computer and watch the golf carts drive past (so many of them are decorated... they are fun to watch...)

My three good things: Packing dishes to give to a friend. I know they'll have a good home. Finished a scarf and blocked it (knitting for making the scarf just right). Found a new author /series of cozy murders that I like. (Dead Guys Stuff, a Jane Wheel mystery by Sharon Fiffer.) Quiet day yesterday. When my roommate got home I apologized for the day before. (I was not feeling good, and he was waffling about visiting friends vs. staying at home. I had been hiding that I was very emotional (hormones?? why am I crying?) and basically told him to come home the next day. Emotions. I don't deal well with emotions... I grew up admiring Spock on Star Trek. I've stuffed my emotions about this cancer for long enough... they are bubbling out as I watch cat videos...Did a tiny bit of walking yesterday. Will try to do more today. Sitting around the house all the time is bad for me. Other side effects include a urinary tract infection, and mouth sores. So I've be...