[Cursillo] Judy Z update #4

[AnneAbdy at aol.com]

This is a little late - but important  none-the-less. Anne
 
Dear All,
 
    I have now  finished my  third treatment of Chemotherapy--two days in 
Redding at Mercy Center Hospital  and one shot at Fairchild in Yreka.  The 
weather was great for driving  despite the snow on the ground and the ice 
threatening on my doorstep.   Since this was my second out-patient treatment, I felt 
much more in control and  things went faster.  The nurses in the unit are 
wonderful--they rearrange  schedules to get me in and out as quickly as possible so I 
was finished by  3:30pm on Wednesday and by 11:30 am on Thursday.  They know 
all our names  and try to seat us where we prefer.  We also get box lunches 
for patient  and guest so that is simplified.
    
    I am doing well.  The  doctor said so on Wednesday when she told me the 
mass in my abdomen had shrunk  from 13 to 9 in diameter--which much reduced the 
volume and she could not feel  it as she had be able to on my first visit.  
She now doubts that there was  any cancer in my neck; none of the scans showed 
it.  I no longer have  nausea or vomiting and I have learned to take the 5 
prednisone tablets each day  for 3 days in apple sause--last time they caused me 
to vomit. When I am  asked about side effects I say no to almost everything 
and I have learned to  cope with the one--diarrhea.  I still have a bit of hair 
which a friend  tells me is cute.  It stands up in the back and covers my 
whole head, but  scantily.  So, I have several hats for warmth.  I even ordered a 
wig  from the American Cancer Society catalog--but it will be brown with red  
highlights--they were out of white and I think I was once that color!  I am  
hoping that my eyebrows and eye lashes will stay as they have so far.  I  have 
never learned to do much with makeup.
   
     One advantage of this  process is that I have lost quite a bit of 
weight--30 to 40 pounds so some of my  clothes don't fit very well.  A trip to the 
Hospice 2nd hand shop with  another friend  found for me 4 pairs of pants 
(including jeans) and three  tops for less than $25 in size 18--a size I haven't 
worn for over twenty years I  think.  I guess they also changed sizes during 
that time.
 
    I am overwhelmed by the support  my family and friends have given me 
during this time.  My sister Jan has  visited me twice from Vancouver, WA.  She 
took me to my first out-patient  treatment and helped me decorate for Christmas. 
 Getting the lights on the  tree had stumped me.  Janis continues to bring me 
excellent food, clean my  house when I go to chemo and recruit her husband 
Ted to shovel my walks and  driveway--all things I put off even when I am 
healthy.  Jean Krueger  continues to be my health advocate and took me to Redding 
this week.  My  sister, Joy, is flying into Medford and renting a 4wheel drive 
car to take me to  my next chemo Feb. 5-7.  We hope to attend the Shrove 
Tuesday Pancake  Supper and Ash Wednesday service at All Saints in Redding while we 
are  there.  That time my doctor's appointment is at 8:30 am, a bit early for 
a  start from Yreka, especially if the weather threatens.  Fortunately I have  
been able to stay at the Mercy Hospitality House on their campus which has  
microwave and refrigerator as well as space for two people at very reasonable  
cost--less than $20 per night.  The only problem is that they are sometimes  
full, but I've haven't been left out yet.
 
    Medi-Cal still hasn't come  through, despite being past their 45 day 
limit, but I have finally figured out  why.  The local Human Services office 
couldn't understand whether  I was eligible to withdraw all of the $12,000 I have 
in a TIAA-CREF Traditional  annuity (I can't), but because they didn't 
understand it they set it aside and  didn't contact me for further information.  I 
hope with multiple calls to  New York, a FAX asking for information directly to 
Human Services and an appeal  that doctors, pharmacists and hospitals are 
getting impatient, I can finally get  an appointment and eventually a card so I can 
then cope with more paperwork. I  need to learn to harass people and not 
trust human institutions to operate as  their paperwork says they will.
 
    I am also feeling much better  than I have for months.  Though I have 
limited energy, I can walk farther  than last month.I usually eat less than I 
used to--I hope that continues.  I do sleep and rest more than I do in my normal 
schedule but it is a  relief to give myself permission not to worry about the 
things I have been  procrastinating about.  I have been listening to the folks 
who tell me to  take care of myself..  One treat I am giving myself is the 
Epiphany West  Conference At Church Divinity School of the Pacific.  I have 
attended  it almost every year since I graduated from seminary, so the other  
participants and the seminary community are an important part of my experience  of 
the wider church.  It also falls in the middle of my chemo cycle so I  should 
have enough energy.  However, I realize that I still need a place to  take 
naps or collapse during the day, so I needed housing on campus which was  really 
beyond my budget.  And then an unsolicited check for $500 was given  to me by 
my parish, St. Mark's in Medford.  I made the call that day and  got the last 
room on campus.  Blessings come in many forms.  Ted  and Shirley Ridgeway who 
have visited me in the hospital, kept in touch by  e-mail and offered me 
housing when I need it will help me break up the trip to  Berkeley so I can drive 
2 hours to Redding and then three hours on Monday rather  than my usual 5 in a 
rush.  
 
    I thank you all for your  prayers.  I am sure they have helped to make 
this as calm and relaxed a  process as possible.  When I haven't been able to 
pray in a very  disciplined fashion I have counted on all of you.  You have 
worked  miracles. Please keep it up and help me to  learn how to accept all this 
help without a feeling of guilt.
 
Faithfully,
 
Judy Z.
 
 




**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ns1.imaginata.com/pipermail/cursillo/attachments/20080216/2ba91e10/attachment.html