Yesterday was SUCH a Calgon Day

Oy vey. You guys remember (well, most of you) those Calgon commercials? The mom is dealing with 16 screaming kids, the laundry is piled up, the kitchen is a mess, she's trying to cook, there's sauce splattering all over the walls an dceiling, her face...her hair is a mess...someone shows up at her door with something she needs to pay for, her husband calls and says he's staying at work until 7 PM....and she finally just says, "Calgon take me away!" And she's immediately whirled to this luxurious bubble bath, candlelit room, hair up, looking smashing....

Well. That was me. Sort of. Only 1 child. Husband hunting. Add exhaustion and muscle weakness from MG, fibromyalgia pain so bad I couldn't even touch my own skin, and a child who was on fast forward and whose volume knob had broken off at "ear-splitting." Add 2 dogs, one of whom is capable of knocking me off my feet, a chair that I tripped on (Jacob's) to avoid said dog, wrenching my knee and "bad" hip....a headache from the pit of hell, Mommy guilt for not being physcially capable of dealing with my son yesterday...Oh, and we can't forget the adorable I'm-old-enough-to-be-your-mother Consumer's guy walking around our property spray painting trees that have to be removed, including my 100 year old pear tree (which I defended out in the rain to possibly save half the tree)!!!! I kept screaming "Calgon!!! Where are you??????"

Well, she didn't answer. Which may have been okay, because if I soak in the bathtub my muscles get too weak to get back out! And although I've lost EIGHT pounds from my new meds, I'm not quite svelte enough for my Prince Charming to scoop me up.

I'm bawling, tripping, yelling, dropping things on my feet, probably THE most impatient human on the planet at this moment, and I'm like WHERE'S MY BIBLE???? I thought, if I don't find something about being patient right this minute my head is going to pop off and spin around.

So I come across Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV) (Thank you Lord!)

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

This is why I beg for your prayers. I WILL NOT make it through this life without them. Nothing else will help. Sure, I have wonderful friends who have really stepped up and are helping me physically around the house...but the day-to-day living, where the rubber really meets the road....without God, without dear friends, some of whom I haven't even met, praying for me on a consistant basis....I simply could not do it.

So I thank you for your prayers. They matter more to me than you could ever know. Who could have thought through this blog, sitting at my computer, I can find peace, knowing there are people out there lifting me up to the Creator of the Universe.

Thank you.

Beautiful Story of Cancer Survivor

I recently saw this on a blog and it touched my heart. I would like to share it today. We can find a cure for breast cancer! (And other kinds!!!)

Like most elementary schools, it was typical to have a parade of students in and out of the health clinic throughout the day. We dispensed ice for bumps and bruises, Band-Aids for cuts, and liberal doses of sympathy and hugs. As principal, my office was right next door to the clinic, so I often dropped in to lend a hand and help out with the hugs. I knew that for some kids, mine might be the only one they got all day.

One morning I was putting a Band-Aid on a little girl's scraped knee. Her blonde hair was matted, and I noticed that she was shivering in her thin little sleeveless blouse. I found her a warm sweatshirt and helped her pull it on. "Thanks for taking care of me," she whispered as she climbed into my lap and snuggled up against me.

It wasn't long after that when I ran across an unfamiliar lump under my arm. Cancer, an aggressively spreading kind, had already invaded thirteen of my lymph nodes. I pondered whether or not to tell the students about my diagnosis. The word breast seemed so hard to say out loud to them, and the word cancer seemed so frightening. When it became evident that the children were going to find out one way or another, either the straight scoop from me or possibly a garbled version from someone else, I decided to tell them myself.

It wasn't easy to get the words out, but the empathy and concern I saw in their faces as I explained it to them told me I had made the right decision. When I gave them a chance to ask questions, they mostly wanted to know how they could help.

I told them that what I would like best would be their letters, pictures, and prayers.
I stood by the gym door as the children solemnly filed out. My little blonde friend darted out of line and threw herself into my arms. Then she stepped back to look up into my face. "Don't be afraid, Dr. Perry," she said earnestly, "I know you'll be back because now it's our turn to take care of you."

No one could have ever done a better job. The kids sent me off to my first chemotherapy session with a hilarious book of nausea remedies that they had written.
A video of every class in the school singing get-well songs accompanied me to the next chemotherapy appointment.

By the third visit, the nurses were waiting at the door to find out what I would bring next. It was a delicate music box that played "I Will Always Love You."

Even when I went into isolation at the hospital for a bone marrow transplant, the letters and pictures kept coming until they covered every wall of my room.
Then the kids traced their hands onto colored paper, cut them out and glued them together to make a freestanding rainbow of helping hands.. "I feel like I've stepped into Disneyland every time I walk into this room," my doctor laughed.

That was even before the six-foot apple blossom tree arrived adorned with messages written on paper apples from the students and teachers. What healing comfort I found in being surrounded by these tokens of their caring.

At long last I was well enough to return to work. As I headed up the road to the school, I was suddenly overcome by doubts. What if the kids have forgotten all about me? I wondered, What if they don't want a skinny bald principal? What if..

I caught sight of the school marquee as I rounded the bend. "Welcome Back, Dr. Perry," it read. As I drew closer, everywhere I looked were pink ribbons - ribbons in the windows, tied on the doorknobs, even up in the trees. The children and staff wore pink ribbons, too.

My blonde buddy was first in line to greet me. "You're back, Dr. Perry, you're back!" she called. "See, I told you we'd take care of you!"

As I hugged her tight, in the back of my mind I faintly heard my music box playing . . . "I will always love you."

Subject: Breast Cancer Stamp Booklet

We need those of you who are great at forwarding on information with your e-mail network. Please read and pass this on. It would be wonderful if 2010 were the year a cure for breast cancer was found!!!! This is one email you should be glad to pass on. The notion that we could raise $35 million by buying a book of stamps is powerful! As you may be aware, the US Postal Service has the "Fund the Cure" stamp to help fund breast cancer research. The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda , Maryland . It is important that we take a stand against this disease that affects so many of our Mothers, Sisters, Friends, Coworkers, and Spouses of Coworkers.

Instead of the normal 44 cents for a stamp, this one costs 55 cents. The additional 11 cents will go to breast cancer research. A "normal" book costs $8.80. This one is only $11.00. It takes a few minutes in line at the Post Office and means so much. If all stamps are sold, it will raise an additional $35,000,000 for this vital research. Just as important as the money is our support. What a statement it would make if the stamp outsold the lottery this week. What a statement it would make that we care.

I urge you to do two things TODAY:
1. Go out and purchase some of these stamps.
2. E-mail your friends to do the same.

Many of us know women and their families whose lives are turned upside-down by breast cancer. It takes so little to do so much in this drive. We can all afford the $0.55. Please help & pass it on.

As many of you know, my best friend Linda passed away from endometrial cancer. It's been just over a year. One, long, horrible, painful, tear-filled year. What an amazing thing to find a cure for cancer...for ANY kind of cancer. Please consider if you can afford to buy even a few of these stamps.

Thanks!

All Things Are NOT Created Equal

Okay. There are a few things in this world that are simply NOT the same. For example, zip lock bags. (I know, you thought I was going to get all philosophical on ya!) There are some ziplock baggies that are IMPOSSIBLE to open! The plastic of the bag is so cheap and flimsy that IT breaks before the ziplock seal does! Makes me want to scream.

Meijer USED to have good ones. But they must have changed theirs, because they are now the same crap as the other cheaper brands. So it's GLAD for me from now on. I've had too much food ruined because bags have split open, not to mention the mess when Jacob is eating a snack out of a plastic bag and the bottom rips out. Ug. I know part of it is my MG, because my grip is ridiculous sometimes, but come on. Why can't they just ALL BE THE SAME, and we wouldn't have this issue???

Another thing that drives me nuts is the set-up of left turn lane traffic lights. Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who is annoyed almost beyond words about this: Why do SOME traffic lights go from blinking red to GREEN, and others (that could be a mile down the road!) go from blinking red to RED? How stupid! They need to ALL be the same, and I'll bet it would prevent some of the accidents that happen at these intersections. Makes me CRAZY.

Oh, here's another one....it used to drive me more crazy when I was working and used number keypads all the time. Why are the 1, 2, and 3 on the BOTTOM of number pads on the keyboard, and on calculators, but on the TOP of the telephone? Same numbers. Different order. WHY???

Okay, so before you call me Monk, or call the men in the white suits and the padded wagons... I do realize that SOME things are good different....namely people. If we were all the same, life would be pretty darn boring. Unless you were like me. : ) Then it would just be CRAZY!

So maybe if all of us OCD people write our Congressmen something can be done.

Yah. I don't really think so either.

I am a Hunting Widow

Alas, today is THE DAY. Opening Day. For what you ask? Gun season. Deer hunting. I have seen the last of my husband for a while. Well, it's actually been a while as he's been "preparing" for quite some time already. First, he had to ensure his tree stand was in tact. A-OK there.
Then, he decided he needed some more vantage points, so he built 2 more deer shacks. Or, as Jacob calls them, "deer catchers."
So we all went out to paint, and this is Jacob peeking out from within. He wants to know when Daddy is going to take him "Hun-tin!"

Well, they turned out great, and Doug put them out in the field, very strategically placed, I'm sure...I think he even put one up on stilts.

I heard a loud shot about 8:40 this morning, but it echoes so much out here I can't tell ya where it came from. Hopefully he gets at least one today, or else he'll be all grumpy. : ) He has as many licenses as the law allows, so he can get some deer meat for other families. He does the butchering himself so that A.) you know you're getting back the deer you shot, B.) You can get whatever cuts of meat you want out of it and C.) it's cheaper. That should probably be the first reason!

Anywho...saying prayers for all the hunters out there to stay safe, and get their deer!

MG and Homeschooling....How interesting!

Good grief.

I will NEVER second guess our decision to home school Jacob, and I know we are doing the right thing, for several reasons, not the least of which is trying to keep me from contracting some icky illness Jacob brings home from school. He is also so stinkin' smart he'd be bored to tears.

It is frustrating however, to have MG and try to raise a 3 year old, and teach him. Thank the Good Lord for awesome friends that have set up people to come and help me out a couple of hours a week cleaning. And of course, my cleaning angel, Kathy, who is coming once a week. God, bless these women!!! And their families!

I had been trying to get and keep the house clean after Doug made some snide comment about living in a pig sty. (oh, yes he did!) So for two days I worked my fingers to the bone, and about killed myself doing it. (I can be a wee bit stubborn.....no, really!)

So at dinner one night I just looked him dead in the eye and said, "Well, you can have a clean house but you'll have a dead wife. Your choice." He wisely said it looked like he'd have a dirty house. Then Shawn stepped in and made her list, and people signed up to help. It was such a relief when Shawn called I almost bawled.

But anywho...back to homeschooling. Jacob would do school every second he was awake. Until Daddy comes home and he can go outside, that is. It is exhausting trying to keep that kid busy AND challenged. He gets bored so easily, yet he gets frustrated if something is TOO hard. For example, he has brainquest cards that he LOVES doing....they are for 4-5 year olds, Jacob has been 3 for 3 months now! He knows all of them....there were like maybe 10 out of 300 that he didn't know, and most of it was stuff he wasn't exposed to, like, where does a stamp go on an envelope? Never talked about that with him.

I have some things where I think, oh he could never do this...and he breezes right through. Other things I'm like, oh this will be simple for him...not so much.

God keeps me humble though, because Jacob still has sensory issues...still puts a lot in his mouth that he shouldn't, that kind of thing. He eats about 10 different things (that are edible!) So he'll probably graduate Harvard at like 18, but still be licking his shoes. : )

I, however, am as proud as can be of my beautiful boy. He is smart and gorgeous and crazy and wild and busy and all boy. He is tender and sweet and precious, and I love him with all my heart.

Article by Lisa Copen about Church

Hey everyone,

This article was in my ezine from Rest Ministries called HopeKeepers. Many of you know some of the issues that churches today have with taking care of the chronically ill. Especially younger people who are chronically ill. Some already do a wonderful job of this. Some don't seem to make it a priority, but many others just don't know how to help. This is from the mouths of 800+ people who took a survery about what churches could do. This fantastic article is reprinted with permission from the author.

Ministering to the Chronically Ill: 20 Ways That Take 20 Minutes
by Lisa Copen

Rest Ministries, the largest Christian organization that specifically serves the chronically ill, recently did a survey and asked people to "List some of the programs or resources a church could offer to make it more inviting and comfortable." They have provided a sampling of some of the 800+ responses, all of which could be done in 20 minutes or less.

1. Encouragement emails.

2. Make sure the handicapped stalls in the restroom are functioning and clean.

3. Padded chairs or cushions, room for wheelchairs, and plenty of room for my family to sit with me.

4. Be open-minded about a support group for the chronically ill like HopeKeepers. It would make me feel very special, knowing that there is an understanding of people's needs that are not always visible.

5. Add more disabled parking, even if they are temporary spots.

6. Educate the ushers that people arriving late may have difficulty walking or getting out of cars and will need some assistance.

7. Ask volunteers to call people with chronic illness just to check on them when they don't make it to services.

8. When suppers are given, recognize that I may need help getting my meal--or at least understand that I won't be able to wait in a long line.

9. Be gentle when giving people big hugs. It can topple over or hurt a person.

10. Have a video tape of the service, not just a live web cast. Not all our computers work that well.

11. Make sure that the church doors aren't too difficult to open or at least have mechanical assistance if they're unusually heavy.

12. Stop telling me that if I really believed and had faith I would be healed by now. Please don't insist how good I look, because I know for a fact that I look terrible and miserable that day.

13. Offer me ways to serve within the church that can be performed regularly, but not on a set schedule. I still want to contribute, but I need some flexibility so that I can do a job when I feel well enough to do so.

14. Have sermon notes available so I can listen later or even just review what I didn't catch the first time.

15. Acknowledge National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. Rest Ministries has a nice book list of top 100 Christian books for the chronically ill. It would make a nice display in your bookstore that week.

16. Just mention chronic illness occasionally! Don't forget to talk about it in sermons as one of the challenges many people face just like unemployment or divorce.

17. Have Christian volunteers from church that will clean house for small fee. Some have offered to clean my house, but I cannot accept charity yet, but neither can I afford to pay a regular house cleaning service.

18. Help with some of the small costs of providing encouraging books and resources for the church library the chronically ill can check out.

19. Remember how many caregivers are in the church, not just caregiving for their parents, but also for their spouses or ill children.

20. Have copies of sermons for free on CD or computer.

Find over 500 ways to encourage a chronically ill friend in the book "Beyond Casseroles: 505
Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend" at www.beyondcasseroles.com

Blessings,
Lisa Copen, Rest Ministries Founder Rest Ministries Chronic Illness Pain Support

Very Personal

This will be probably one of my most personal posts ever. It regards the most sensitive, painful issue I have dealt with in life: My weight. I debated and debated over sharing this, but 1. I finally have good news, and 2. If there are other people out there, I want you to know you're not alone.

Okay, it doesn't take an Einstein to realize I'm overweight. Being on as much medication as I am on doesn't help. However, I am obssessed with food. I always have been. As far back as I can clearly remember (back to 4 years old) food has been the focal point in my mind. Not on purpose, not like, "oh, I'm going to think about food all day long." It's just always been there. When I was 4 years old, we celebrate Thanksgiving at my Grandpa and Grandma's house. Before we ate, we all went around and said what we were thankful for. Some were thankful for Jesus, others for family, or whatever...I was thankful for food. And everyone laughed at the cute little fat girl who loved food. But it never changed. And it stopped being funny.

I was a chubby toddler, a chubby kid, a chubby teen, a chubby adult, you get the picture. While I'm of short stature, I have always been one of the biggest people in the room. Before I go on, let me clarify that I am NOT a person to go through the drive thru and order 6 Big Macs, 4 large fries and a diet coke. I ate normally most of my life. I snacked more probably, and may have eaten some things "skinny" people wouldn't. But the point is, I didn't set out to be fat my whole life. But the biggest difference, I'm starting to think, is the way I thought about food.

I tried every diet out there...you name it I've tried it. All the pills, powders, potions, vitamins and low-carb, no-carb, low-fat blah blah blah. If I did manage to lose 15 or 20 pounds, it came right back on and then some the second I stopped eating like a bird.

Now add in my medical problems, and all the medicaton I'm on: Myasthenia gravis prohibits any repetitive activities...like solid exercise. Being diabetic and on insulin makes it harder to lose weight. Being on anti-depressants can make you gain weight, as does the Prednisone. I was getting so desperate that I was looking into bariatric surgery. And believe me, after all the stuff I've been through medically, elective surgery IS NOT on the top of my list. But as I said, desperation had definitely set in. I found out however, I'm not even a candidate for this type of surgery, because I take too much medication. Not only would my new stomach fill up with the pills, they wouldn't absorb normally.

So I was really feeling like there was just no solution. I was gaining because of the prednisone, and it seemed like there was no way out. Talk about depressing.

And then.... {cue angelic music}

I went to the diabetic doctor. I got on the scale and started bawling as soon as I got into the waiting room. (And you can hold your breath forever cuz I ain't tellin!) The doc came in, and I was trying to hold it together but I just couldn't. I told her how depressed I was because of my weight, and how at wits' end I was. She says, well..."I don't normally bring this up with someone whose blood sugar is in such good control. But since YOU brought it up, there's this medication called Symlin. It's a hormone that you use with insulin, and it slows down the digestion of food, causing you to feel full longer, and you feel full faster when you eat. It also does something to the central nervous system that inhibits appetite, and helps your liver to produce less glucogen. A lot of people have lost weight taking it."

I was like....huh? For real? What kind of medication helps you eat less and feel full longer, and why has no one told me about this before??? Weight loss??? Can I start 10 minutes ago??

Long story short (I know, too late)...I'm on the Symlin. It's a shot, 3 times a day, before meals. I started last Wednesday. As of yesterday morning...I have lost.......

SIX AND A HALF POUNDS!!!!!

I can't believe it works! I take it 15-30 minutes before I eat, and I'm eating less than half of what I used to. I feel full longer, I'm on about 1/2 the insulin I was on a week ago, and the BEST part for me, is that I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT FOOD! I don't think about it, I don't dwell on it... I don't count down the minutes til I can eat again...my stomach growls and I think, oh, I guess I should eat now.

Unless you have this problem, you really can't understand the relief. The freedom. The overwhelming gratitude for having this obssession lifted from me! I have been praying for so long. For something to work. To give me the strength to exercise, the self-discipline to not eat. I would go on a "healthy eating plan" and be so hungry. SO crabby. (Doug can attest to that!) I think the only time I'm crankier is when I'm really hot...if I'm hot AND hungry...yikes. I think my head spins around.

Doug and I were in the car on Saturday and I just broke down. I looked at him with happy tears streaming down my face and said, "Can you imagine I might dare to be thin?" I've NEVER been thin. I'll settle for healthier! But serioulsy....to NOT be the biggest person in the room...you can't imagine. I honestly don't care what I weigh or what size I wear...although it would be nice to be able to walk into ANY store and buy clothes!

So anyway....this is a lot of information for me to share, but I have a feeling there are more people out there like me...Now you can't get Symlin if you're not diabetic. But chances are, if you're extremely overweight, you have sugar problems. So if you DO...ask your doctor about Symlin! The shots are no big deal...I HATE needles, but the outcome is SO worth it. Sometimes it stings a little bit, but the needle is really tiny.

This is going to change my entire life.
Thank you God!!!