I have to go back to University Of Utah this week. It looks to me like I have another cancer on my nose. Good Grief! When will it end?
I was told when I had the cancer removed almost three months ago that there was a 98% chance of it never coming back. Well, it's baack!
I can't say for sure because I'm not a doctor. But I'm pretty good at figuring it out by now.
I'll have to wait three more days to find out for sure.
No, I'm not tattling on someone who is telling a fib. I am talking about my heart racing.
A-fib is short for Atrial Fibrillation. I've had this problem for at least 25 to 30 years. I used to take medicine for it and then it seemed to get better.
The previous blog is how I almost died with A-fib, although this is not supposed to be a life-threatening problem.The doctor put me on a new medication similar to the old one and is only used as a rescue pill.
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We wanted to go back to Arizona for a while and check up on our home and yard. It's a good thing we did because the drip-system gets clogged up and we lost three of our plants and more were in jeopardy. We had an enjoyable month traveling between the states. We visited Bryce Canyon and stayed in a beautiful bed-and-breakfast in Kanab,Utah. We spent the afternoon in Sedona, Arizona on our way to Apache Junction. We stopped and visited Dee Anna and Hughie on our way home and went to Zion National Park, and then stayed at Steve Page's home in Fairview,Utah before heading home the next day. We also stayed a night at Steve's on the way to Kanab.
We had planned on only doing fun things while we were Arizona but my heart had other plans. It has been racing for two weeks before we left Utah. I had been taking pills almost every night. I needed my prescription refilled, but knew the doctor would make me come in and I never got an appointment made.
After we got to Arizona and I only had one pill left I told Mike we had better get to the doctor. I was lucky to get in with a cardiologist that very day. He didn't think that my food allergies could cause my heart to race, but did write a prescription and made an appointment with a specialist there in the center.
I spent the next two weeks going back and forth to the hospital for every test imaginable. After I told Dr. Chan what Dr. Lindon had said about foods not causing my heart to race, to said, "Oh yes they will!"
My allergies have gotten so bad that my heart races every time I get even the smallest amount of onion or wheat or any foods that I'm allergic to.
George and Nancy and Mike and I went to Applebees for lunch. I tried as hard as I could to order a salad that had nothing in it I couldn't eat. I made sure the dressing was only a balsamic vinaigrette, but there was onion in it, and my heart raced that night.
Then on my birthday, Aug 25, John and Sherri joined us at Outback. I ordered what I thought was safe, but my heart raced again. Since then Mike and I have only eaten at buffets where I can pick and choose my food items.
I passed all the tests with flying colors. There is nothing wrong with my heart. The problem is food allergies not my heart. But the doctor said I was at great risk of having a stroke, heart attack or dying. Allergies are not to be messed with!
He put me on a pill that I have to take morning and night. And then I still have to take the rescue pill if my heart starts to race again. Food allergies are a trigger, but not the reason my heart races. It has a problem even without eating foods I'm allergic to.
I haven't had any problems that I know of, but the nurses kept asking me if I knew when I was in A-fib. I thought that was a strange question and said yes, doesn't everyone? They said that not everyone knows it.
After we got back to Utah and had gone from a warm temperature to a cooler temperature and it was especially cool since it had rained that day, I got a cold in my chest wall. I headed for the doctor again. The Dr. in Arizona wanted this Dr. to take an EKG. He did and asked me if I knew I was in A-fib. I told him no. It turns out that I don't always know it either. He said it wasn't bad enough to worry about, but sent the EKG to Arizona to be looked at.
He said that my heart was not the reason for the recent discomfort but it was inflammation in my chest wall due to the change in weather. Boy, am I sensitive!
I have to wear a heart monitor for a month and have sent in several readings for the doctor to see what my heart looks like on the medication. I might need a higher dosage.
What's next???
Oh, I also learned that I have osteopedia. It is the beginning of osteoporosis. I take Boniva once a month, and more calcium and more vitamin D. I'm told that this is reversible, and I'm expecting good news in a year when we do the next test. I guess I'll there won't be any more cruises for awhile.
This is a blog that I wrote 5-1-2007. It was the first blog of many that I wrote about having cancer on my nose. I am letting you read what I wrote then so I can catch you up on what's been happening.
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As if I haven't had enough health problems lately - now I have skin cancer on my nose. Actually, this isn't new. During the last few years Dr. Maughan has burned two skins cancers on the tip of my nose.
I was upset because it left a small divot, like an acne scar. When I went back and showed him a second cancer had taken its place, he empathized and said that there would now be a deeper divot, and sadly, there is.
During our winter stay in Arizona I noticed a skin cancer just above the divot. It grew, fell off, grew back, and fell off again. I knew I needed to get in and get it checked and actually planned on making an appointment with Dr. Maughan in February when we came for Quincy's baptism, but I didn't. Darn it!
By the time we got back home in April and I finally got to the doctor's office - it had grown - and now I have another divot that is quite large, but not as deep.
Now I'm worried because it's been a week and it looks to me like the cancer is growing back. It could be a scab, but I've never seen a yellow bumpy scab before.
I need to call Dr. Maughan's office and hope the doctor says everything is normal. I'm afraid that's really hopeful wishing!
Oh, I forgot to mention that Dr. Maughan burned a cancer on my wrist, and cut out another one on the top of my head. Oh, my goodness! I want this to stop!
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It didn't. In fact, I've had two since then.
July 2007 I was told after a biopsy that I needed to get to the University Of Utah hospital and have Mohs surgery. What they do is cut and biopsy until the cancer is totally gone. They had to do this three times before they got it all, and like a dummy I asked for a mirror to see the hole in my nose. It was huge!
The doctor can't sew up a hole because there would be a crease, so he had to cut good skin from the top of my nose to the tip and under the tip to almost my upper lip. Like a dummy I asked for a mirror again! I almost passed out when I saw the scar. It was terrible!
It's been two months now and you'll be happy to know that my nose has healed. You can't even see a scar at all. My nose is still red, but just looks like I have a sunburn. I have to go back to U of U in three weeks and the doctor will do laser which will get rid of the red.
I'm happy with my new nose. It was disconcerting at first though because I would look in the mirror and was shocked at the lady looking back at me. It didn't look like me at all. My nose is more narrow than it was. And I was upset that my nostrils were showing more than they used to. The doctor said that my nose is very tight and will be for six months, and that my nostrils will relax. It is a pretty nose now. The doctor did a great job. He said I have a 98% chance of it never coming back. I sure hope it doesn't!
I'm really a very lucky lady! I could have died of cancer. They got the cancer. It shouldn't come back. And I was left with a very nice nose.
One of my friends who sold Real Estate with me had cancer on her nose, but she lost half her nose and there is a huge hole in her cheek. She has had skin grafts so there is no real hole, but there is a huge dip in both her nose and cheek. A niece of our sister-in-law lost her nose and has to wear a prosthetic nose for a year. It will take that long before the doctors can do skin grafts.
I'm very grateful and have to use my favorite saying: It's A Good!
Mike has four daughters and they were all pregnant at the same time. Sherri is the only one that really looks pregnant. That's because she was almost due. Amy was due the first of June, but came early, Lisa and Chris were due in the last week in October. Amy came two weeks early. Lisa came a month early, and Chris came about two weeks early.
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Mike and I went back to our Utah home mid-August to mid-September. We had a new granddaughter, Claire Lilyanna, (Sherri and Steve's) in April while we were still in Arizona. We missed her birth by a week or so. Amy and Jake had Brooklyn Michelle, in May while we were here, and we had two new more granddaughters on the way the end of September. Lisa told us before we left that we would probably miss her baby coming, because she comes a little early. Well, we missed it alright. Miya Jean was a month early, weighing 5 lbs 8 ounces. She went down to 5 even, but is gaining now, although she's still very small, as you can see by the picture. Chris had her baby a week ago, Mikayla Shirenne, who was 7 lbs 2 ounces.
The babies are in the order they came. We have younger pictures of Claire, who was born in April. These pictures of Claire and Sherri were taken while we were at the hospital the day Chris' baby Mikayla was born.
Next is two of Amy's baby Brooklyn, then two of Lisa's baby Miya Jean, and the last two are of Chris's baby Mikayla. Both Mikayla and Brooklyn Michelle are named after their grandpa Mike.
Wow! Are we lucky or what?
We were walking through the mall the other day and passed a little girl dressed in full Equestrial Regalia! Honestly, I had to look around the area for english saddles she was so out of place. We do live in the country so to speak, and there are many horse ranches around. But this was a first for me...and I have to say, aside from looking a spot out of place at the mall-she looked darling!
We have been spending the week looking into health plans. It seems that they went ahead and canceled our coverage for no apparent reason. With so many commercials on TV about affordable health care, I'm really hoping to find something better than what we had. It's just a real pain in the neck to have to start all over!
We've just spent a week checking on our "other" home! It's funny, when we are there we miss this one, and when we are here we miss that one. Both homes are beautiful with fun upgrades, like the Grohe faucets we have here or the beautiful Gardenia trees we have there. It's just not possible to pick which home is our favorite, but we do have more family around when we are North for the summer!
We have spent the summer out in the sun, something I've never had a problem with! In fact, I find the hot sun a wonderful acne treatment for my skin. With no make up or goop or glop on my skin, it's really able to breathe. Plus, the extra Vitamin D that comes from the sun being absorbed into my skin is a great health plus anyway!! I've never had terrible skin, but I was always happy to see the affect that the warmth of summer had on me1
We've really learned how to streamline our moves! Our original move required a truck rental, and I was kind of worried that moving back and forth every six months might require more room than our car offered. But maintaining two separate residences really doesn't require that much "stuff" making the move with us. Clothes and toiletries, books and movies are just about all we need to go back and forth. Life as a Snowbird really is wonderful!
There are grandbabies being born right and left these days. How fun is that? None of them are "firsts" so we don't have to throw baby showers or anything, as most of them have items they already need. Not that it isn't really fun shopping for babies anyway! Everything these days is so different than when my kids were babies. I'm thinking of picking up a new Bugaboo stroller--they are so cute, and look so convenient! Even if all of the parents are equipped in the stroller department, it's always fun for Grandma to have something for them at her house when they visit! However, with the streamlined usability of the Bugaboo and the fact that you can interlock different pieces for any need you have, I'm not sure this stroller won't go home with one of my kids while they leave me their big, clunky one!
I would like to think that I've found one of the best diet pills on the market! I found it online, and I'm so hopeful! I will chart my progress as well as how it makes me feel, and if it works...I will give you all the link to it as well as a full glowing write up about it! If it doesn't, well then, we'll just keep looking! Someday I will be able to share my own success story, until then---we can hope! I know, a lot of my problem has to do with my lack of thyroid function, but still, being fat is no fun!
I think I'm the only person that I know who doesn't fully understand ipods! I've never really gotten it! Where do the songs come from? Do you have to pay for each and every one of them? If I have old CD's that I love, can I get songs from them too? See...you thought I was kidding! I know it's the hip, happenin' thing right now--but until talk radio shows up on an ipod...I have very little use for one! My husband on the other hand, would LOVE one!
I was just reading about people that live in the outer banks having to rush home to board up their homes a few years back when Hurricane Isabella was coming in. What a scary thing to have to do. Board up everything you have and then leave with only the hope that you'll get to come back home again! The outer banks really are beautiful but the fear of losing everything would probably keep me away! Good thing there is good NC health insurance and home insurance--I would still want to keep my very most treasured possessions in a box, easily removed during hurricane season!
I have three bridal showers coming up in the next few weeks. All trying to get married before the fall semester begins. I'm always left in a quandary as to what to get each of the girls! Do you give them Shirley of Hollywood lingerie? Towels? Kitchenware? These days you usually get a little card telling you where the people are registered, so I guess I can go out and deal with the crowds and get them something they need. Or maybe just a gift card to that store so that they can buy something they don't get later. I'm always at a loss for these things!
Does anyone know if you need a passport to cross into Canada and back? It used to just be a drivers license, but I'm not sure if they've gotten stricter. You used to be able to cross back and forth into Mexico just by stating your country of origin and now you have to have a passport. It takes a thousand times longer to get through the gates these days. You literally stand in line for 2 or 3 hours just to make the crossing. I'm happy for the extra security, but it does take a chunk of time out of your day!
It seems like all of the bills come due at the same time. From the car insurance to power bill. It's not always so bad, but there are months when they just pile on, one after the other. Prices are going higher and higher, but the income is staying the same. It's making for hard times across the country, not just here. I just wish there was something being done to stop it. I'm not sure the upcoming Presidential is going to help either, but we'll have to wait and see!
We have recently had a little re-do with our living room furniture. Sadly by doing this it shortened up all of the audio video cables. We had to purchase a couple of HDMI cables in order to use all of our equipment again. It's not too bad because it's a pretty inexpensive fix. Luckily we didn't have to replace any of the "big" electronic equipment, that would have broken the bank!!
Speaking of health aids why is it that middle aged women are still desperately in need of acne treatments? I thought they were supposed to be finished with that kind of thing after they passed out of their teenage years. I'm sure it's all having to do with hormones, but honestly, some people have such terrible skin-they make teenagers look good!
I was reading an Anoretix review online the other day. It is so hard to know what is true with all of the information out there. Even the testimonials on some sites are just blatantly impossible. But I was interested in some of the different side effects (or lack thereof) when it comes to taking these pills. If I could find something that would truly increase energy, I would be happy to be an addict!
Have you seen all of the commercials letting you know that come February 2008 your television won't work if you use an antenna? Does this mean that everyone has to have cable or satellite TV? If you can't afford this luxury, does that mean you no longer get to watch TV? That is a huge expense for some people! I'm not even talking about HDTV, just cable TV costs around $50.00 per month. I'm curious about who lobbied the government to create this fabulous (NOT) plan!!
