Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Frailties Of Aging ... Continued

This year has been like no other... In just about every month of this year, I've been in a doctor's office or some facility having some kind of test. Last week, I had a Bone Survey. Yesterday I saw my Hematologist to get the results. He gave me a copy of the results, which didn't tell me, the patient very much. Apparently, it wasn't as revealing as he hoped, because the first week in December I'll have a bone marrow biopsy. Even though the doctor described a bone marrow biopsy... when I got home I went back online to see if I could actually learn something about my condition. I was hoping to find a clue to my condition, but there was too much info to choose from.. What I did learn is that it is NOT a pain free procedure. Now I have an idea of what to expect... and how I may feel during and after it's done. The degree of pain depends on one's tolerance of pain.

In the past I never really thought too much about if, how many and what changes we may need to make as we aged. Now that Sanford has survived 5 cancers, has only one kidney and my strong feeling that my diagnosis may be one that requires us to make changes, I am wondering what it'll be like. Sometimes I think of what I'd do IF...this is probably my way to prepare myself with possible solutions to possible situations. I look at it as preparing for the worse and praying for the best.
I am not a person who worries. I say that if you pray, don't worry!! And if you're going to worry, don't bother to pray!! Worry never changed anything in a positive way... But I know that prayers ARE answered... That's why I ask others to join us in prayer.

You never know who's heart you will touch when you share a piece of your own.

Friday, October 26, 2007

HE'S HOME!!

Hallelujah!!
Sanford's back home again, Thank God. It's so good not to have to wonder how he's doing and if he needs anything. He's still weak, but time will take care of that. Doctor said he has to take it easy and not rush to get back to pre-operation days.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Ooo Happy Day

Update Thursday Oct 25
I'm so happy to tell you that Sanford is doing great. He was up and walking today. God willing, he will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow [Friday]. Thanks again for all of your prayers and your kind support.

Hugs and kisses to all of you.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Deja Vu

In 2003 I wrote this... (my column) "The Bunni Trail" ... in our monthly condo bulletin.

~~~ WE ARE CALLED SURVIVORS ~~~
We feel that we are blessed. We are true believers in the saying "If God brings you to it, He will take you through it." For many years, my annual mammograms had shown calcium deposits and abnormalities. In 2001, I had cysts biopsied and aspirated. After a biopsy in January 2002, I was in the recovery room when my surgeon came in and told me, "Everything went well. The pathologist didn't find it necessary to do a frozen section." When I heard Frozen Section, I knew that I had cancer. Being alone, I had time to absorb what I'd just learned... but I didn't cry or become emotional. I don't know... perhaps I was in shock. Without an official diagnosis, I didn't want to upset my family, so I didn't tell ANYONE for more than 10 days. My husband usually waited in the car reading and listening to the radio during my medical appointments, but this time I suggested he come in with me to get the biopsy results. When the doctor told me that a small cancer had been found, again I didn't react… much to my surprise, the surprise of my husband, the doctor and two nurses. When the doctor advised me of my options: a lumpectomy with radiation therapy; a mastectomy or a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction (with no radiation or chemo therapy, my immediate response was a Mastectomy with immediate reconstruction.

I firmly believe in the power of prayer… so that night I sent emails and snail mail to our family and friends to advise them of my diagnosis and asked them to please include me in their prayers. When I felt our daughters in Atlanta had had a chance to read my emails, I called them. We are a very close family and I was certain they would be devastated upon learning of my cancer diagnosis. I felt the emails would prepare them before they actually heard it from me and they concurred, it did prepare them. It was the first time that I had truly given any real thought to my mortality and the effect my demise would have on my family. However, I thank the Lord that I am still here and God willing, cancer free.

In 1994 my husband, Sanford, had radiation treatment for prostate cancer. He recently had a skin cancer removed. However, none of the above prepared us for what happened near the end of April 2003. In preparation for minor ear surgery, he had a chest X-ray which showed a small spot on his lung that wasn't there the year before. He had an Adrenal Gland biopsy, CT scan and PET scan...none of which showed cancer, thank God. We were told that because of his history of smoking, [he stopped 23 years prior] it must be assumed that he had Lung cancer. After researching lung cancer on the Internet, we learned that according to statistics, the general prognosis was not optimistic. Of course, I sent those emails and snail mails again requesting prayers for us. .

I've never ever prayed as much as I did before he finally had a Lobectomy, where a small cancer was found and removed. I'm still praying, but these are prayers of thanks that he is cancer free once again. God willing, we will participate again next year in the annual Cancer Relay for Life...


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Déjà Vu

This is the email/snail mail that I sent this past week:
"As an adult have you ever experienced something that was so frightening that it made you feel that you were more vulnerable than ever before? If you answer yes... then you understand how we're doing right now.

Last Sunday evening we had to go to the Emergency Room because my husband, Sanford, had severe abdominal pain all day that did not respond to any pain medicines. The hospital admitted him so that tests could be done to find out what was going on inside.
Our family doctor told Sanford that he's the luckiest man in the world. When asked why he said that.. Dr. M. said he has never had a patient who survived 4 cancers and is about to survive the fifth.
Friday we saw the urologist and the news was not good.. Sanford is scheduled to have a cancerous kidney removed October 23...
And because we believe so strongly in the power of prayer, I am asking if you will please join us in prayer for him to survive this one too.
Some have said that we are lucky... ( I am also a cancer survivor)... but we feel that we are Blessed."


Bunni
You never know who's heart you will touch when you share a piece of your own.

Monday, October 1, 2007

FLORIDA vs NEW YORK

After high school graduation, at the age of 17, I left Miami, FL and moved to New York City where I met and shortly after married my husband, Sanford.
We have been gifted with three lovely daughters, Pam, Toni and Colette.
When we retired to Florida after spending 48 years in NYC, I was somewhat surprised that I didn't have to make any adjustments, even though we live in a different Florida city... not the one in which I grew up. Some of my friends who have lived in Florida all of their lives told me that I would miss NYC, the changes of the season and the differences in the way of life, etc.. It didn't happen!! The one thing I miss about living in NYC are the friends that I left behind.
When we had our 50th High School reunion, I was really surprised that I could remember the names, but not the faces of most of my former classmates. I could have passed most of them on the street and not recognized them.

Some things that make living in FL so much better than living in NYC are:
There are no parking problems and expensive parking like there is everywhere in NYC... rarely is that a problem down here. There's always free parking when we go to a doctor's office, or a hospital, to a restaurant, to visit friends, to the bank, shopping, etc.. Businesses, homes and housing complexes all have free parking for visitors. There's no cold weather or snow here. The only time I feel cold is in my church or restaurants where the air conditioning is turned down too low. The heat is not a problem for us because our apartment has central air conditioning... We step outside our air conditioned apartment into our air conditioned car and wherever we go there's air conditioning unless we go to an outside event. There are beautiful green trees every where and most of the year blue skies with fluffy white clouds. We wake up in the morning to the sound of birds in the trees.
There was a hurricane here in Ft Lauderdale in 2005. It was the first one of that magnitude in over 50 years. And it really wasn't so bad, the worse thing that happened to us was that we had no electricity for 8 days... but many areas were without it for weeks. The city provided us seniors with ice, bottled water and emergency type meals. There's very little stress living down here. We don't have a mortgage or car payments. It seems like we have more control over our lives, which we didn't have in NYC. That may well be, because we pretty much do what we want, when we want and if we want.
Am I beginning to sound like the Chamber of Commerce?

We've been back for 13 plus years and yet, there are times while riding in the car that I still get a rush looking at the beautiful blue skies and green trees. At those times I'm reminded how blessed we are to be able to live here at this time in our lives, where our only real concerns are health issues, which we would have regardless of where we live. I often think of the words to that old song... "Summer time when the living is easy".


You never know who's heart you will touch when you share a piece of your own.