I hope everyone in the northeast is enjoying the snow this weekend. Further south we're being treated to mild, rainy weather that seems more like March than January. I am grateful for the easy winter we've been having (since Gregg can go out and walk and get exercise which is helping his recovery) but I must admit I've been craving a little bit of real winter weather. So much so that I had myself fooled into believing we had snow on the way yesterday!
I was at my Yahoo! homepage and clicked on the weather icon. The forecast showed snow showers for two days with accumulation of up to 5 inches! I got so excited, I called Gregg in to see, and we both were exclaiming how we just couldn't believe we were going to get that much snow! After a full 5 minutes of excitement, I happened to glance at the top of the page....and instead of my default location, we were looking at the forecast for New York City. Sigh. I felt like a real dumbass!
So that's as close to real winter weather as we've gotten here in SC. There is still time, of course, but we're probably not going to see as much snow as we had last year (and all of it together didn't even approach 5 inches!) I envy those of you that have beautiful, snowy winters.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Midwinter morning
A fragrant cup of coffee, a good book, and a cold January morning outside my window....a husband sleeping peacefully in the next room....the sound of birds at the feeder outside chattering to each other....and a warm, cozy home to enjoy it all in...I am content.
What a peaceful, lovely way to begin the day. All I have is all I need.
What a peaceful, lovely way to begin the day. All I have is all I need.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Light at the end of the tunnel
Slowly but surely, things are improving and we're beginning to see a possible light at the end of the tunnel.
Gregg had surgery to remove his left lung on Jan.5, and he is now at home recovering beautifully. His one week follow up with the surgeon (one week after discharge from the hospital) went very well! He is healing quickly and should be almost back to normal in 2 to 3 more weeks.
Although no cancer has been found anywhere else in his body (even the lymph nodes at the bottom of the lung they removed were clear) we will be meeting with an oncologist and Gregg will most likely have one round of chemo. This is just extra insurance that they got it all. They said he can have plenty of time to get good and recovered from the operation first.
I am so very thankful that Gregg is probably going to be ok. This has been a horrible, traumatic experience and I hope that by this summer we can put this behind us and get back to a somewhat normal life. Gregg quit smoking cold turkey before the surgery, and has done very very well with it! So hopefully between that and a super healthy lifestyle he can live a long, cancer free life. Of course, he will have to have frequent checkups to catch any recurrance early, but they said that besides the tumor in his lung (most certainly caused by cigarettes) that he was amazingly healthy and strong. The doctors and respiratory therapists also continue to reassure us that he can live a very normal (even active!) life with just one lung. The human body is an amazing, adaptable thing!
I am so very, very thankful. More updates to come....
Gregg had surgery to remove his left lung on Jan.5, and he is now at home recovering beautifully. His one week follow up with the surgeon (one week after discharge from the hospital) went very well! He is healing quickly and should be almost back to normal in 2 to 3 more weeks.
Although no cancer has been found anywhere else in his body (even the lymph nodes at the bottom of the lung they removed were clear) we will be meeting with an oncologist and Gregg will most likely have one round of chemo. This is just extra insurance that they got it all. They said he can have plenty of time to get good and recovered from the operation first.
I am so very thankful that Gregg is probably going to be ok. This has been a horrible, traumatic experience and I hope that by this summer we can put this behind us and get back to a somewhat normal life. Gregg quit smoking cold turkey before the surgery, and has done very very well with it! So hopefully between that and a super healthy lifestyle he can live a long, cancer free life. Of course, he will have to have frequent checkups to catch any recurrance early, but they said that besides the tumor in his lung (most certainly caused by cigarettes) that he was amazingly healthy and strong. The doctors and respiratory therapists also continue to reassure us that he can live a very normal (even active!) life with just one lung. The human body is an amazing, adaptable thing!
I am so very, very thankful. More updates to come....
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Update
This is reposted from Facebook, since I am too exhausted to do much of a blog post right now. Gregg had surgery to remove his left lung on Thursday, and he is doing great! :) The final pathology report came back, and although the tumor was large, the lymph nodes on the bottom of that lung were clear of cancer, and the surgeon got a clear margin all around it. We are looking at one round of chemo even though no cancer has shown up anywhere else, just as extra insurance. That won't be until after he finishes recovering from the operation, though.
Facebook message:
To all of our friends and family that have given us support, love, prayers, and help during this difficult time: Gregg and I are grateful from the bottom of our hearts to have so many wonderful people in our lives. It is astonishing and humbling to receive such an outpouring of kindness and concern. Thank you all so much. I don't know how to express all that it has meant to us.
Gregg is recovering beautifully. His surgery went very well and he seems to be healing quickly so far. He is in the CVICU and will be for the duration of his hospital stay. We are hoping he will be coming home on Monday or Tuesday.
I cannot say enough good things about the amazing staff at Mccleod Regional Medical Center. The level of personal concern, professionalism, and attention from everyone has been exceptional. In particular we are grateful to Dr. Vinod Jona and Dr. Gregory Jones for going above and beyond in every possible way. Words cannot express how very, very grateful we are for their skills and the urgency with which they treated Gregg's illness. The entire hospital staff has been absolutely amazing.
Facebook message:
To all of our friends and family that have given us support, love, prayers, and help during this difficult time: Gregg and I are grateful from the bottom of our hearts to have so many wonderful people in our lives. It is astonishing and humbling to receive such an outpouring of kindness and concern. Thank you all so much. I don't know how to express all that it has meant to us.
Gregg is recovering beautifully. His surgery went very well and he seems to be healing quickly so far. He is in the CVICU and will be for the duration of his hospital stay. We are hoping he will be coming home on Monday or Tuesday.
I cannot say enough good things about the amazing staff at Mccleod Regional Medical Center. The level of personal concern, professionalism, and attention from everyone has been exceptional. In particular we are grateful to Dr. Vinod Jona and Dr. Gregory Jones for going above and beyond in every possible way. Words cannot express how very, very grateful we are for their skills and the urgency with which they treated Gregg's illness. The entire hospital staff has been absolutely amazing.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Hanging in there
Just a quick note here to wish everyone a happy holiday season and blessings of health, happiness, and love in the coming year.
Gregg and I are hanging in there. After getting over the initial shock of the diagnosis, somehow we managed to have a quiet, sweet Christmas together. We put aside the fear for a couple of days and stayed at home with each other. We took walks at night with Ginger to look at the stars (so bright in the cold winter sky!) and the neighborhood decorations. We ate lots of junk food, and spent afternoons watching old John Wayne movies in our pjs. On Christmas Eve I lit beeswax candles on the mantle (I love their warm light and faint smell of honey) and we sat together and enjoyed the quiet and the peace of the holiday.
Now the tough part begins.
This week Gregg will begin a series of doctor's appointments and tests to find out more about his cancer diagnosis, and what the next few months will hold in terms of treatment. We are frightened about getting the full diagnosis, but not knowing and imagining the worst isn't a good position to be in.
Today is his first consultation. We are extremely fortunate to have the head of the pulmonary department at a local hospital as a personal friend. We have been close to him and his wife for years and he is the first person Gregg is meeting with to see what needs to happen first. He is not only a very good doctor (and a lung specialist) but he is young, serious, and has advanced very rapidly in his field. I know that he will help us assemble a great team to fight this. And most importantly, Gregg feels comfortable with him. I know he will do everything in his power to help us.
Please everyone hold us in your thoughts this week. Any and all prayers, thoughts, messages, and love sent our way are greatly appreciated.
I wanted to include one of my favorite pictures of my husband here, taken last summer during our trip to Virginia. He was studying a small creek and the native aquatic plants growing in it. It was a beautiful path we were standing on, as you can see. We were celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary:
I intend to get this wonderful man well and strong again. That is all that matters to me for the coming year, and all I can hope for in 2012.
Gregg and I are hanging in there. After getting over the initial shock of the diagnosis, somehow we managed to have a quiet, sweet Christmas together. We put aside the fear for a couple of days and stayed at home with each other. We took walks at night with Ginger to look at the stars (so bright in the cold winter sky!) and the neighborhood decorations. We ate lots of junk food, and spent afternoons watching old John Wayne movies in our pjs. On Christmas Eve I lit beeswax candles on the mantle (I love their warm light and faint smell of honey) and we sat together and enjoyed the quiet and the peace of the holiday.
Now the tough part begins.
This week Gregg will begin a series of doctor's appointments and tests to find out more about his cancer diagnosis, and what the next few months will hold in terms of treatment. We are frightened about getting the full diagnosis, but not knowing and imagining the worst isn't a good position to be in.
Today is his first consultation. We are extremely fortunate to have the head of the pulmonary department at a local hospital as a personal friend. We have been close to him and his wife for years and he is the first person Gregg is meeting with to see what needs to happen first. He is not only a very good doctor (and a lung specialist) but he is young, serious, and has advanced very rapidly in his field. I know that he will help us assemble a great team to fight this. And most importantly, Gregg feels comfortable with him. I know he will do everything in his power to help us.
Please everyone hold us in your thoughts this week. Any and all prayers, thoughts, messages, and love sent our way are greatly appreciated.
I wanted to include one of my favorite pictures of my husband here, taken last summer during our trip to Virginia. He was studying a small creek and the native aquatic plants growing in it. It was a beautiful path we were standing on, as you can see. We were celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary:
I intend to get this wonderful man well and strong again. That is all that matters to me for the coming year, and all I can hope for in 2012.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Scared
Dear friends and followers:
This past Monday I got the most devastating news of my life. My husband Gregg has lung cancer.
We don't really know anything beyond that. The CAT scan they did of his lungs shows two spots in his left lung. It looks (at least initially) like it has not spread to his lymph nodes. Next week, after the holiday, he's going to see a specialist to find out more about it, and where we go from here.
I am still in shock, and I feel very frightened and alone. We have not told his family yet (he wants to wait until after Christmas) but I have told my parents and a couple of close friends. My boss at the bookstore is a breast cancer survivor, and has assured me she will do anything in her power to support me with my job.
I am trying to hold myself together, and to be strong for Gregg, but I feel so weak. He is much calmer than me, or at least he appears to be. I have never been so scared in my life. I don't know what the next few months will hold, but we are going to fight this.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Forgive me if my posts here are irregular and/or don't make much sense. I will try to update as I am able.
This past Monday I got the most devastating news of my life. My husband Gregg has lung cancer.
We don't really know anything beyond that. The CAT scan they did of his lungs shows two spots in his left lung. It looks (at least initially) like it has not spread to his lymph nodes. Next week, after the holiday, he's going to see a specialist to find out more about it, and where we go from here.
I am still in shock, and I feel very frightened and alone. We have not told his family yet (he wants to wait until after Christmas) but I have told my parents and a couple of close friends. My boss at the bookstore is a breast cancer survivor, and has assured me she will do anything in her power to support me with my job.
I am trying to hold myself together, and to be strong for Gregg, but I feel so weak. He is much calmer than me, or at least he appears to be. I have never been so scared in my life. I don't know what the next few months will hold, but we are going to fight this.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Forgive me if my posts here are irregular and/or don't make much sense. I will try to update as I am able.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
It's beginning to look....nothing like Christmas
So, true to form, December is rolling up it's sleeves and preparing to have it's way with me.
I've posted before about how bad stuff always seems to happen to me around Christmastime. Well, yesterday my husband finally went to the doctor after almost a month of having a "chest cold" that he couldn't shake. It kept getting worse and worse until I insisted he go get it checked out. He is the kind of guy that will try to "tough it out" and get better on his own. Sometimes that isn't such a good idea.
Turns out he has a bad case of pneumonia. They almost admitted him to the hospital. As it is, they sent him home with lots of drugs and a breathing machine and instructions to come back in a few days for a CAT scan. The initial x-rays they did showed a lot of fluid in his lungs and they have to make sure it responds to treatment. I think the doctor scared him a little, which may be a good thing.
He hates going to the doctor. He's also very suspicious of drugs, and rarely will take so much as an aspirin unless he really, really has to. I've been nagging him for two weeks to go get this "cold" checked out. He finally gave in after a full month of being sick. I wish he would take better care of himself and make his health a priority. He works too much, for one thing, and when he gets sick he will rarely take time off . I appreciate his strong work ethic and good intentions, but it's foolish to ignore or try to "tough out" illness. And it scares me that he does so!
So this December I'm hoping we don't have to spend the holidays at the hospital. The doctor gave him a big shot of an antibiotic on the spot, and four prescriptions to fill. The CAT scan of his lungs in a few days will determine whether or not he can stay at home to recover. Even if he can stay at home, it's going to be a while before he's fully well. So.....
.......I'm beginning to think this will be the year we skip the whole holiday celebration. I just haven't had the time or energy to do anything, unless you count stringing two strands of white lights on a houseplant! (Seriously, that is the whole extent of my holiday decorating.) We had already discussed not exchanging gifts this year with our families due to some members having financial hardships, so we haven't done any shopping. Between busy retail jobs and GB being sick, there has hardly been a thought given to anything like that in our house this year. I am surprised to find that (at least at this point) I don't really care much.
I know this is a time of great fun and excitement for most people, and I hope I don't sound like Scrooge. I will continue to try to post little bits of holiday stuff here and there for the blog party. I hope everyone reading is having a wonderful Yule/Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday. I've been enjoying all the holiday blog posts out there. They add a bit of holiday sparkle to my moments of free time. And holiday sparkle is something I seem to be lacking this year!
I've posted before about how bad stuff always seems to happen to me around Christmastime. Well, yesterday my husband finally went to the doctor after almost a month of having a "chest cold" that he couldn't shake. It kept getting worse and worse until I insisted he go get it checked out. He is the kind of guy that will try to "tough it out" and get better on his own. Sometimes that isn't such a good idea.
Turns out he has a bad case of pneumonia. They almost admitted him to the hospital. As it is, they sent him home with lots of drugs and a breathing machine and instructions to come back in a few days for a CAT scan. The initial x-rays they did showed a lot of fluid in his lungs and they have to make sure it responds to treatment. I think the doctor scared him a little, which may be a good thing.
He hates going to the doctor. He's also very suspicious of drugs, and rarely will take so much as an aspirin unless he really, really has to. I've been nagging him for two weeks to go get this "cold" checked out. He finally gave in after a full month of being sick. I wish he would take better care of himself and make his health a priority. He works too much, for one thing, and when he gets sick he will rarely take time off . I appreciate his strong work ethic and good intentions, but it's foolish to ignore or try to "tough out" illness. And it scares me that he does so!
So this December I'm hoping we don't have to spend the holidays at the hospital. The doctor gave him a big shot of an antibiotic on the spot, and four prescriptions to fill. The CAT scan of his lungs in a few days will determine whether or not he can stay at home to recover. Even if he can stay at home, it's going to be a while before he's fully well. So.....
.......I'm beginning to think this will be the year we skip the whole holiday celebration. I just haven't had the time or energy to do anything, unless you count stringing two strands of white lights on a houseplant! (Seriously, that is the whole extent of my holiday decorating.) We had already discussed not exchanging gifts this year with our families due to some members having financial hardships, so we haven't done any shopping. Between busy retail jobs and GB being sick, there has hardly been a thought given to anything like that in our house this year. I am surprised to find that (at least at this point) I don't really care much.
I know this is a time of great fun and excitement for most people, and I hope I don't sound like Scrooge. I will continue to try to post little bits of holiday stuff here and there for the blog party. I hope everyone reading is having a wonderful Yule/Christmas/Hanukkah/holiday. I've been enjoying all the holiday blog posts out there. They add a bit of holiday sparkle to my moments of free time. And holiday sparkle is something I seem to be lacking this year!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Winter flowers, winter reading
Today I picked the first camellia blossoms of the winter. I love these flowers simply because they bloom and thrive during the deepest darkest part of the year. I made a small arrangement for our main bathroom.
There have been a lot of new books purchased around our house recently. I have ordered a copy of The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper and am excited to read this again after many years. It was recently recommended by Cate at http://www.beyondthefieldsweknow.org/ as a good yule/midwinter read. I had forgotten about these books, which I read when I was about 12, and loved. I am excited about reading them again!
In the meantime, I found this little gem buried in the Cultural Studies section of the bookstore where I work. I had to bring it home with me:
I am interested in native plants, and the use of them by early peoples as medicine. This is a nice little reference book to have and I'm sure I will refer back to it often.
Books and flowers--those are the simple things making me happy today.
There have been a lot of new books purchased around our house recently. I have ordered a copy of The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper and am excited to read this again after many years. It was recently recommended by Cate at http://www.beyondthefieldsweknow.org/ as a good yule/midwinter read. I had forgotten about these books, which I read when I was about 12, and loved. I am excited about reading them again!
In the meantime, I found this little gem buried in the Cultural Studies section of the bookstore where I work. I had to bring it home with me:
I am interested in native plants, and the use of them by early peoples as medicine. This is a nice little reference book to have and I'm sure I will refer back to it often.
Books and flowers--those are the simple things making me happy today.
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