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| The Mountain Bluebirds are back! |
Howdy, folks! Hope you had a grand weekend and got lots of
fun stuff done. We have temporarily lost our beautiful weather here in Buffalo but that’s
okay. If we didn’t have a little nasty
weather, we wouldn’t appreciate the good stuff, right? It started out real nice yesterday morning,
sun shining and all, but about 3 p.m. yesterday, the clouds started gathering
and the wind picked up. By dinnertime,
we had a cold drizzle coming down and I had to close up the house.
I didn’t get a whole lot done yesterday as my allergies are
still kicking my butt something fierce. Heck of a time to run out of my allergy
medicine but luckily we are going to Sheridan
today so I’ll be picking up my prescription first thing! I spent most of
yesterday with my left eye watering and my left nostril draining…weird. Everyone is saying this is gonna be a bad
allergy season and it is sure shaping up that way! Rob had a sneezing attack
before bed last night and I made him take some alka seltzer plus before he went
to bed, he was so bad. Of course, he was
out in the yard all day and I’m sure that didn’t help.
We had a heck of a time getting a plastic bag out of the
crabapple tree yesterday afternoon. The
darn thing has been there for months and of course, was all the way in the top
branch. We tried tying long poles
together, we even made a makeshift noose and all we did was manage to get that
caught in the tree, too! Finally, we brought
out the huge ladder and I held it while Rob climbed up as high as he dared and
we just lopped off the branch. I wish I’d
been filming the whole scene because it was pretty hilarious. I’d like to get my hands on the person who
invented plastic bags, I swear. I keep tons of those recyclable cloth bags in
my car for shopping as I don’t want to contribute to the problem.
The police scanner crackled to life about 4:30 yesterday
afternoon with news of an 18 wheeler that had plunged into Mosier Gulch on
Highway 16 coming down the mountain again. From the news reports, it sounds
like he burned through his brakes.
Witnesses said they saw smoke coming from his truck as he was
unsuccessfully attempting to pull off the road. The spot where he went over is
extremely steep and he did not survive. It’s
too bad he didn’t think to take the emergency truck ramp before attempting that
curve. It seems we have at least one
fatality at that spot every year. I don’t think people realize that from Powder Pass
Today, we’re going to Sheridan
so Rob can get his knee looked at. It
was pretty swollen when he went to bed last night. I sure hope Dr Quinn has some ideas to help
it so Rob can enjoy our vacation without too much pain. It would be a bummer if
it’s hurting him too much to enjoy all the hiking we have planned down in Arizona .
Speaking of doctors, I finally got all my medical records
from Billings .
Oh my goodness, it’s thicker than a phonebook!
I had requested all my records so I have everything for these clinical
trials I am trying to get into. I was
able to find that they have already tested me for the HLA-B*57 marker that they
are looking for in the NIH trial. I don’t
have it, unfortunately, so I’ll be calling Seattle on Tuesday to see what I need to do to get rolling on the
stem cell transplant trial. I figure if I call and start things rolling before
we leave on vacation, that will give me time to really think over and decide if
this is something I’m going to be willing to do. It’s a huge step to be taking
and I’m pretty nervous. For one thing, I’d
have to be away from Rob and from home for at least three months. But, after reading all of my chart, including
the pages and pages of resistance testing they did eight months ago, I think I’m
just going to have to bite the bullet and give it a whirl. One of my girlfriends was treated for a very
serious cancer at this same Center about a year ago and they did amazing work
for her and really took good care of her.
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| Bluebird on Hazelton Road last summer...there's babies in the box! |
Geez, I was just reading back through what I’ve written and I
sound like doom and gloom and that’s not my intention! Life is pretty darn amazing, folks and I am so
grateful for everything I have. Allergies and limping husbands are just part of
life’s little annoyances and no reason to get all upset! I don’t want you to think that I am
ruminating on the less than happy things, by any means. Life just has its ups and downs, that’s all.
I am really doing awesome considering….especially after reading my medical
chart, I feel very blessed. It’s almost
otherworldly to read that chart and realize that it’s me they are talking
about. I always joke to people that I’m “dead on paper” and after reading all
that stuff, I can truly say that now.
But, I am not defined by what the medical profession sees with their
microscopes and lab work, now am I? I truly believe you are as healthy as you
set your mind to be.
I also believe that just as you can will yourself to die (I’ve
seen a lot of people do that), you can will yourself to stick around. I decided
a long time ago that my job was to stay alive and to stay happy and I have no
intention of doing anything less. I am
forever grateful to my husband who adheres to the same philosophy, too. If he sees me sitting around moping, he gets
me up and moving again, the dear heart.
I couldn’t ask for a better partner in life. Sorry if I’m getting a
little sentimental but I have my needlestick anniversary coming up in a few
days and it always makes me a little sappy.
April 4th will be 21
years since that fateful day. There’s
one more person who is keeping track that I feel such pain for, too… the nurse
who accidently stuck me. I know, just
like tomorrow is Tuesday, that there will be another letter from her in my
mailbox this week. She writes me every year on the anniversary to see how I’m
doing. In return, every year I call her
and tell her how wonderful I am doing.
Anyway, I hope you have a fabulous day and a wonderful
week. Count your blessings, no matter
how small they may be. There’s always
something good going on, even in the midst of chaos and always, always a reason
to smile!
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