Tough days ahead...

Well, the CT's proved what I had already suspected. Mom has numerous tumors in her abdominal cavity which are causing her great discomfort. It also showed a clot in her abdominal aorta.

Mom wants to start radiation right away because she feels it lessens her pain. They will be working her up for the new radiation areas today.

I'm seeing a deterioration almost daily in her memory, motor skills and overall health. I now have to really watch her with her medications, otherwise she does not take them, or takes them too often. I'm trying to convince her to move in with me. She adamantly refuses, so trying to allow her to keep her independence yet keeping her safe are a constant battle.

Yesterday she drove to church (against my previous warnings not to drive) & arrived 45 minutes early, very confused & agitated. Luckily I happened to be in the lobby & saw her approaching. Long story short, I have taken her car keys away from her. Fortunately, she doesn't care to drive too much, but it is still stripping her of a bit of her independence...

Please keep us all in your prayers. I can't imagine what's going on in her mind when she's alone. (however, I am surprisingly thankful for the "dementia-ish" symptoms she's having, because I think comprehending all of this would have the potential to be entirely too overwhelming.) Pray that I can continue to balance her health, my (new) job & my own health issues without going stark raving mad!

We should be proud...

you MUST check this out...

from: http://www.nbc-2.com/Articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=20039&z=3

Fort Myers is tenth ‘sweatiest city’

FORT MYERS: Old Spice has announced the seventh annual Top-100 Sweatiest Cities List to mark the beginning of summer. Fort Myers is number 10.

The Sweatiest Cities rankings are based on computer simulations of the amount of sweat a person of average height and weight would produce walking around for an hour in the average temperatures during June, July and August of 2007 for each city.

The top 10 sweatiest cities from Old Spice’s list are:

Phoenix, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Tallahassee, FL
Tucson, AZ
Memphis, TN
Miami, FL
Houston, TX
Tampa, FL
Baton Rouge, LA
Fort Myers, FL

...crawling out from under a rock...

Greetings from the hot, mugginess of June in Fort Myers...

there's quite a bit to update & not much time:

• Mom is really not feeling well. Her abdomen is causing her quite a bit of discomfort and her mind is not wanting to function correctly. Making sure she takes her daily meds is becoming more of a chore... but God is good! Hopefully today we will get the results of a CT scan that was taken on Friday to see if they can identify the cause of her abdominal pain.
• On Saturday, I took the day to just rest & relax at the house. Saturday evening, I realised that the pressure in my throat that had become a constant companion was GONE! It has been almost 4 days and it still is GONE! I was actually able to sing at choir practice last night! Woohoo!
• I am starting a "new" job this week here at the church. I will now be the Music/Media Dept. Admin. Asst. (I hate the word 'secretary'. It's just so... something) Big changes afoot - PLEASE keep our church in your prayers!
• Make sure to check out my cousins latest video on the left side of your screen entitles "Working it Out." HA-LAR-IOUS!

Love you all! Thank you for your prayers!

Gotta love the Welsh...

"Two American tourists are driving through Wales. They decided to stop for a bite to eat in the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.*

Baffled by the name, one of them turns to a local and asks, "Would you please say where we are - very slowly?"

The Welshman leans over and says, very slowly, "Burrr-gerrr Kinngg."

*yes! This is a real place! www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com/