Been Just Livin' Life

 Howdy. It sure has been awhile! 

I'm not quite sure when it happened but I let go of the reins awhile back and have just been living life and it has been a fun ride lately. 

Since my last post, it has felt like a whirlwind with continuing doctors and chiro appointments for monitoring being overshadowed by lots of fun! We hosted another wonderful family reunion with my side this time, have been enjoying having Mason and Lara in Colorado!, having fun with our friends from CA who bought a 2nd home here, meeting with my Spiritual Director via phone and therapist near Denver, and going to Al-anon meetings/getting to know new people from there. We meet with our beloved long-term group for our BEMA discipleship Bible Study via zoom most Friday nights. We have the grandkids most Wednesdays and often do something with Cam and Hailey and kiddos another day of the week. Nolan and Lexie have been exceptionally busy but we get to see them too, thankfully. I still can't believe we are all in Colorado now!We have a meal group that meets at our house a couple nights each month that we love. I also meet with via zoom a fantastic group of retired counselors and therapists and just traveled to CA to see To Kill a Mockingbird with them - that play was so great! Andy's mom has been with us when we were in town the last few months. Otherwise she stayed with Andy's brother and SIL who have lived nearby a long time.  Life has been busy! 

We traveled to Indiana for a Notre Dame game and to visit Andy's awesome cousins this fall. A particularly exciting opportunity arose to take a 2 week cruise around Spain and across the Atlantic with our dear friends in October. It was either that or go sit in an IV chair as I had planned. I think we actually chose wisely.Then we took a trip to gorgeous Jackson Hole, WY with other great friends but unfortunately my 3 travel companions all had the flu - every trip can't be a "10," right? 

The holidays have been special this year with all of us local and being able to celebrate togehter for the 1st time in 3 years. Thanksgiving was a bust due to illnesses, but we did the Royal Gorge Christmas train all together, a weekend before Christmas sleepover with our own "Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Papa and Nama's," a big Christmas Eve dinner with my sister and her hubby coming into town from Arizona, a quiet Christmas Day, and to the Gaylord Resort for New Year's Eve day/my bday. Now we have friends here from Namibia, Africa for a 10-day visit and road trip to CA together, including local stuff and meeting up with our kids, snow mobiling, visiting mutual friends along the way, 3 Utah National Parks, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas with a show. 

Sorry this turned into a litany of busyness, but it relates to my "moving on and living life in spite of lymphoma phase" - albeit a little too frenetically!

I've had trouble with pain in my feet, which may or may not be lymphoma related. I finally saw a great podiatrist yesterday who thinks it's more age related and the need for shoe inserts and stretching. If it doesn't improve, we will do x-rays and go from there. I'll be investing in Hokas (sp?) tomorrow. I still have swollen lymph nodes in my neck and groin and sometimes a fatigue can overwhelm me, which sort of keeps me grounded when I wonder if I even have cancer. I also still get the lymphoma rash.

When I told my oncologist about the pain in my feet awhile back, she ordered a PET scan (I was due anyhow). I didn't catch that the order was the usual - from the thigh up. I was a bit put off when she admitted that she should have ordered the feet to be included which is just another example of how we have to be on top of our own care and be our own advocate - always! Prednisone doesn't help it. Nothing really does. Now I have sciatica from limping. We will see. 

The great news was that the PET scan showed that I was stable otherwise. It's still a miracle. She rattles off drugs we can try, if necessary, but it is still largely the same story - they don't have anything that works most of the time for t-cell lymphoma like they do for b-cell. I don't really have a next conventional step in mind if symptoms become too bothersome or things start to "take off" they way the doctors like to predict. I am still taking HRT, Prednisone, and have restarted Low Dose Naltrexone. Basic supplements.

On the other hand, I am headed to CA to do 9 days of high dose vitamin C IVs and ozone therapy. It's all I really have right now. I can't get misteletoe IVs from the  doctor I use, unfortunately.  As usual, I need to clean up my diet and get my body moving more, juice, detox...

Who has time with all this fun? (-:

Oh ya - we are headed to Israel with my sister, her hubby, and about 30 people from their church soon. Then we have camp trips planned, a trip to my neice's graduation, possible Disney and Lego-land while on a camp trip with the grandkids and their awesome parents. I keep wanting to slow down and we definitely need to catch up financially - but the opportunities keep arising. 

What a wonderful problem to have for this season. Love to you this 2023. Thanks for reading my little way to keep track of this journey. I appreciate all the support I've received and especially the prayers of so many. I know I am totally safe. xoxo