Hey guys

CivilMatt said:

curly little man needs loving too

Billie,

You have a (new) sweet tooth and an addiction to Candy Crush, I think I taste a theme here.

I have a cold and can’t taste anything is an oldie but a goodie.  I once put a can of  Crisco Shortening on my parents dining table and said “this is what food feels and tastes like to me”.  The only people who truly get it are the folks here at H&N central.

I am doing fine, I sleep exceptionally well, I am still using Xylimelts, I taste a little bit of all flavors, but ice-cream is pretty much a no-show.

Matt

Billie,

You wore me out just reading how busy you have been. Good grief, girl! Sit down a minute & breathe. No, really, it's great that you have the energy to accomplish all that. My "kids" are fourteen years apart, so when I partially finished raising my daughter, my son came along, & then when my son was barely old enough, my grandson was born, so I feel like I've been taking care of someone my whole life.  LOL  I wouldn't have changed it for anything.

Anyway, it's nice to see you back. I'm still mostly lurking. So many "newbies" here & on the Colon board. I just feel so bad for all.

Take care,

Luv,

Wolfen

Hello Billie !

It's wonderful to hear things are going so well for you !  I hope you two had a wonderful anniversary celebration, and sounds like life is spinning very quickly.  Your post made me smile and reminds me that life after dx's and tx's is very possible and good !  Hugs sent !  Katie

I've been busy too and was thinking about how different Memorial Day 2013 was from Memorial Day 2012/

A year ago I was missing all of my hair, had my first 5 rads, survived a round of induction chemo, had a feeding tube, had the start of the nasty sore throat, couldn't stand sweets, (metalic after taste) and generally felt like crap.

I got to play golf yesterday, I walked all 18 but instead of carrying my clubs like I used to, I used a push cart.  The score was nothing to write home about but I got to play all 18!  I wore a wide brimmed hat and used a good sunblock and no sunburn!  I was sore afterwards, some of the long disused muscles said "hello" but not in a nice way, especially this morning.

I can eat most anything but like you some tried and true favorites are just not there anymore, Coke (Classic Coke) is just too tough to stand.  I find that anything tart or sour is just intolerable. Lemon Heads candy too, sour and tart are just too hard to do right now. hopefully as saliva comes back I'll be able to do sour again.

Sweet/salty are what I crave, I was actually able to eat a jelly bean not long ago and NOT have to have any extra water.  I know only those of us who've been through this can ever appreciate something that seems so insignificant as that.  Perhaps saliva and taste will come all the way back for us.

I'm glad that your life is resuming its normal shape.

Want to read a couple of good books about dogs?  W. Bruce Cameron wrote "A Dog's Purpose" and the sequel, "A Dog's Journey".  Only a true dog lover can appreciate them, they're written from the dog's perspective.

Congrats on normal!

Billie67 said:

Thanks
Everyone for all the nice responses. I hope you all know that in no way am I ungrateful for the business. I love it and welcome it, I honestly think it's how I function best.

So it seems like many of us have the same taste likes and dislikes these days. I too do not like anything sour! I crave sweet and salty and my once favorite French Vanilla ice-cream is "yucky" oh well, there are still plenty of things to try :-)
Matt, I love the Crisco analogy! I could never describe to people but that is perfect! I kept telling people that my food tasted the way wet newspaper or wet cardboard smelled. I would tell them that it felt like I was eating broken glass....ugh I don't miss that and I pray for all of our friends going thru it now.

To all my fellow Candy Crushers, some of you mentioned that you are stuck in the 60 levels....wow you are my heroes! I'm stuck on 37 and I always end up with 1 stinkin jelly and only 1 move left and it's never a productive move!

I hope you are all well.
XO
Billie

A busy life after cancer is a great thing. In the survivor mode sometimes 24 just ain't enough hours. I can't help you with the Candy Crush thing but if you use pretzels to dip your ice cream out of the bowl it does help you to get back on track with ice cream. Vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and pretzels (all mixed together) was an addiction for me before cancer. I just couldn't get my taste back for it after cancer treatments but I told my Radiologist I practiced three times a week. So now instead of crushed and put in the ice cream I use the pretzels to dip and eat. Practice does make perfect.

Come to think of it, while practicing eating ice cream I did crush some peanut M&M's in with the ice cream but not to any level.

Enjoy the day

      Jeff

hwt said:

Billie

Your post is an inspiration to many that life returns to some normalcy. I think I slept most of Memorial weekend away last year, this year I was at the lake and had 25 or so people over for a taco party. Not sure if it was the weight loss or just state of mind but I truly feel more energetic than I used to. I even went for a walk with my husband this morning before coming to work. He put on weight and is uncomfortable after eating everything I thought I wanted but then couldn't eat. I've recently convinced him to throw it away. To those early in this journey, know that things really can and do get better.

Candi  

Billie,

I have been away as well, but was glad to see you had posted recently.  If you want my cell phone number pm me and I would be glad to share.  I have missed talking to you.  I had my daughter graduate college and my son graduate high school last week so it was busy for me as well.