Two years ago I thought I would never be able to do many activities again let alone ride a horse. My only goal then was trying to find someone to fix the pain I was in. That was a battle unto itself but I did not want to give up- because to do so left me in a very dire situation. One that I could not accept.
June 2016 was a start of an intense pain drama that was caused by breast cancer treatments. The pain had been an issue since my surgery in October of 2013. I had sought help for it with no luck and then it really reared its ugly head in May 2016 leaving me bedridden for much of the next year. It was hell trying to find the a doctor who would listen to me and not send me away with a shake of the head. They either had no idea what was wrong with me or they thought I was nuts. But finally I found a surgeon who listened.
Today, three surgeries later. I am not that woman stuck all day and night in bed anymore- but I still live in chronic pain. But the levels I am managing- and there may be more surgery in my future. I am left with a disabled arm that I cant use fully and overuse causes pain. Sometimes I don't know what that overuse is. But I just try to dance with it- sometimes I am in the lead and sometimes the pain is.
I have been hell bent on doing more living- I have always been a physically active person and I missed the mental boost such activity gave me. So many things I could not do. Some because of the limits of my arm and some activities were contra-indicated by my surgeon- one being horse back riding. It was a total bummer to hear this but I temporarily shelved that disappointment and sought another activity . I bought a kayak with pedals so I could go out in the bay near our beach house. The feeling of independence being on the water propelling myself was intense and important in my recovery. I bought a bike. I began to walk more. I can do limited exercises in the gym. But I was really missing the one activity I was told not to do—ride my horse.
In the summer of 2017 I was still in enough pain that I was not sure I could ride and on enough drugs I was not sure I should ride. But one day that summer on a whim Kevin and I tacked up my horse Harley . He accepted the saddle and bridle so well that I decided to get on and have Kevin lead me around the dry lot. I knew the surgeon had not been keen on my riding but I wanted to be in the saddle. It was just a pony ride but it was the kick I needed – I set a firm goal – I would ride my horse again. But there were still obstacles to overcome.
I didn't think it would take another year before I was able to ride again. I had another surgery in November of 2017 to hopefully further reduce my pain. I would say the result have been pretty good. I am off opiates but still need nerve pain medications. . I have pain flares more often than I would like. But I am doing more. The surgery itself – which was fat grafting -had a longer than expected recovery time.
Every time I went to see my nerve surgeon – Dr. Williams- I would tell him that I wanted to ride my horse. HIs concern was that my arm would be yanked forward if the horse pulled the reins forward suddenly- and this does happen. This can cause more damage to my arm. Also there is the risk of falling off but I think in my case the real concern was with the yanking of my arm. So I wanted to rectify that. How to keep that from happening. There had to be a way . Maybe I would ride one armed. I began to look into that as an option.
Then sometime this past spring my farrier came. I was telling her my plan to try ride again. I explained my concerns of riding with two arms and one getting yanked and I was also becoming nervous about not being strong enough to ride using only one arm (my horse is also neck reined) if my horse pulled suddenly. She told me to get a Daisy Rein. I had no idea what they were but it turns out they are used often for young riders. The rein hooks onto the saddle and also to the bridle and that keep the horse from pulling his head down. Maybe it would work for this old rider!
I saw my surgeon again in July and explained how much I wanted to ride and told him about the rein. He never did give me his blessing but he told me if I did ride I needed to send him photos after I was safely off. So that to me was an ok to go ahead.
My plan was to move slowly into riding my horse Harley beginning in early August- but life threw us a loop as we suddenly lost Harleys companion a- our beloved Arab mare -Airy to colic. It was a tough loss on all of us and I again shelved trying to ride. This time more for Harley than for me. I knew it was a stressful time for a horse when there are changes like that adding me riding him after such a long time off might add to the stress – and we wanted another companion for Harley so the focus shifted on that. It took some time but we now have Hank and Yukon here. Hank belongs to our neighbor and Yukon is our Guardian horse form a local rescue.
One day a few weeks ago I went out to the barn to feed the horses and our neighbor was bringing Hank back from a ride. I began to feel that envy. That yearning to ride my horse. I really felt it was now or never so I began to get Harley tacked up. It is a bit of a chore for me to get it on while trying to limit the use of my arm but I was able to do it with Kevins help.
Before long I told Kevin I wanted another pony ride. I have to use a step to mount now to get on- it allows me to not use my arm too much. I got up and settled – feet in stirrups and I was holding both reins because we put the daisy rein on to give that a try too. He tolerated it well and best of all it worked! He couldn't pull very far so no yanking of my arm. After a bit, I asked Kevin to let me go and and I took a deep breathe in and let it out and off I went. I maneuvered Harley around the dry lot for a while..at a walk.. nothing fast. He did very well – and we then called it a day. Best to end on a good note when working with a horse. And I was not ready to ride in the fields yet. But it didn't take much time for me to be ready! So much for slow starts.
Since that day I have ridden twice out in the fields. The last time – this past Saturday- I was able to tack up on my own. I have learned to yank the saddle out of my locker with one arm and I can toss it up on his back with one arm too. It was very freeing to be able to do this on my own.
I also can ride with one arm so I switch from using two hands on the reins to one. It turns out my arms are in a "safe" position so I don't think I will get a pain flare if I am careful – but again it is that dance i mentioned above. That day I was in the lead. Dismounting is a bit of a challenge. I now lower the stirrup iron and dismount on the right which is the opposite side we proper English riders are taught to do.
Obstacles aside I can't begin to explain the mental effect being able to ride again gives me. It is something I have needed. It didn't feel like it had been two years since I had ridden solo. It was as if no time went by at all. I felt right at home in the saddle. I am so lucky to have the horse that I have. Some horses may have been too much for me after not being ridden for so long. Harley is a true champ. We have a bond.
My goal is to ride twice a week for now. I will have to be flexible on this as well as I live my life around things we have planned – social visits, traveling, and doctors visits. So I often curb any physical exercise for a couple days prior to doing these things because I don't want to have a flare up of pain which may require me to cancel the plans.
But that is life as I live it now. I accept it. You just never know where you will end up…right now for me I ended up back in the saddle. How lucky I am….
Kevin and Zach in front of his dorm on move-in day.
When the kids left for other places…boys to college..daughter to Ohio…I thought I would be fine. I didn't think I would have tears or that empty nest feeling. I was sooooooo wanting the boys out of the house. I cannot lie. I was so done with the mess, the not helping with chores, the living like mole people only emerging for food and then taking food that was earmarked for others in the house. Be gone – be gone!
I will be honest I was not prepared to parent teens. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. Maybe because of the health issues I encountered just as they were entering their teens. One thing parenting will do is teach you a lot about yourself. Many times I felt like i was in over my head. I think we realize as parents that we really don't know what we are doing. At least thats how I felt much of the time. With three very special kids who were adopted perhaps we did have some more challenges than some and I am very sure less than others. As my teens approached teendom (new word) I realized I wasn't the cool mom I hoped I would be. But I was always championing for their success. I may not have been their best friend and perhaps sometimes I was their worst enemy but I never stopped trying my best help them succeed.
Motherhood will bring out the very best in us and sometimes the very worst. Over the years I was challenged with learning how to best deal with kids who had their own challenges. I didn't always like how I behaved and I feel now like I was in a never-ending cycle of trying to improve who I was. I never really got where I wanted to be but I am always a work in progress. And I loved my kids so much- I wanted to help them as best as I could. Thank God they have the dad they do as we balance each other out well and he picked up the pieces when I wasn't able to.
I had my health challenges that basically covered the span of my kids high school years and that effected all of us. I didn't want that to happen but it did. I often missed events and I didn't feel well enough to become too involved in my kids school. I spent over six months mostly in bed. That is hard on your kids – and my were teens by then and not really able to process it all.
Where did the time go? I was dealing with so much and I feel like I never got anything quite right. I sort of feel I got ripped off. What would it have been like had I not been sick? I will never know and maybe thats some of what I am feeling now. Sadness over what I wanted the years to be and what they really were.
And I miss the kids. As we dropped off kid 1 last week then kid 2 the next day I had this growing heavy feeling in my heart. Why I thought I would not feel this is beyond me. I guess it is because i prided myself on always having my own interests separate from being a mom.. I figured that these interests would still be part of me when the kids left home so I would not be sad because I had my own life. I am realizing this other stuff doesn't protect your heart from the sadness of this new transition of your kids beginning to navigate on their own and you feeling that loss.
We aren't a perfect family. We laughed, we cried and we yelled. But this is my family—warts and all ..and now its changed. I will adjust.
But for now I am in transition. And I am a little lost.
I don't hear from the boys much so far from college- and I laugh at myself for feeling sad about that bc we hardly ever had real communication when they lived here like moles. But the thing is they were here. And now its empty – and darn it – I have that dreaded empty nest sadness.
Kevin and I have things planned and intend on enjoying our new freedom- and I am excited about that. Thats one good part about the kids leaving. This empty sad feeling is just another part of it. And sadly I have to go through it.
So one in Ohio, two in college – my family has spread it's wings. I know how blessed I am to have these transitions.
Pretty soon we will have the boys rooms cleaned up, their bathroom neater, and I will learn to cook for three (kevin, mom, and myself)instead of 8 (teen boys eat ALOT.). Soon we will fall into a routine and things will feel normal again. For now I am a little off kilter. My tears are a closer to the surface.
It's all part of life…and I'll be ok….
I think I have been taking a sabbatical from writing. It hadn't been my intent but it seems it just occurred.
I think I felt blocked in a way. I have had a lot of writing ideas so that wasn't it. I had personal things that I needed to process and until I processed them -maybe not fully but processed them enough – I felt like maybe my writing would not feel authentic.
I was upset over something very personal that I could only touch on vaguely in my writing. So much wanted to come out and that stuff was better for a private journal than a blog.
I have had to decide where my line is in what I share on my blog. Just because I'm upset with someone doesn't mean I need to air that in my writing. Sometimes it is ok. This time it wasn't.
So I had to come to some acceptance with that family issue and I have had to try to come to acceptance with some other things that seemed to be causing me stress.
One such issue is my ongoing pain. I am sooooo much better. I am so very blessed. But there is still pain. I can't seem to use my right arm ( which is my dominate arm) fully or for very long without some pain. I also get flares. It happens when I "overdo" in some way. The problem is I never know exactly what will trigger it. I am learning though but I still get surprised. A lot.
Ice packs have become dear friends. I have been known to walk through the grocery or hardware store sporting an ice bag of some sort under my arm. Ice really is my savior.
I have had to reach an acceptance with this pain. If I had to live like this I certainly could. Would it be ideal? No. Sometimes it's really sucky. But I'm improved. I'm out living life. I've lowered my nerve pain meds a lot. Hoping to lose some of the weight I've gained. Which is another area of acceptance I've had to reach. I can't hate myself bc I don't look the way I want. I am trying to embrace that I may never look like I really want again.
So I'm trying to accept this. I'm into being in shape and being skinny. It's how I grew up. Skinny was good. And sadly I was a chubby kid and That fact was reinforced often by schoolmates and Neighbor Kids. I have spent years battling my minds critical view of my body.
I really am a work in progress on this acceptance thing. But I've come to realize that acceptance doesn't mean giving up. It means that in this moment in time I accept that this is where I am.
I accept I still have pain but I won't quit trying to find improvements. I just began laser therapy. It might help.
I do have gratitude for how far I've come and I'm thankful I found this brilliant nerve surgeon who wanted to help me as best he could.
I am accepting that my body isn't what I want to to be. But really if that's a worry in my life I'm pretty blessed seeing where I was two years ago.
As far as my family issue. I've had to forgive and I have had to give much of this to God. I can't control someone else's journey and I accept that. And I accept that where i am now – on the edge of this persons life – that I can't do anything but let them know they are loved. That's what I can do.
I think maybe I'm in a growing phase. Learning that I can't be in control all the time.
My two sons just graduated high school. I have been waiting for this day! I feel like we've finished the first of a set of hurdles. It's been a ride. But they begin college in the fall and now it's up to them. They have all the tools to succeed.
Then going away is bittersweet for me. My role as Mom will change. It already has. Though I'm still buying the things on the "what to bring" list the College provides. It has to get done by someone and they seem oblivious to the fact that College is six weeks away. I, however, am ever aware. But soon I have to let go. I have to say "you need to try to figure this out " and let them muddl through.
Part of me can't wait to boot them out the door. The other part is terrified. This is another thing I have to find acceptance with. I have to let go. I don't know if I'll grapple with the empty nest thing, I have my mom living here so I still have a bird in the nest to care for. But I think I'll miss them more than I am imaging now. . And I know it's time for them to fly.
But the acceptance comes with letting them do the flying. Letting them steer their course. I know they'll need me once in a while. (At least for $). But I have to give this one to God and let go of my need to be in charge. I will always be their biggest fan even if they don't realize it.
I also wonder what do I want to do? If I could catch up on all the things I'm behind on what do I want to do? There's so many things. Some not attainable now. And some doable.
Since I had cancer I've been on this "you gotta live now" motto. And since I've been feeling better and have had less pain I want to avoid putting off things for later -when I can. But I can't do all the things on my list now bc I have responsibilities to others that are a priority. I've had to accept this knowing it's ok to take things a step at a time.
But my biggest question is who do I want to be now that all my kids will be gone from home? I think this is something that I'll have to feel out.
If anything – I have begun to accept that I don't always have immediate answers for so much in my life. I am learning to accept that sometimes we just have to wait and see.
And there is some excitement in that for me.
All you need is love -?
I was filling out a Valentines Day card today for one of my kids and it said on the front: "All we really need is love"— inside it said "but a little now and then chocolate doesn't hurt." The chocolate part is true and I've found if I eat six small Dove chocolate candies everyday I am happier in those moments of chocolate bliss but maybe my waistline isn't. And the truth is the happiness is short lived. But as for the first part of the card "all we really need is love" I am not so sure that's true.
All we really need is love….really? Is it?
Then what? The world for us is better ? All our problems melt away? Sadly I've found this isn't so. Receiving love is a gift and it can lift us up but I've found sometimes it doesn't matter how much you love someone it doesn't fix all their problems. A person may not want to receive our love and sometimes if they do it just isn't enough.
I was told for years if I just loved my son more he would snap out of his issues. He just needed more understanding, more hugs, more of me – and a magic wand would wave and unicorns would fly from the sky and his attachment issues would go away, and he would stop wanting to destroy our home or himself, he wouldn't want to steal from his family, or ignore us and our rules.
Kevin and I gave of ourselves and we tried so hard and we loved and still love and still it isn't enough. We have exhausted ourselves trying to love someone so much that they will change. Life isn't that easy I have come to find. Sometimes love just isn't enough- but here's the truth about love – even when it's hard – even when it might not be received- even when it might not make unicorns fall from the sky – in the end love is a choice. And we the love giver must choose to keep loving even when it doesn't seem to matter. That so hard sometimes-believe me- I know.
Love is a choice – these words were spoken as part of a sermon I heard once. The pastor reminded us that love can be a feeling and a very strong one but sometimes it's hard to feel love for that prickly person, that defiant child, that homeless person on the corner, or our neighbor -and when that feeling isn't there we should choose to love anyway. Thank you Pastor Steve.
One time a number of years back when I was in a very bad place of despair, at one point I may have been praying or maybe just crying and a voice spoke to me or maybe it was a thought that came into my head that clearly was not mine and it said "Love is all that matters". In that bad moment I saw that so clearly. Like that was so easy -like why didn't it appear this clear to me before? And simply yes that is so true -love is all that matters. Love here on earth is kind of like fuel and kryptonite all in one thing. It can bring us up and tear us down. That's because we muddle up love in it's purest form and we always will.
The kind of love that we are called upon to give is one that's unconditional that we choose to give no matter if we feel it or not. It's not easy to live up to that pure of a love. But on this earth love is important and it's easy to get frustrated when all the love you give someone doesn't seem to help them or even matter. But what matters is we love anyway.
Sometimes we have to let go of someone because their choices are hurting us. We can set boundaries and still choose to love that person. And I've done that. But here's why love on earth can't be as pure as love in heaven – or if you don't believe in heaven or an after life just skip the heaven part- we are imperfect people. Face it – who wants to love let's just say as an example Larry Nassar- the doctor that sexually abused all those woman and just received 175 years in jail? We are called to love him and God knows someone out there does and some out there pray for him and his soul. But most of us can't be that loving -all I can think about is what he did to the young women he hurt. I can't love him.
And let's take it further…he probably was loved by at least someone in his life and he is still a broken person..has no remorse and obviously has terrible mental issues. Sadly love wasn't all he needed. But someone chose and probably still chooses to love him even if they themselves are disgusted by his actions. In a way that is the magic of love. The capacity in which we are able to love if we make that choice – this amazes me. Still I can't love Larry Nassar..feelings aside or lack thereof -I can't even make myself choose to…I'm not Mother Theresa.
In the purest sense those words that popped into my head in that moment of despair are so so true. I'd like to say that all that clarity made me better at loving but I am still human. I became more aware but I am flawed like anyone else and I am not that good at loving that unconditionally. I could spend pages and many words on the semantics of love because as true as those words-love is all that matters -are, love is complicated here on earth because we complicate it with our humanness.
But the point is when we choose to love we have to accept that we may not feel like doing it, and even if we do we feel strong loving feelings we have to accept we may not receive anything in return, and further we have to accept that we may try to love up a person all we can but that might not make a difference for them at all.
The Beatles always inspiring music here All you need is love…..
I have been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories that I have is of me taking swimming lessons in the baby pool at our swim club. Following that I spent years on swim team and also just playing in the pool. Many times you couldn't get me out. I'd swim all day.
I had a respect for the water of course but I was never hesitant to be in or on the water. I spent hours riding waves with my dad and friends.
In the last ten years I stopped going into the ocean as much -the fear then was stepping on icky things. I was more wary of the currents and undertow. Probably because I had little Kids and even if they had ease in the water the fear of your child getting pulled out into the deep looms large for most parents I imagine.
I still had a love of pools if they weren't too crowded (that's a germ thing-yes I got more leery of the humanity in a pool as I've aged and well it grosses me out if there are tons of people swimming in a small enclosed body I water no matter how much chlorine is dumped in).
I love the water and I really love being near or in the water. We have a cottage just steps from a Bay. But I now have a fear of deeper water.
I was out on the bay the other day on my kayak. Kevin was along on his kayak. It was a chilly day. About 55 degrees. I'm a new kayaker. I got a boat with pedals as I can't use my arm to paddle because Of my issues with nerve damage and pain. I was thrilled when I got the kayak. I motored around last summer and if the bay was a little choppy I found myself feeling somewhat nervous. I am no longer sure of myself as a swimmer. I can't really swim which because of my limited use of my arms but it really didn't seem to be a huge issue last summer because the Bay isn't really deep and the water was warm. But the other day the water was cold and seemed deeper and it was choppy. I had wetsuit bottoms on but just a jacket and hat on. And I was wearing boots. Wellington's. Maybe not the best choice.
While on the water as I was traversing some choppy conditions I felt myself panicking. A full out freak out was just on the edge of my brain. I kept picturing myself falling off the kayak. Or it tipping. Me sinking as my boots filled and my coat became heavy. I feel the fear now as I write this.
I had a flotation device but not on me – it was secured on the back of the kayak. I tried to reach behind me to grab but my limited range of motion and the rocking of the kayak made it impossible for me to reach it. That was a rookie mistake not to have put it in.
I told my husband I was feeling very scared. Kevin told me to take deep breaths and as I did I felt myself regain control of my thoughts. The choppy water wasn't really that bad. The boat wasn't really in severe danger of tipping. I tried to enjoy what I was doing and concentrate on the beauty. I've lost the ability of being able to do a number of things since my nerve damage became so bad and kayaking gave me the sense of freedom that I'd been craving. I didn't want to lose that to fear.
We ended the journey on a good note. I was calmer but I had a wake up call. I've definitely lost my confidence that I could save myself if I got into trouble. I've never felt this way before. It made me mad. Just one more thing that had been taken away because of my limitation and because my body is weaker because of being mostly bedridden this last year.
But anger won't solve anything. I'm a problem solver by nature. So moving forward I need to figure out how I can feel less fearful in and on the water.
Over last summer when I first went out to sit on the beach at the ocean I walked up to the waters edge and watched the waves roll in and I realized even then that I was very leery about even attempting to wade in to my knees and not for fear of stepping on something icky –it was fear I couldn't even get up if I fell into the shallow but wavy water. As a result of this I decided to head to the neighborhood pool and allow myself to ease into a better comfort with the water. During the first visit to the pool I ended up in the deep end with a swim noodle and I was able to ditch that after a time and then proceeded to tread the water and I practiced floating. It isn't easy to tread water with one arm but it's doable. But this pool visit gave me confidence to venture into the ocean at least up to my knees or hips. And subsequent visits continued to help my confidence. I also worked on leg strength in the gym when I felt ok.
So why the panic the other day?
Well I've had another surgery since summer. Just four weeks ago. I haven't been allowed to do much and maybe kayaking wasn't a good idea. Maybe I felt vulnerable. I'm definitely weaker. It doesn't take long to weaken when your on restrictions to not work out or do too much physically. And I think the cold water scared me. Cold water can be paralyzing. But most of all my biggest obstacle that day was my own mind getting the best of me.
I am not an "I can't" person but over the last few years I've said that more times than I care to admit. I want to be strong again! Mind and body. It's so frustrating to try to get stronger only to be met with Pain as a result. But I'm going to try to figure this out. I'm not likely to kayak anymore this year. It's getting too cold. I plan to be in some type of workout program. We have a gym in our barn so I have no excuse to at least try. And somehow I have to get into a pool. We have some indoor pools nearby. (Maybe they won't be too crowded!).
I just want to feel strong again. I still deal with pain and that's limiting -I have had three surgeries in the last year to try to get rid of it and it's much better -but there may always be some pain I have to figure this out despite that. It can be done. I know it.
Next spring when I break out the kayak again I want to feel I could cross the bay (it's a mile). I may not ever try it but I want to feel like I could. I want to no be afraid. I want to be strong.
I'm sitting here this morning in bed. I'm having a bad pain day. The nerve pain is hot across my right side and chest and the there is that tingling tickling burning sensation that travels across to my throat. I cough. Nobody knows exactly why. They know I have a lot of scarring that has adhered to my chest under my arm and I have radiation damage as well. They feel my sensations come because of this issue. All these things that are very hard to fix.
It's funny how such a little area can make a person disabled when it flares up. It's very frustrating. I'm so much better than I was last year but I'm still plagued with pain and it's too much of a focus of my day and it controls my life too much. So on Wednesday next week two surgeons are going to try to ease some of the pain.
My wonderful nerve surgeon and a plastic surgeon are going to try fat grafting. This procedure requires liposuction of an area on the body. With me it will be my stomach- and my love handles 🙂 -see the smiley? I'm all for losing some fat since I've put on weight from the medicine I take for nerve pain.
Anyway they spin that fat so they get the good stuff and then they inject in my areas of scarring and pain. The idea is twofold. The scar will be lifted off the chest wall which may relieve some of the pain . Think of having gum stuck in you pants pocket and the two sides are stuck together. Well that is my issue on the side of my body where I had the node biopsy. So your skin is all one piece and when one part is stuck onto your chest wall it throws everything off. My neck gets tight because the scar is so tight it pulls the skin and muscle all the way to my neck. I get rib and breast aches and muscle tightness in my back. All from this small area of my body being off kilter! So the fat will create cushioning under the scar.
The other thing that is looking hopeful with fat grafting is that the stem cells in the fat can help regenerate the radiation damaged tissues. This has been studied over the last few years and the results have been very promising.
So that's where I am. My third surgery in the last year. All in hopes that I will get to an acceptable pain level. Pain free is likely not going to happen and that's been hard for me to accept. But I have come to terms with it to a degree but I continue to look for ways to help it improve.
I did ask the plastic surgeon if he would put the extra fat in my face. He said he would during my exam but later thought better of it. Maybe it's just too much for one session! Maybe he had been joining. I Just thought getting a few wrinkles filled might be an extra bonus!
Since my cancer and subsequent pain issues and because I have three teens who like seeing my hair gray – I have aged a lot in the last few years. So I have had some filler done in my face.
I can hear people gasping. But hello lots of us are getting Botox (I'm not a candidate in my forehead because I have too heavy a brow), fillers and nips and tucks. I don't want to age gracefully if it is going to go this fast. It is not graceful. So I'm just trying to slow it down -and crap after what I've been through I deserve to do things that help me feel good about me.
I'm not one of the confident woman who can accept their body changes and aging. I wish I were. I've gained weight and I'm out of shape because I'm limited in the gym. I do walk a lot. But I am not feeling good about me. I'm used to being thinner and more muscular than soft.
I will say that some filler I have had I've liked and some I haven't and thankfully I did not get the kind that lasts lots of years. I don't like my cheeks probably because I've gained weight since I have had my cheeks done. And I feel too cheeky! But I like the filler in my smile lines and in a couple other facial lines. I'm scared to get the filler under my eyes. Which is a problem area for me so I invest in lots of concealer.
I share this because I'm not afraid to show my vanity which come from vulnerability. I've been tossed around the last four years. It's been super hard . Sometimes I wonder why I am still so vain and not just thankful for what I have. The fact is I'm both. I'm thankful and vain. And truly it's each persons choice what they choose to do or don't do with their bodies. So I own it. I'm vain but I tell myself that's ok because I've been through hell.
So when the surgeon was thinking he might put some fat in my face I felt excited and nervous. It's like maybe I could have pain reduction and a cosmetic boost all in one. I figure he changed his mind for a good reason. Probably wants to stick to the real issue at hand. My pain. Which is just fine with me.
In the long run if I had to prioritize what is most important – getting rid of pain would rank #1. Obviously. So heres to surgery number 3 for my post cancer treatment pain – I'm praying for good pain relief . (And if he has some extra fat for a wrinkle or two maybe he would surprise me).
Hey whatever it takes to keep the spirits up right?
So the last I left off – I think- is that I was slowly healing from my surgery.
Recap – I had breast cancer surgery which led to pain for three years that was ignored by my breast surgeon. It exacerbated last May 2016. I was bed ridden. I had to begin a journey that would lead mye to a nerve surgeon that agreed that I may have a problem with surgical clips. This clip issue had been suggested to me by a physiatrist I saw over the summer. Surgical clips are made of metals and are used often in surgeries to close of vessels. They have caused issues In patients but it's not common or maybe not admitted by doctors that they are an -in fact- an issue.
The nerve surgeon operated. Removed clips in my axilla (armpit) And he found some clipped onto nerves. Not the right thing to clip. The nerve surgeon also cut some nerves and buried them into muscle. He removed a neuroma (bundles of scar tissue ). He was optimistic that he had cleared the area of clips and that these were likely the cause of much of my pain. He Closed me up and here I am just over three months later.
Now I will say that I'm still in the process of healing. But I have had pain in the back of my armpit -it's not new pain- I think my surgeon thought it was pain that would subside as he treated all that other stuff I mentioned to you above. That pain in the back of my armpit is becoming worse. And the symptom that bothered me the most -the nerve pain that made me cough -is still around and seems to flare when that armpit pain flares. Nobody gets the cough symptom. That is very frustrating.
Is it worse BC I'm more active and doing more things? Well I'm not bed ridden anymore and I am doing more and the more I use my arm the more it hurts. I can't work on my range of motion exercises much because it causes pain. And it hurts as a passenger in the car and when I drive. I tried a long ride to the beach a little over a week ago as a passenger and that about crushed me. I am not big on opiates so I'm only willing to take so much medication. It was a stressful trip to say the least.
I went to see the nerve surgeon this week and he took a long time with me. He pondered my continued pain. He had some ideas of the nerves it could be. He hopes it can calm down and become a non-issue the longer I heal.
So the plan is to get a series injections right in the areas of my pain. The injections contain lidocaine -a numbing agent -which is short acting and some steroid which we hope will calm the pain down. I get the next injections four weeks apart. I won't know if this injection will help even for the short term for up to a week. Then if I still continue with pain a few months from now I will have to have more surgery.
Yes I know. It bites.
But I need to get this pain level under control so it doesn't limit me so much. I'm limited socially and physically. I'm up and around which I'm so grateful for. But it's not enough yet. My mom moved in with us at the end of November. I want to be there for her. I don't want to be dealing with my own pain issues that it limits me from helping her.
I'm 75% better than last summer. Being bed ridden and now being up and around is a huge deal. A lot of the pain is gone. But what's left is bad. If it weren't for the pills for nerve pain I'd been in bad shape. I hardly ever tolerate any RX meds. I failed all the cancer hormone blocking drugs I've tried. I was very pessimistic about the drug neurontin also known as Gabapentin. It's used to treat seizures but is very effective on nerve pain. Which is a hideous burning pain that can go from light burn to a blaze if left to smolder. The drug has been great for me. I have little side effects. A few twitches here and there and memory loss. The memory loss is the worst of it for me. I put up with it because the pain control is that good. And the drug isn't like an opiate. I'm just writing everything down and when I forget something at least I have something to blame it on. I have read coming off the drug is tough. Not like coming off opiates but it can be hard. But I've read how to counteract any unpleasant side effects with natural products like magnesium – which can make the taper off the drug much better. But I'm not even there yet. I still need the drug -so in an unlike fashion for me I'm not going to worry about when I go off it.
Nobody said that this healing would be easy. I think I just got in my head that it would be a done deal when all those clips came out. I'm disappointed. But I'm so determined to get to a point where I won't have so much pain. I don't know if I'll actually ever be pain free on my cancer side -but I'd like it to be much better. And I'm not pain free elsewhere. It's just that the level of pain that sets us back from true living can be different for each of us. And I met my match.
The one good – well maybe great thing- that has happened is that from my experience I have been able to help other woman in the same pain situation as I am in ( post breast therapy pain syndrome). A couple woman have even gone to my surgeon after I mentioned him on the Facebook page that I belong to for ladies with post breast cancer therapy pain.
It feels good that my hardships haven't gone in vain and that my experience and what I've learned and shared could actually be help to others.
I have a lot of things I want to do. I am so grateful for how far I've come. And I call upon God each day to help me to be more patient. I am doing the best I can.
I miss riding my horse. I miss farm chores. I don't miss doing laundry though -I can do a bit of it but I try not to. This week we hired a cleaning service to come in and clean. It was much needed. We will probably hire them on a regular schedule. I just can't keep up and my teens aren't the best cleaners. And I'm kind of done with the eye rolling from them especially when I can't pull my own weight doing chores. And frankly I don't want it to be a fight. In the scheme of life it's just not worth being mad at messy kids. Life's too short.
The road to recovery isn't always a straight line. I'm learning to be more accepting of that. Right now I am better than last summer. I'm so grateful.
I really am learning to live one day at a time. I don't know how I'll feel from day to day. So just focusing on today is the easiest for me. It's forcing me to live more in the present. The theme to my last blog.
I'm carried by the thank you's I've gotten for sharing my experiences and hearing that what I've written has been empowering them has really be a saving grace. I've been carried by the good wishes of friends from all over.
It's not a road I'd wish on anyone. During my worst days I sometimes can't find a thing to be joyful about. But I see that life happens no matter where I am or what I feel – and I want to live life.
I orten think of the Apostle Paul in the Bible and his unending optimism and want to call people to Christianity despite his circumstances. His letters never waivered in his goal and he never lamented on his circumstances though he was jailed when he wrote many of the letters that now are books in the New Testament. He found contentment in any circumstance. This was because of his love of other things outside of this earthly place and his faith of what lay ahead for him.
Sometimes you have to try to enjoy life even when you aren't where you want to be- whether that be physically or emotionally. I'm no Paul. But I can learn from him.
This cancer journey has been such an incredible challenge in my life. It's not easy for me to stop along the way and consider I need to be learning from my discomforts . I just want out of it. But in the moments where I can just stop and breathe and just live in the present despite my discomfort I see how truly blessed I am.
I don't know where the road will lead but I'm on it – better to make the best of it when I can.


text:
Batavia High School - Batavia New York
OUR HOMEROOM
SENIOR'S FACEBOOK
SITE DONORS
BATAVIA HIGH SCHOOL
Class History
Batavians
COUNSELOR OFFICE: HELP
FIRST VISIT & HELP
Profile Page Format
Tutoring with Marian
Site Communication Venues
HELP: Message Center
50TH YEAR REUNION
Historical Batavians
PHOTO GALLERY: ELEMENTARY
LET'S REMINISCE
About Batavia
Fab 50's/Early 60's
Fond Flashbacks
Around the Radio
THE CULTURE OF THE 50's
PAGLIACCI'S PLAYHOUSE
PRINCIPAL'S POTPOURII
ROGER'S STUDY HALL ASSIGN.
SID'S " ODDS & ENDS "
My Table of Contents
Selected Excerpts ...
Edna G. Thompson (Teacher)
Miss Thompson, Ex Teacher, Dies at 71
Miss Edna G. Thompson, 71, formerly of 27 Summit Street, died at 2:45 pm on Wednesday, September 21, 1966, at Hill Top Sanitarium, where she had been for two years.
Miss Thompson taught English in the Batavia High School for more than 30 years.
A native of Glenns Falls, Miss Thompson was born September 15, 1895, a daughter of James D. and Ada Davis Thompson. She ws graduated from the State Teachers College at Albany, and did graduate work at Breadloaf School of English , Middlebury, VT, where she received her master's degree in 1931.
Miss Thompson taught in Batavia High School from 1927 until 1959 and was chairman of the English Department at the school. She retired in 1959.
Miss Thompson was a member of Christ Methodist Church in Glenns Falls and a former member of the New York State Historical Society.
There are no survivors.
The funeral will be at the J. Leonard McAndrew Funeral Home, with the Rev. James W. McConnell of the First Methodist Church officiating. Interment will be in Glenns Falls.There will be no prior calling hours.
Passing of a Dedicated Teacher by Dan Winegar
We would be remiss in failing to mention the passing of Miss Edna G. Thompson, retired head of the English Department at Batavia High School, who succombed after a lengthy illness.
Miss Thompson, for a number of years, taught English 4. While we were in another class, there were many that year and many over the years who admired and respected her.
The text was called "Literature and Life," and went from the beginnings of our Language, through all the great English authors, to the present. It is a pleasure to see that the course remains essentially unchanged thirty years later.
Miss Thompson gave many years to inculcating a love of both literature and life. Her many students testify to her success.
Gifts are Presented to Two Retiring Teachers
Miss Edna G. Thompson, head of the English Department at Batavia High School, and Mrs. Mabel W. Kraemer, art teacher at BHS, both of whom will retire at the end of this school year, were honored by members of the Batavia Teachers Assn. and the annual banquet at the Moose Home. Prior to joining the BHS faculty in 1927, she taught at Granvile, Glenns Falls, Otego, Liberty, East Islip, L.I., and Lowville.Miss Thompson was named head of the English department in 1946.
Entertainment was provided during the event by a men's quartet made up of Robert S. Crook, Raymond T. Byrne, Theodore C. Day, and David T. Andrus, all members of the BHS faculty.
It is very rare for a teacher to have a yearbook dedicated to her. Miss Thompson had two, one near the beginning of her career at BHS and one at the end.
From the 1932 Batavian:
And from the 1959 Batavian (picture in upper right hand corner of this page)-

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Nathan Elwell is a co-founder and partner of Lincoln Churchill Advisors and specializes in guiding the strategic direction of his clients' communications programs. He has extensive experience helping clients successfully address critical events such as: strategic transformations, positioning and messaging projects, crisis preparedness and issues management, mergers & acquisitions, IPOs and other equity offerings, shareholder activism, executive management changes, market intelligence counsel, and designing and implementing best-practice investor relations programs.
During his more than 17-year communications career, Mr. Elwell has advised more than 50 clients across a variety of industries, including: consumer & retail, healthcare & life sciences, industrial, and technology & telecom. Mr. Elwell has also acted as an outsourced investor relations officer for several clients. Prior to founding Lincoln Churchill Advisors, Mr. Elwell was the President of Waveney Communications Consulting.
From 2007 until 2015, Mr. Elwell was part of the Strategic Communications practice of FTI Consulting. Mr. Elwell joined FTI as a Senior Vice President (SVP) and was promoted twice, first to General Manager of the firm's Chicago office and then to Managing Director. During his time at FTI, he focused on developing and executing comprehensive communications strategies for clients in a variety of industries ranging in size from micro- to mega-cap.
Prior to joining FTI Consulting, Mr. Elwell was an SVP at Ashton Partners, a leading communications firm specializing in investor relations. Mr. Elwell joined the boutique firm in 1999 and was an integral part of its growth to become one of the largest independent investor relations consulting firms in North America.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Elwell was a research executive with Dudley Training & Enterprise Council (TEC) in Great Britain, where he was the main source for local economic information and produced labor market research projects. Mr. Elwell graduated with honors from The University of East Anglia, Norwich, Great Britain with a B.A in Economics and a minor in Economic History.


Description: Construct a tower that is as tall as possible. Click to release blocks. You lose when 3 or more blocks are missed.
The Easter Bunny is back collecting Easter eggs. Watch out though, or he will meet a sticky end!