Tuesday, July 7, 2009 8:41 PM, EDT
Arnetta &Warren Journal.
Chemo is never fun for Warren but today it was truly grueling and Warren is totally spent. The nursing staff took last Friday off for America’s birthday party so the chemo room was still backed up today. Several patients were there for very long chemo treatments so no chairs opened up. Far from getting one of the three private areas we had hoped to get for our final scheduled chemo, Warren ended up getting his chemo in one of the padded straight chairs in the visitors’ line. I was fortunate to even get a chair to sit with him. One good piece of news is that Warren’s numbers were actually UP today from last week!
Warren, as always, didn’t talk much during chemo, but the chemo patient on the other side of me, Sandra, was very chatty. She was also having her last treatment (breast cancer this time and colon cancer previously) and was deemed cancer free according to her recent tests. Sandra and I talked for more than an hour about all kinds of things. At the end of our conversation, Sandra found a kindred soul in me when she tentatively announced that she believes there are other effective treatments out there less toxic than chemo but those who support them are being silenced by drug companies. I agreed but told her that Warren and I believe in a dual approach. We know people that have been cured by chemo so we don’t summarily reject it, but we also believe in experimenting with other harmless treatments so we are doing that, too. I quickly mentioned Rife radio frequency and Hydrazine Sulphate, then it was time to go.
Warren and I came home to find Celeste’s car still in our driveway. Just as we were leaving for chemo, Celeste had arrived and nabbed Dad to put him to work as her plumber’s assistant. She aimed to replace the sink in our master bedroom bathroom with another sink exactly like it; that is, exactly like it except for one thing - the “new” sink is free of ugly chips and a 4” in diameter corroded rust spot around the overflow drain. That huge, ugly, rusted spot reflected front and center in the large mirror over the vanity, making it stick out like a sore thumb every time we entered the bathroom. Celeste had seen the “new” sink in the stuff I cleaned out of the bedroom corner and immediately vowed that she would put it in for us with Dad's help. Thanks to Celeste and Dad, the bathroom just improved a hundred fold! I knew it would look nicer but I’m totally amazed at what a huge difference the sink makes! Now I can’t wait to rip the old wallpaper down and paint the walls!
Okay, since I mentioned my “new” sink, I have a confession to make. In my past not entirely secret life I was a trash picker. I learned it from Dad. That sink was only one of the wonderful treasures brought home from my lucrative walks with my good friend and neighbor, Diana, through our local subdivisions . We were quite a pair and we had a lot of fun! Among the hundreds of useful things I brought home besides that sink, were the expandable solid wood table I’m working on right now, a beautiful Wonder Horse, 4 or 5 Power Wheel Jeeps in good condition (over $300 each when new) with batteries ($50 each at Toys R Us), three Lil Tykes picnic tables and two turtle sandboxes, several cool bicycles and a zillion other wonderful things for our granddaughters. I even brought my dad his Hammond organ from the end of someone’s driveway, and our family room couch and loveseat (in the picture on this site) was a neighbor’s furniture set which was put out to the curb in very near perfect condition. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! People in Farmington Hills have very high class trash! It’s very hard to leave it there for the garbage truck when I know I could use it to good advantage! Besides, it’s my civic duty to keep such things out of the land fills. All of you who know me well are aware that I live and breath the “Three R’s” – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
There is one last thing I’d like to mention before I close. Dad often mentions how much he misses golf and hopes Warren will soon be well enough to go with him again. Since Warren first got sick Dad has always encouraged him to get better so they could get out and golf together first by spring, then by summer, now by fall. Unfortunately, I really don’t see that happening this summer or fall and I believe Dad is starting to get the picture, too. It is sad, especially when I know Dad may not have a lot of good summers left.
Warren and I are both very grateful that Lois and Jack Mumford have been wonderful about getting Dad to bowling every Friday. We all appreciate it very much and they say they have fun, too. If Dad could get in a couple rounds of golf, his summer would be complete.
We’d really like to see Dad get out a couple times before the season is over. Are there any golfers out there who wouldn’t mind taking him out for a round or two of golf at a fairly easy course? Dad has an arm that isn’t two good because of a snapped tendon, so I believe Warren would hit the first drive for him and Dad would play the ball from there. Please let me know if that’s something you are able and would like to do. We’d all be very grateful. Warren feels badly that he is not able to get out with Dad and I know they would both be very happy if someone would do that in Warren's stead.
Thanks so much to all of you for everything from thoughts and prayers to acts of kindness. You have served to make a sad situation so much more bearable than it would otherwise be. We are so very grateful. God is good and he lives in all of you!
PS. By the way, still flexible after 42 years - Warren and I did alright sleeping all mixed up last night and the bedroom looks even better with the new arrangement in place!
Arnetta &Warren Journal.
Chemo is never fun for Warren but today it was truly grueling and Warren is totally spent. The nursing staff took last Friday off for America’s birthday party so the chemo room was still backed up today. Several patients were there for very long chemo treatments so no chairs opened up. Far from getting one of the three private areas we had hoped to get for our final scheduled chemo, Warren ended up getting his chemo in one of the padded straight chairs in the visitors’ line. I was fortunate to even get a chair to sit with him. One good piece of news is that Warren’s numbers were actually UP today from last week!
Warren, as always, didn’t talk much during chemo, but the chemo patient on the other side of me, Sandra, was very chatty. She was also having her last treatment (breast cancer this time and colon cancer previously) and was deemed cancer free according to her recent tests. Sandra and I talked for more than an hour about all kinds of things. At the end of our conversation, Sandra found a kindred soul in me when she tentatively announced that she believes there are other effective treatments out there less toxic than chemo but those who support them are being silenced by drug companies. I agreed but told her that Warren and I believe in a dual approach. We know people that have been cured by chemo so we don’t summarily reject it, but we also believe in experimenting with other harmless treatments so we are doing that, too. I quickly mentioned Rife radio frequency and Hydrazine Sulphate, then it was time to go.
Warren and I came home to find Celeste’s car still in our driveway. Just as we were leaving for chemo, Celeste had arrived and nabbed Dad to put him to work as her plumber’s assistant. She aimed to replace the sink in our master bedroom bathroom with another sink exactly like it; that is, exactly like it except for one thing - the “new” sink is free of ugly chips and a 4” in diameter corroded rust spot around the overflow drain. That huge, ugly, rusted spot reflected front and center in the large mirror over the vanity, making it stick out like a sore thumb every time we entered the bathroom. Celeste had seen the “new” sink in the stuff I cleaned out of the bedroom corner and immediately vowed that she would put it in for us with Dad's help. Thanks to Celeste and Dad, the bathroom just improved a hundred fold! I knew it would look nicer but I’m totally amazed at what a huge difference the sink makes! Now I can’t wait to rip the old wallpaper down and paint the walls!
Okay, since I mentioned my “new” sink, I have a confession to make. In my past not entirely secret life I was a trash picker. I learned it from Dad. That sink was only one of the wonderful treasures brought home from my lucrative walks with my good friend and neighbor, Diana, through our local subdivisions . We were quite a pair and we had a lot of fun! Among the hundreds of useful things I brought home besides that sink, were the expandable solid wood table I’m working on right now, a beautiful Wonder Horse, 4 or 5 Power Wheel Jeeps in good condition (over $300 each when new) with batteries ($50 each at Toys R Us), three Lil Tykes picnic tables and two turtle sandboxes, several cool bicycles and a zillion other wonderful things for our granddaughters. I even brought my dad his Hammond organ from the end of someone’s driveway, and our family room couch and loveseat (in the picture on this site) was a neighbor’s furniture set which was put out to the curb in very near perfect condition. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! People in Farmington Hills have very high class trash! It’s very hard to leave it there for the garbage truck when I know I could use it to good advantage! Besides, it’s my civic duty to keep such things out of the land fills. All of you who know me well are aware that I live and breath the “Three R’s” – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
There is one last thing I’d like to mention before I close. Dad often mentions how much he misses golf and hopes Warren will soon be well enough to go with him again. Since Warren first got sick Dad has always encouraged him to get better so they could get out and golf together first by spring, then by summer, now by fall. Unfortunately, I really don’t see that happening this summer or fall and I believe Dad is starting to get the picture, too. It is sad, especially when I know Dad may not have a lot of good summers left.
Warren and I are both very grateful that Lois and Jack Mumford have been wonderful about getting Dad to bowling every Friday. We all appreciate it very much and they say they have fun, too. If Dad could get in a couple rounds of golf, his summer would be complete.
We’d really like to see Dad get out a couple times before the season is over. Are there any golfers out there who wouldn’t mind taking him out for a round or two of golf at a fairly easy course? Dad has an arm that isn’t two good because of a snapped tendon, so I believe Warren would hit the first drive for him and Dad would play the ball from there. Please let me know if that’s something you are able and would like to do. We’d all be very grateful. Warren feels badly that he is not able to get out with Dad and I know they would both be very happy if someone would do that in Warren's stead.
Thanks so much to all of you for everything from thoughts and prayers to acts of kindness. You have served to make a sad situation so much more bearable than it would otherwise be. We are so very grateful. God is good and he lives in all of you!
PS. By the way, still flexible after 42 years - Warren and I did alright sleeping all mixed up last night and the bedroom looks even better with the new arrangement in place!