New chapter to our life

It is official...Retirement has arrived.  There wasn't a party or anything, just some handshakes and good wishes.  The time arrived after spending 3 weeks in California working on two jobs.  One was undecided to bid, the other postponed.  Sam saw his way to get away early and he did but not without saying goodbye.

This goodbye does not mean he will never be back to California or with Clark for that matter.  He has already told them what his consulting fee would be and what items he expected them to pick up.  Sam has already heard from them.  The bid that was postponed originally was set to be bid the week before we were seeing Tony, Abby, Gabe, and Sophia for a visit.

We are flying to California in a couple of days for the 4th Annual Betty's Builders Golf Tournament at Pechanga Resort and Casino.  Actually that is the place we will have a room, Journey is the name of their golf course.  Pechanga is an Indian reservation.  It really is a beautiful place in the high desert.  Temecula have so many wineries that you can spend the whole day visiting and sampling and still not get to all of them.

We will be going to two of them to get wine for the raffle prizes and gifts.  Who knows, maybe we will get some to send back home.

Where I was going with all this was this:  we were going from June 11 (Wednesday) to returning on June14 (Saturday).  Sam was asked to head back to California on Tuesday and be there until the 24th of June.  Tony was arriving on the 25th.  Well, we never make plans when it comes to bids.  This bid has once again been moved to the first week of July.  It may even move again, who knows?

The second big item we have had:  the mortgage has been paid off!  We have never done that - EVER!  We still have all the other stuff to take care of but no house payment.  We have worked very hard to get to this point.  So we now have the house and car completely paid for and do not have to worry about making payments.

Now, we need to stay here!  I don't want to move anymore....

New doctor

We had an appointment with my neurologist  several months ago, discussing the need to be on a medication for my MS.  We were having a disagreement about being placed on a drug called Tysabri. Tysabri is a drug that has a possibility of causing death if you should develope a problem called PML.  This is a brain disease that can cause death.  I have known about this drug since it first came out about 7 years ago.  It has not changed.  So, this was a BIG concern on my part.

It has been said your chance of developing this problem is very small, especially if you are JC Virus negative. This virus can be the trigger to having PML if you are positive.  I was checked for this virus and was negative.  I still didn't want to take that chance.  I really was not offered too many other new drugs that did not have some side effects but I felt Tysabri was not for me.  I had read and researched this drug and what I had read, this drug was given to those who were having big problems with their MS.  This wasn't me!  So, we asked for a second opinion.

The office referred us to a doctor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).  MUSC is located in Mt. Pleasant, SC, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive for us.  It is just a little past Charleston.  It really isn't a bad drive.  We have done this drive for other appointments and Charleston was were I had surgery for my thyroid.  The doctor I saw, Dr. Aljoeson Walker, was fantastic and confirmed our thoughts about being on Tysabri.  He said I didn't need it as it was the most powerful of the MS drugs and he usually gave it to his patients that were having a lot of problems.  He told us that he had a patient in a wheelchair, who was able to walk after taking this drug.  (This did not happen immediately).  Dr. Walker did suggest another drug called Rebif.

Rebif has been on the market for at least 8-9 years.  It is taken three times a week.  The shot is taken under the skin, with a small needle, compared to the large needle I had with Avonex.  Dr. Walker said, to me also,  that Avonex will be coming out in the fall with a little stronger version of the drug that is only taken every two weeks instead and very similar to Rebif.

For now I will start Rebif.  I am just waiting for the drug to be sent to me, arrange for the nurse to show me how to take it, and start the routine.

We were so impressed by Dr. Walker and the professionalism of his demeanor and knowledge.  He  is at a teaching hospital so he needs to stay very current and have that quality of dealing with so many different people.  We both said WOW after we left the appointment.  He took a full hour with us discussing everything.  It wasn't a quick in and out as some doctors handle their time.  Dr. Walker was funny and put you very much at ease.  What a change from what we had been dealing with my other doctor!  We made the decision to change doctors on the ride back home.

The call to my original doctor was not an easy one and when I did it was not meet with a positive attitude.  I am sure they were unprepared to hear I would be changing doctors as this second opinion was supposed to be just that - a second opinion.  I just had to do what was best for me.

One more other thing I learned.  When you have secondary progressive MS, there are no drugs for this.  The doctors will label you with Relapsing Remitting so the insurance companies will pay for your drug.

It looks like it will be a go for Disney

I will be having the stitches out on Tuesday.  My ankle is not doing too bad.  It just depends on what type of day it is, whether it is cool or rainy.

I had physical therapy last week and it looks like I will only need a couple of sessions.  I have been doing many of the exercises at home remembering what I had to go through when I had to start from new.  She also didn't think I would have a problem going to Florida but I should still use either a wheelchair or scooter to get around.  I was going to do this anyway regardless.

It had warmed up the last couple of days into the upper 70's to low 80's but we just had a cold front come through again so now the temperature is in the 60's during the day.  I know, some of you Northern people see this as a heat wave, but it can be chilly enough for a sweater when you aren't used to it on a daily basis.

My blog is finally working!

I haven't been able to post anything for the whole year of 2013.  I can't give you a reason why but now that it is up and running, I hope to post more.

As most of you know, last year was not a great one to start off with because I had fallen and broke my ankle in 3-4 places.  Spent a week in the hospital and another 3 weeks in rehab.  I tried to have a new puppy but she didn't work out.  I can't say that she was the thing that caused my accident but I was being stubborn as I was told Molly was my dog and I would be the only one taking care of her.

I was exhausted that evening but I was so angry at that statement, I pushed myself to stay up with the puppy.  I did have some light on but I still got walking too fast to sit down, could not stop myself, tripped, fell, and heard the crack.  Molly was given away.  It was very hard to but I was not in a position to now take care of a puppy.
As the year went, discussions about my upcoming birthday were talked about and I wanted to go back to Disney World as it had been at least 20 years.  I had gone to Disneyland while in California but DW is so much bigger with so much to do.
2014 came to be and again I had hopes that this would be the year of being free to do things.  We had planned our trip for Disney, arranged for the hotel, had Frankie taken care of for a few days, and we were ready!
It has not gone according to plan.  I had just seen my orthopedic doctor and he decided to keep in my hardware for at least another 6-12 months.  Well...a week later I started to get a lot of redness and swelling.  I had a spot open up and was bleeding a small amount.  Back to the doctor and he said it might be an infection.  Antibiotics given and the decision to remove all the hardware.  Disney is in question once more because I am not able to walk too long as it is sore and hurts.  Ahhhh!  A decision will be made on Wednesday about whether to go now or delay again.

Happy New Year 2013

It is a new year.  What will it bring to one and all?  As we get older, it seems that days get busier and busier and we run out of time.  This happens even if you are retired; from your job, from volunteering, from making a life choice to change your life.  What has happened to us that we run out of time? We used to take time to visit neighbors, to talk to our kids, to see and visit with family.  The economy plays a part, as well as, family and friends being spread across the country.  Why can't we stay connected?  Is our life so busy that we can't just stop to say hello?

I saw our grandchildren for Christmas in 2012.  It was an effort to plan and to travel to do it.  I enjoyed being with my grown and successful children and my 7 grandchildren.  It was still hard to try and fit in all the time needed and wanted by the grown children and still trying to give attention to the grandchildren.  There was such maneuvering and planning, with disappointments included, when one could only be at one place at a time.  You can only do the best you can to accommodate all the plans and needs from everyone.  Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you are not.  Someone will always be unhappy in the end.

I always want to make everyone happy.  I try to see everyone's point of view and need, to work with the time I have to give, and yet I seem to fail in accomplishing the goal I have set for myself; to give an equal amount of time.

I do not have the resources to have a place in each state to accommodate everyone's desire.  I  really wished I did and with it, the resources to cover my travels.  Limitations are always in the forefront of every decision; whether it be travels, purchases, visits, your life!

Is there any answer to this quandary?  What does one do to keep moving forward in life without sacrificing connections?  Do we need to go back to a slower way of life?  Was there ever one?

Surgery

It is 10 days now before the surgery of my thyroid.  I am doing OK with this for now.  I have researched and researched information about the surgery and the types of surgery that are offered.

My surgeon is one that will make a small incision to try and avoid a big scar.  I am also going home the same day, which in the past was not the case.  I am lucky on those two counts.  I am worried and so is Sam/Dad.  He seems to be more this time around then usual or maybe it is because of the type of surgery.

I think he could handle the other surgeries because it didn't involve anything close to my neck.  Now, I will have my neck cut to remove a very large tumor.  I am not sure how much of the thyroid the doctor will take as it depends on what he sees when he goes in the area.  I am not sure if the whole thyroid will be removed but I have heard a good portion of it.  I may or may not have to take medication afterwards.
What is another pill, for me anyway?  I take so much now so an addition will not amount to anything.

The months of November and December are turning out to be quite active.  Sam/Dad will be flying up to Bethesda, Maryland, on November 7 and having a large meeting on November 8.  He will fly back home November 8, but it will be a late flight.

On November 13, I have my surgery.  Depending on how I am doing afterwards, will make our other plans work or not.  We have a couple of craft shows coming up then and we wanted to attend.  Sam/Dad will fly to California on November 26, to work on the bid for an addition to a hospital in San Diego.  The bid is on November 29.

The other function, on November 29, is a retirement dinner for a Clark person that Sam/Dad has worked with while he has been with Clark.  This retirement dinner is in San Francisco.  This will mean that he will finish the bid up in Costa Mesa, maybe by 3 PM, try to catch a flight to San Francisco for the dinner (which is about an hour and a half),  and then return to Costa Mesa the next day to finish up the bid.

We just found out when the holiday party will be this year for Clark and it is December 4.  Sam/Dad was to return on December 1.  The quandary now is whether to stay longer in Costa Mesa for the party.  The party will be on the Queen Mary 2.  It sounds like a neat venue for a party.

We are also thinking that if everything goes right, we could stop off in Denver, before our return, for a few days.

All of these plans, will depend on how I am doing from the surgery.  That is the biggest question we have right now.  I don't have a crystal ball to know that answer.  It will definitely be a lot of flying.  I believe that could be handled but what about Frankie?  The time away will be quite long and I have other doctor appointments already booked.  Doctor appointments can be rescheduled.  I have my indecisions with all of these activities.

We just have to wait and see what happens in a week and half.

October 22, 2012

October 22, 2012, is a Monday, time 3:30 p.m., I will meet with the surgeon.  I hope I will be able to get some answers to the thyroid problem.

I have so many questions about what will happen next.  I am sure a biopsy will be done.  I have a greater chance that it will be benign then cancer.  I still know, from what I have read, that the mass will need to be removed and along with it part of the thyroid.   Just how much will be determined once the thyroid is exposed.

These are all things that I have read and partly been told by the Endocrinologist.  I also was told that this surgeon, Dr. Stanley Wilson, is conservative in his approach in regards to surgery.

Is this on my mind?  You betcha! Are we talking about it much?  Not really as there are so many unknowns.

Dad/Sam has other things to concentrate on right now.  He has a bid at the end of October.  He is flying to California, today, October 15.  He will be there until Saturday and fly back to South Carolina, to be here for the appointment on October 22.  Whatever is decided at the appointment, will determine whether he fly's back to California.  Right now, he has a flight back the next day, October 23.

I have a lot of people praying for me and for good results.  I know I will deal with whatever the outcome, as I am strong and have handled major problems in the past.

"It is what it is".  Can't change things so I just have to deal with it.  It is still scary about the unknown!  I am one that needs to know exactly what will happen, so I can organize it in my mind, research and learn more, have things in place.  I still will get nervous and anxious, but I will know more.

Now to wait until Monday