I "Elfed" Us

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Happy Holidays to All!!!

This is an interesting time for us. It's just past the one year anniversary of Jim coming home from the hospital (the day before Thanksgiving, last year) and all the memories flood in of how sick he was, how stressed I was, the help we got from Patrick (bless you so much Patrick), my constant fear of losing Jim (either physically or mentally).

But now he is healthy (well there is that osteoarthritis) and happy. I am truly looking forward to a quiet Christmas Day with a wood fire, a turkey dinner, a couple DVDs to watch (I hope there isn't a football game Jim has his heart on watching), and getting snuggly on the couch with Jim and Ennis.

I am feeling so much more internal energy and strength than I have for a long while. However, I still have that troublesome fatigue. I will be taking another "super Vitamin D" pill at the first of the month, and then get tested for my calcium/parathyroid/Vitamin D levels at the end of January.

Jim and I are finally making plans for the Europe trip we had to cancel in 2006 because of my cancer DX. It starts May 10 and ends June 8. It's a "highlights of Europe" for the aeronautically impaired.

We are taking a ship (Cunard's Queen Mary 2) from New York City to Southampton, England. After we arrive, we will head to London and pick up a guided tour. It supplies transportation, lodging, and some meals. We will be two nights or more in London, Amsterdam, Rome and Paris. We will have overnights in Rhineland, Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; Innsbruck, Austria; Venice and Florence, Italy; and Nice, France. The tour leaves us back in London.

We are really excited about this. I have never been to Europe. Jim and I have always hoped to travel there together. This may be our last chance. Even though this is a fast-paced tour, we understand that we have physical limitations, and may have to bow out of some things. That's fine with us.

For the past week, I have been sitting a diabetic cat named Vickey. She is rehoming from NYC to TN, and the transport continued today, with me meeting Stefani (and Toonces) in Aberdeen, MD. Three more people are involved until her new owner picks her up near Roanoke, VA, and takes her back to TN.

This cat has people issues and is defensive, quick to use her growl, hiss, teeth, and claws. That makes testing her blood sugar and giving her insulin harder and harder as she becomes wary of me because of past "tussles."

Vickey's really cute, though. She's a calico Maine Coon. I have a video of her at the vet (had to get a health certificate for travel) that shows both her sweet and defensive sides:



Because of the Europe trip, my reconstructive surgery has to be pushed back. Right now, the surgeon has no openings until September. In a way, that pleases me because I would like to have the summer without having to recover from a major surgery. I need to garden.

Our best wishes to all for a grand New Year!!

Vitamin D/Shingles

The endo tests indicated I have a mild to moderate Vitamin D insufficiency. He gave me a 50,000 IU capsule to take, and I will take another in January. Follow-up blood tests at the end of January, and a re-evaluation by the Endo in mid-November.

I must say I feel (cautiously) better. I found yesterday I could balance on one foot without completely falling over. I discovered this when I was attempting the tree pose for yoga.

Jim has singles. We didn't know what they were. An adult recurrence of the chicken pox virus. He hurts, is itchy, and is fatigued. He's on an oral antiviral.

Jim did go to closing on his condo last week, and has paid me to buy into my house, so it is now OUR house. He paid me for half the equity, and we will be sharing the mortgage and utility bills, taking quite a bit of burden off me just when my savings were down to about nothing.

We have both dropped out of the cancer support groups for the time being. It was getting to be "all cancer, all the time."

I hope we will be able to get a Christmas tree this weekend.