Thanksgiving 2015

Hearty Pioneer
Hearty Pioneer Member Posts: 158
in Ovarian Cancer #1

Dear Teal Sisters,

Happy Thanksgiving from the Pacific North West! It is 17 degrees F and the winds are quiet. Last week we had 71 mph winds, a tree fell on our home and we have 8 broken roof trusses. But God is good, only property damage, all family and friends are safe. 

So, I am thankful for my husband, sons, family and friends (including you)! I am thankful for life, laughter and a warm home. 

May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and blessings to you!

Hearty Pioneer

( I had to pull out my pioneers skills and use them while we were without power for 3 days...)

Comments

  • LorettaMarshall
    LorettaMarshall Member Posts: 662 Member
    #2
    Happy Thanksgiving from the East Coast in Virginia! :)

     

    Happy Thanksgiving to you as well “Hearty Pioneer!”  When you really are “without power” we understand just how “hearty” our pioneers really were, don’t we?  Glad you now have your electricity back on. We can also thank God for generators.   

     

              By contrast, our weather here in Virginia Beach, Virginia this Thanksgiving Day is perfect.  It’s nearing sundown now, but it has been in the low 70s and a gentle breeze has been rustling the autumn leaves all day.    I’ve been cooking a little bit each day and putting it in the freezer, since my family won’t be able to gather together till Saturday for our Thanksgiving celebration.  Normally, I’m so busy cooking that I rarely get to sit down on Thanksgiving Day—rather I just collapse at the end of the day!  But it’s all worth it to have family time together.

     

              Today, my husband and I sat out back on the patio and just soaked in the scenes and sounds of God’s green earth.  Birds were chirping, doves were fluttering and crows were “crowing”.  We even had a visit from our friend—the redheaded woodpecker.  What a beauty to behold!  A gentle breeze made our wind chimes sound like notes on an organ.  The sun was just warm enough to put you to sleep.

     

              We can do nothing but thank God for giving my husband and me more time together.  He was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer Stage III in November of 2002.  He had a Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy (MIE) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on May 17, 2003.  He has had no recurrence and is now entering his 14th year of cancer-free survival.  That is an absolute miracle for Esophageal Cancer.  Of course, recurrence always looms as a possibility, but so far—so good!

     

              Then in November of 2012, I went to the Emergency room with groin pain that I had analyzed as probably a “hernia.”  Well not exactly—the CT scan came back in a couple of hours, and my “diagnosis” turned out to be “Peritoneal Carcinomatosis”.  A 2nd Opinion @ UPMC, also found my ovaries to have cancer in them as well.  So after pre-op chemo, I had Cytoreductive Surgery on July 1, 2013.  In my case, it was already Stage IV, so the surgery would not be potentially “curative”, but it would give me the best chance to sit in a rocking chair on a warm November day in 2015.  I wake up every day thanking God for my survival thus far.  All through the day I marvel that I am still alive, and never cease to thank God for His watch care over both my husband and me.  First I was my husband’s caregiver, and now he is mine.  So especially on this occasion, I thank God for the ability to still “smell the roses!” 

               It’s true—the best things in life are still free.  Peace of mind and a joyful heart cannot be bought with money.  It’s a gift from God for which we are truly thankful.

     

              So I’m glad you wrote.  No matter the “age” or “stage” of all our sisters, I venture to say they too are glad to still be “in the fight!”  You’ve been through a lot and I trust that both of us will still be saying “Happy Thanksgiving” in 2016. 

     

    Loretta

     

    Age 76

     

    Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV

     

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