And Happy New Year to all...

When I was Dx'd in 2006 with kidney cancer (it doesn't deserve to be capitalized), I was told that "unless something could be done", I had 5-7 months to live.  That prognosis didn't agree with me, at all. So we pursued on, even after many tears and phone calls, and tests, and finally the initial surgery.  Out came the R. Kidney, the set of lymph nodes behind it with 2/11 positive, the left half of my liver with RCC in it, numerous wedges of the right lobe of my liver that were negative for cancer, my bile duct that had a congenital defect (overgrowth of tissue that sometimes caused a blockage, and the gall bladder. Recovery-slow but steady and I was swimming and exercising in the City Pool at 6 weeks.

The next 2 years, 2007 and 2008, there were 2 different nodes that had increased in size between the winter and spring CT's.  Each was removed and positive for Clear Cell RCC.

In between 1st and 2nd surgeries, we traveled from Oregon to the East Coast, where I fell from a curb in Charleston, SC and broke the tib/fib bones and dislocated my foot to the left.  Temporary fix, realignment and a cast and flew home  Surgery 7 days later to clean up the mess and put screws in both bones.  Wore a cast for 6 weeks and a walking boot for 2-3 more.  As a result of using crutches for over 7 weeks, I develope a large and painful nodule on the main flex/extension tendon of my right hand, and had to have it removed.

So here we are 14 1/2  years later, getting to enjoy going to work, watching the wildlife out my backdoor and along the tidewater creek that runs into the Pacific Ocean, talk to and see my immediate family (2 kids with families), and find new extended family members on Ancestry.com.

As the year closed, I felt the slot machine had hit 3 lemons (Covid, Weather (Forest Fires in Oregon), Politics in general);  now it's time to make Lemonaid.  Thus far, Covid has shut us out of somethings as we act cautiously around our community; our business was not closed as it was considered essential, and the entire crew has moved 3 hours away to help rebuild, construct, and surface logging roads for Weyerhaeuser Timber in the Willamette Valley; and I'm glad the annonymous phone calls, the mail, the email, and ads for election is O-ver.

So hope this greets you with good tidings, a sunny smile, and you can add something to your lemonade to celebrate a better year to come.

Luv and Hugs,

donna_lee