Answered Prayers!!

If you are a regular reader, you know what my answered prayer is, a negative sternum biopsy, letting the stem cell transplant transpire!! I got the news this afternoon by phone from my guardian angel, Stacy, who said she was so happy when the news popped up on her computer. The suspicious spot was due to trauma, it happened my first night home from the hospital after Thanksgiving when I tipped the walker over, hit a wooden kitchen chair and then crashed into the fireplace. I had such a sore chest for weeks after, especially since I came home with a rhino virus and had a terrible cough, it nearly did me in.

But Dr. Lunning, reading the PET scan was unconvinced and gave it a 5% chance of not being lymphoma, those odds were disheartening and when I read the actual PET scan results, my heart sank to my shoes. I kept thinking how could it not be from the fall but was prepared for bad news and wondered what was next. 

I've not slept well the last few nights, lots of leg aches and that cemented the thought that is was something insidious in my body since that is what started the whole ordeal. It couldn't have been that I was contorted into an uncomfortable position under the cattle waterer! (That is another blog complete with pictures.)

I still can't believe the good news and may not sleep again tonight but for another reason. I remember the terror that came over me when Stacy outlined my previous pre-transplant schedule and suddenly didn't want to go through with it. What a difference this time, I told her we could be there tomorrow if they had room!

But it won't start till next Tuesday with outpatient appointments and nights spent in a motel with a tentative admission date of Jan 11 for the actual transplant.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for all the encouragement and tremendous prayer team we've had holding us up.

I feel as though 2017 is going to be very good indeed!

(And I'm really going to have to clean the upstairs bathroom now, yeah, I know I said I would a week ago but you know how that goes!)

Christmas 2016 in the bag

We woke up to wind and rain that continued all day, it was a record rainfall for us on Christmas Day. We battled our way to Sioux City to nephew Todd, wife Mandy and son, Jaxon's house in Morningside, watching the temperature on the car fluctuate between 32 (freezing!) and 34 degrees, hoping the wet pavement didn't turn to ice.

We were invited by my sister in law, Susan, to their son's house so we were hoping she had told them we were coming since we were the first to arrive. Even if we weren't expected, they graciously welcomed them into their lovely home or another word for it is 'Legoland!' This is Jaxon with one of his coveted Lego's that Santa brought but he couldn't open it until he had the rest put together.

Have you ever seen inside one of these kits? There are what looks like thousands of itty, bitty, parts reminding me of the time Christmas was at my house at Whiting and several little girls got Barbie Dolls with all the trappings. For months after I found tiny little Barbie high heels and hair accessories.

Soon Ross and Sherri showed up from Nebraska bearing packages and bags but Jaxon was so good and didn't ask if any were for him.

After a very leisurely lunch of soups, sandwiches, munchies and lots of sweets, Bruce and I got to play Jaxon's fishing game, Bruce said he needed a net sometimes when the fish got off. Just like real fishing so buck up!

We played a fun game where you had try to unwrap a present while wearing oven mitts before the person next to you rolled doubles on the dice. I think we all ended up with something, I love my potholder/mitt combination. We also watched Christmas Vacation and The Christmas Story, I cringe when I think of him sticking his tongue to the flag pole.

It was time for presents and Jaxon got another nerf gun to add to his arsenal, this one had 4 cartridges each holding several nerf bullets. When we got there, the rule was that Jaxon could not shoot people, well, that went out the window when Uncle Ross arrived and started shooting Jaxon. But isn't that was male relatives are for, to corrupt the kid and change the rules?

We even got in on the annual family picture, even with the grousing from Ross, "This takes FOREVER!!" (It didn't.)

It was a fun and relaxing day and we reluctantly left as the day was drawing to a close and the fog was setting in again. How it did that with the way the wind was blowing is a mystery but we arrived home safely. As I was building a fire in the stove to drive away the chill, I realized what I should have asked Santa to bring.

 A new pair of Ove Gloves, my fireplace necessities, I've managed to set them on fire and both thumbs and one finger are burned off. They may withstand heat but sparks are a different story!

Happy Christmas Eve Day

Yesterday was biopsy day, I'm always nervous because some have not been a good experience but I should know by now that the crew at NMC does all they can. We drove to Omaha Thursday night because the weather was not going to be good at home late that night and early morning and it wasn't. This motel had a hot tub so we packed our swimsuits but by the time we got there, we were both out of the mood, after all, it was 7:30, nearly our bedtime! When we woke up and saw the cars with snow on top and wet streets we were glad we made that decision.

With any 'procedure' it's hurry up and wait, we got to the hospital just before 10 and my appointment with the surgeon was at noon. They looked terribly busy but surprisingly on time. This biopsy was a CT guided so I was scrunched up in the machine with my legs hanging over the end, my arms above my head, blankets tucked around to try to keep me warm but leave my chest exposed to the world. Then the nurse had the audacity to ask if I was comfortable, I just rolled my eyes.

Dr. Dafoe asked if I did well with sedation, I said I love sedation and he laughed so I was pretty fuzzy during the retrieval of tissue. Since my heart is right behind where they needed to biopsy, he went in from the side. It was scheduled to take an hour and they were right, I was back in my little cubicle when Bruce came in then watched me sleep for a couple more before we were set free. 

We drove in rain for awhile and further down the road we had a glimpse of what the morning commute was like. We saw a pickup and anhydrous tank on a trailer upside down in the west ditch, the pickup top was smashed and all four door were open. Just a little ways up or down the road I guess, there was a car in the medium still there. We were doubly thankful that we had not been in that mix master.

Today is the annual Wilcox Christmas get together with family and, after being up and around, I'm ready to go and spend a few hours. I might have to hang a sign around my neck, Hug Gently! Sister Sue just invited us up to SC for Christmas dinner, you can't beat that.

I've had this photo that I wanted to use, who is this masked woman?

Is she a celebrity trying to disguise her identity while skiing and hobnobbing in Aspen?

No, she is a dedicated farm wife helping her hubby do chores in -20+ temps in Iowa! Lisa is a great friend who has let me live vicariously through photos of her lovely decorated house. Knowing I wasn't going to get any up, she made me this cute Christmas tree out of clay flower pots and presents magically appeared.

It graces the dusty top of our TV armoire and makes me smile when I see it. I hope you all have the joy and warmth in your hearts that comes with this holiday season as we remember the birth of a tiny baby on that cold winter night.

Merry Christmas!

A roadblock on the road to the transplant

I couldn't write this until I had a lot of time to mull over the news we received yesterday, a (pretty) good nights sleep and a strong cup of coffee liberally laced with International Delight Peppermint Pattie creamer brewed with my new Ninja Single serve coffee machine. Finally I have a coffee maker that brews coffee hot enough, I don't have to put it in the microwave after! I love it!

But I digress.....Bruce and I traveled to Omaha yesterday for yet another PET scan and we were cautiously optimistic because my blood tests had been getting progressively better and I was getting stronger. I've come to really detest the PET scan but I was so hopeful this one would be my friend, it was not.

It takes a long wait to get results but at least we get them the same day, Dr. Lunning came in and said "I'm going to cut to the chase, there is a suspicious spot on your sternum that needs to be biopsied." The rest of the scan looked good and this was not there 30 days ago when I did the last one. Before he could go on I told him that my first night home from the hospital I fell in the night, crashing into a kitchen chair and the fireplace and really injured my sternum. It was terribly painful for such a long time, especially since I had the rhinovirus and was coughing my head off, when I sneezed it felt like my chest was splitting apart. It still is a little tender and I showed Dr. Lunning the spot and it's pretty much the same place they saw on the scan. He knew I had fallen, didn't know the entire story so he went back to call the radiologist and came back with the news that it didn't look like a fracture injury and they have to know for sure. 

Bruce asked him what he thought the odds would be that it is not lymphoma and Dr. Lunninng said 5%. He said he has given me the strongest chemo that they have in their arsenal and I don't do well with it. He said I would breeze through the transplant if I ever get there. But he has to have another plan and that would be to try to control the dragon, not eradicate it, perhaps using a pill based regime.

To my credit, I've had so many set backs that I no longer burst into tears at bad news and I'm sure that is a relief to Dr. Lunning! We were very quiet on the way home, each digesting the new turn this is taking. Beth, Dr. Lunning's nurse, called and said they got an appointment for Friday at 10, it's nice to have a Dr. with pull, otherwise it would have been next week. We will have to wait a week for results but at least we are a few days ahead of the game. We stopped in Correctionville and shared a pizza, then home and at 7:30 we were both headed up to bed, emotionally shot. In the night I was playing musical beds, to the couch with Clyde and back upstairs with Bruce, lots of thoughts swirling around my head.

In the end, the sun did come up this morning, the temps have moderated, the snow is melting and I'm reminded of this poem, it says it all.

WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED

WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love

Author: Annie Johnson Flint 

Edited to add, don't sympathize with me, that opens the floodgates. I'm now dressed and ready to face the day and the first thing on my agenda is to clean the upstairs bathroom since the cleaning fairy, once again, did not show up last night and do it!

The best Christmas Pagent Ever

We are a hardy bunch here in Iowa, even though our car temperature read -27, we didn't wimp out and cancel church like some in the area. The wind did not whip up the fresh snow to blizzard conditions and we found, to our delight, that the county road to the west was finally open after having a bridge replaced, Yeah!!

It was our last Advent coffee Sunday, the first I attended since returning from the hospital after Thankgiving. Shirley and Cheryl provided a plethora of delectable treats along with coffee and hot apple cider.

Then it was soon time for the program and 5 year old Treton stole the show with his flawless performance. He knew his lines as he told the Christmas story, in plain words, such as "We had a baby, but it wasn't mine." 

(Do you think Joseph had a Superman robe?)

 ,

This was Treton's cousin, Isabella, who was the inn keeper...

....he didn't let the antic's of his sister, Addison, corralled by their father, Tracy, or runaway Isabella, even the camera couldn't keep up with her, interfere with his words or song. 

Tracy finally got the girls settled for the grand finale when suddenly Addison remembers baby Jesus by the stable. It was a great program and they received a rousing round of applause.

With no change in the weather, we did wimp out on the caroling, I wasn't going anyway, I didn't want to go to a nursing home not knowing what might be going around in there. The rest of the places we would have gone, we would have stood outside and that would really put a crimp in the night with the -0 temps. I had promised a pot of chili for the party after so we went home from church to a crock pot bubbling away, guaranteed to thaw our cold bones. Coupled with grilled cheese sandwiches and a cold glass of milk, it was a great meal.

Bernice, our church organist, blessed us with her yummy pickles, we know how much work it is and appreciate the effort.

This fat little squirrel was warming his hands, trying to get the courage to come down out of the tree and eat the spilled corn by the garage. With Mollie in the doghouse on her heated bed, he really didn't have much to worry about.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 30's, if you don't like the weather in IA, stick around a day and it will change and we are looking forward to a change like that.

These are the times that try men's souls.....

Days like these have Bruce thinking how much easier life would be without the cattle. It's very, very cold and he discovered a frozen cattle fountain and the pipe frozen to the fountain. To top it off, he discovered water in the bottom of the pit, which should not have been. My first clue something was wrong was when Bruce called to see if I had a sump pump and hose he could use, yes I did. Even though I had drained the hose, it still broke into a 6 ft. piece but it made it easier that way. 

Soon I got a phone call, "Can you come help me, I've called Grassy and dress warm." He had squeezed himself under the fountain and was dipping muck out of the bottom of the pit, when he tried to take the pipe apart, it broke, adding insult to injury. While waiting for Grassy, I took ice cream buckets of muck from Bruce and dumped into a 5 gallon bucket and then dumped it onto the floor. Soon Grassy came and took over and there was nothing for me to do but go back home to the warm house. My gloves were filthy with muck but not much else. Bruce's coveralls, on the other hand, were covered and went right in the washing machine.

He did not sleep well that night, worrying about what to do with the fountain and was up before dawn. He ended up calling Marcus Lumber, Grassy came back and helped him remove the concrete fountain from the base so that guy didn't have squeeze himself into the small hole that Bruce did the day before. It's a good thing because he was a big guy and had a hard time putting a new pipe in. Bruce said he was kind of grumbling but at least he didn't have to dip black, stinky muck out of the pit. They capped off the pipe, Bruce and Grassy put the fountain back in place to wait for nicer weather to hook it up. He also found out the water bowl had a small leak, that is why there was water in the pit and why it shorted out the electric heater keeping it from freezing.

Today Bruce is shopping for a new fountain, his grandfather bought all these fountains from Shorty Treptow in Cleghorn years and years ago. I agreed with him.

Tonight is going to be very subzero and the question is whether the wind comes up and produces ground blizzards and we have to cancel church in the morning. It's the Sunday school Christmas program so I hope not, I look forward to it every year. We put together the goody bags at session the other night and tomorrow night is caroling. I made a crock pot of chili and will make a pan of cinnamon rolls tomorrow, whether we have it or not, we will eat good.

Just so we don't forget what it can be like, Becky sent me a picture of her granddaughter, Ryann and I with Mollie and Murphy in the back yard.

Oh, those were the days.

From the inside looking out

This is a very different winter for me as I'm pretty much confined to the house because of very low energy, my hemoglobin was down and that causes lack of oxygen to vital organs. So I know I'm not just lazy. But life is pretty boring, I'm not out and about and taking pictures of snow and cold and the animals I love. Or Bruce! I spend a lot of time looking out the windows to see what is going on, late yesterday Mollie went crazy and I looked out just in time to see 4 or 5 deer run across the pasture, over the fence, across the road and on south. They were running like their tails were on fire so we assume there were hunters involved.

Bruce was heading out to the front pasture to cut up some wood when I saw 4 pheasants, two pair which is really exciting because we have very few around, tip toeing down the fence line. We hope they stay around the house where they are safe from predators like.....,

.....the two coyotes we saw this morning on the way to Cherokee for the latest blood test. One crossed the road just east of us and the other was standing in the field across from the pond. 

Why can't we just all get along?

I'm still fighting the mouse (mice) in the bee hive, I have two traps set with a mini marshmallow taped to the trigger. When the bugger(s) tripped one twice, I upped the game and put a sticky trap inside. But two days have passed and nothing has happened, I'm just hoping he found the package of poison I put inside also. It's way too cold to disrupt the hive to find him.

Speaking of cold and it's only going to get worse before it gets better, we have a quirky weatherman on Channel 4, T.J. Springer who must have come from a warm climate because as soon as the weather changed, his constant mantra during his report was, "Stay inside, it's too cold to be out there!" Well, how would our animals get fed? How would the bridge get built on our road? How would you ever get mail delivered? It was getting annoying and I think someone finally told him to shut up, because we have not heard that in the last couple of days. But the jury is still out when the temps are dropping on Saturday night to -18 or so. I'm glad that the chickens have a heater at night and all the animals have warm heated beds. I just wish all animals were so lucky. 

People are still being incredibly kind to us, we have a lot of food in the freezer to tide us over when I don't have the strength to cook. Knowing I wasn't going to get out any Christmas decorations, another friend, Lisa, brought us a mini Christmas tree she made from flower pots, it's so cute! And she brought food. The Christmas cards are coming in and I hope people understand that right now I'm not in the mood to reciprocate, maybe in the New Year?

Last night Becky called, concerned that I hadn't blogged or even emailed and I told her I was boring right now. So she told me I could even use the picture of Crazy Becky that I snapped a couple of years ago, how could I pass that up?

Merry Christmas!