luminousone Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Good luck with everything Lum. I am so looking forward to seeing my son this week! That's great Silver!! I know you will have a great visit! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Wow, a lot of work coming your way! That nasty cold seems to be everywhere. My son had his third cold since start of school last week. Wow- three colds already! Hope he stays well from here on out! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Today was my five year appointment with the oncologist. So far, all went well! They did some bloodwork so I will get those results later. But blood pressure and everything else looks fine. We talked about continuing my meds- last year when we talked, I mentioned about the then recent research showing benefits of continuing Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is given to estrogen positive cancer patients who have not yet gone through menopause. I take generic Arimidex- the hormone blocker for patients that have already gone through menopause. The research on that had not yet come out, so he told me last year there was no reason to continue. So I expected him to discontinue the meds this visit. But in the meantime new research has come out that shows a slight advantage to continuing the medication for me. Since I have few side effects, then he recommends continuing. I will have another bone scan to make sure all is well still with my bones, because bone loss can be a side effect. So I chose to continue for now. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 The other thing we talked about- last year he mentioned that I ought to consider having my ovaries out, due to my grandmother passing away from ovarian cancer. Breast cancer and ovarian cancers can be related. When I had my surgeries from the breast cancer I was so overwhelmed with grief from the loss of my marriage that I simply could not even think straight. So when they approached me to do the genetic testing I was unsure what to do. I guess I was also afraid to get positive results because my health insurance was up in the air. Now with the Affordable Care Act I am guaranteed coverage even with positive results. But- at the time of my cancer the genetic testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2 cost about $4000! At the time I had a $7000 deductible on my insurance but in the end I fulfilled that amount with the biopsy and two surgeries. So it would have been covered by my insurance that year. But I didn't do it. Now I regret my decision some, because I feel a sense of responsibility to my sisters and nieces. Today my doc said that I should consider the testing before I make a decision about removing my ovaries. So I am going to research how much it would be through my current insurance. Lots of decisions for me to consider! But in the meantime I still have a great prognosis. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 The past two days I have worked in the kinder class in the morning before going off to my doctor appointments. I am finally getting to know the students a bit and some of their quirks. There is one student that comes up to me and says "I have to tell you something" and then proceeds with telling me the most random things that have nothing to do with school! But he is so serious and sincere and he really wants to tell me. It is so cute! Another student is so shy that he simply will not talk. He will smile but he will not talk. The speech pathologist was in there today and trued to speak with him but he chose not to answer. Very very strange. However, he is extremely smart and is a great speller- and probably a great reader! The school counselor comes through to check on things from time to time. I guess the student talks at home, so we just have to be patient for when he chooses to share his voice with us. They asked me to work again tomorrow and I will be there the whole day. That age is growing on me! They are very cute! Next week I get to sub for the reading specialist so I am excited about that. And then I sub in the older kid's classrooms for three days at the end of next week. So they are keeping me busy. Younger son went to a school soccer game tonight- hope he is staying out of mischief! His mid term progress report came out and he got 2 A pluses, 2 A's and one B plus. So proud of him! Also he is doing well in cross country. His running buddy is very bright but somehow he got a D and two C's so he is in the doghouse with his parents. So he will have to bring up his grades in order to continue with sports. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Phew! The end of a busy week! Today I spent the whole day in kinder which was fun. I am beginning to get to know the students and their names and their personalities. Only one meltdown on the playground today which was good. They are so little and get so tired by the end of the day! So they just fall apart. One little boy followed me around and talked my ear off today- and I could hardly understand him because he speaks so softly and rambles about random things. The other boy that chooses not to speak- I had him sign to me basic "please" and "thank you" so that at least I held him to the same manners standard as the rest of the students. I am told it is a psychological issue and not a cognitive issue. He is way ahead of the other students in writing words- complex ones, correctly spelled- which tells me he is a reader. Wish I could work with him longterm...He is a sweet soul. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Got my mammogram results- normal! However it says I have dense breasts (sorry if TMI) which astounds me because I nursed both my boys for 3 years each. And- I am in my late 50's! However it may qualify me for MRI screening... Which would be good for monitoring my mastectomy side, since there is no tissue left there to do a mammogram on. I have not yet recieved the lab results from yesterday- when they did my blood draw the guy said that 70 patients had already gotten blood draws by 2:00, so I imagine the lab is busy getting those processed. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 This evening I used the steamer to clean the bathroom, and then decided to steam out the washing machine. There are nooks and crannies that get fabric softener and soap gunk along with lint. Now I am washing rags in hot water with bleach to get the rest clean- along with the rags. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Good luck with your tests Lum. Those little kids sound so sweet. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thanks Silver! One of the students, making conversation during lunch, asked me what I am going to be for Halloween, lol... Link to comment
Seraphim Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I am so glad all your results were normal! That must be a huge relief. Little kids are so funny with all their different personalities and quirks. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 I worked a half day today. The kids were really cute and they did some good work today, so they must be getting more used to me. After lunch, one boy went to the office with a stomach ache, another went home with a headache, and one got sent home with lice. Just around lunch time I started to feel queasy so I ate just a little and took a probiotic. I think I have a mild case of the stomach flu going around there. Aack! But I only had to work half the day so I am home resting (for a few minutes anyway). Soon I have to get out there to mow the lawn though because we are in between rain storms. The students today had to write about what they did last weekend- they started it yesterday. They were supposed to use their "best guess spelling" which was cute. Here is a typical sentence: I mad cucez at mi Memaz hows. We wocht a muve. Translation: I made cookies at my Memaw's house. We watched a movie. The teacher is pretty astute and experienced in deciphering what they meant to say. I just have the students read it aloud to me instead. Tomorrow I work in the upper elementary building with the older students. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 I watched what I ate and I feel much better now- I think my body was fighting it off- but I have yogurt and probiotics every day. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Hope your health is continuing to improve Lum! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 I still have that cough! I think getting that mild stomach virus set me back in getting better from the cold. I could hardly sleep last night because of coughing. And this morning I felt so very tired but I had to go to work. My temp is only 98.8 and I had committed to subbing for someone that is out of town. Yesterday was my first day in there and I felt like I was in a foreign land. The expectations for classroom assistants have increased. I was in charge of correcting a lot of the work, although the teacher did math lessons half the day and she corrects that math. Today I had figured some of it out so I did a lot of correcting all day, recess duty, lunch duty, helping students, etc. also it was parent visitation night, so the place had to be clean. Tonight I found some cough medicine and I am going to bed really early so I can get the sleep I need. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I hope you get a good rest and feeling better soon Lum. Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Well it has been over two weeks and I am still sick. I have a cough and a wheeze and I feel like I have bronchitis. I don't think it is pneumonia because I am pretty sure my lungs are clear. Anyhow, the cold itself was mild and I barely had a fever. But once the fever went down for a few days then my wheezing and coughing started up. A few days later my temperature went up slightly- do I am guessing it is bacterial. Or I caught another virus. I am going to call the doc on Monday. Link to comment
Seraphim Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Yes ,it sounds like you have a secondary infection from a cold. That always feel so yucky. Hope you get better soon LUM. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Hope you get well soon! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Thanks guys- I hope so too! Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Well my stint is finished in the upper elementary class, but I had a fun time subbing in there. Yesterday most of the work was due so I had piles of math work to correct! And not just easy ones to correct- the students had to make up 12 equations for each number. So I had to make sure they were correct. I must say that I was impressed with their creativity though. For example, some students did equations using Roman numerals. Another one used Greek but I don't know those and was glad she gave me a cheat sheet just in case. Some did algebraic equations and some of them got a little confused with the order of operations. I got to read aloud to the class and the book they are reading is "Wonder". They were completely riveted and had so much empathy for the main character. Here is a description: link removed And now they are in the sequel, which is the same story from another perspective: link removed Amazing books- very moving! The class watch really touched emotionally. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Thanks for the link to the books Lum. I read about a very popular recent American novel which has got some mixed reviews although some reviews were great. One of the most positive reviews was from Stephen King. It has recently been made into a movie and the book as been compared to Mark Twains. Will see if I can find the book as I have forgotten the name if it. Link to comment
Silverbirch Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 "The Selected Works of T S Spivet" link removed Link to comment
luminousone Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 "The Selected Works of T S Spivet" link removed Yes, that looks like it has an interesting storyline. I'll check for it at the library. Link to comment
Recommended Posts