It Is Time To Wear My Sleeve

I am going to San Antonio Texas early Tuesday morning to attend a conference with the Aging Life Care Association formerly known as Geriatric Care Managers.  So here I am having a relaxing Sunday thinking of every thing I need to pack for this trip and wondering how I can do it with much less shoes than I want to bring along. As I am laying my belongings out on my bed, I remember that I need a headband for yoga. And it hits me when I go into my drawer for my hair thingamajigs, that I need to wear my sleeve.
Since I had 3 lymph nodes removed from under my left arm, I went through lymphedema prevention with an occupational therapist. And of course she had a sleeve made just for me.  The pressure of flying can trigger swelling which does not sound too bad but I have seen that it can be painful and not always go away. So believe it or not, I am going to do what I was told to do and wear it. The good news is that mine is very beautiful. Swirls of bright colors along with a very pretty bird (see below) - it almost looks like a gorgeous tattoo. So me and my beautiful hair are going to go flying and hopefully get in some walking, yoga and pool time in too.

“The No. 1 predictor of who gets lymphedema is the size of the arm to start with,” he said. “Women who have a larger arm size should still be careful, and I think there’s still some value in wearing a compressive sleeve on long flights.”  It may be more common if radiation is given after surgery.

You may notice lymphedema for the first time during or just after one of the following events:

• Injury
• Infection
• Burn
• Strenuous activity
• Significant weight gain
• Air travel (because of pressure changes)

Wear a compression garment or low-stretch lymphedema bandage when you travel in an airplane. The compression garment should extend to your hand, even if you usually use one that ends at your wrist. If you’re wearing compression garments for the first time, you should test them before your flight.     

• Make sure the garment is comfortable enough to wear the entire flight.
• Make sure the garment doesn’t cause new swelling in your hand or arm.

 BOTTOM LINE The risk of lymphedema from flying appears to be small.

Ram Tough - That Is Me

I feel so good I almost feel great. I am 61, been treated for breast cancer, am overweight and feel strong. My mind is well as I can think clearly and I am less reactive to unpleasant situations than I ever used to be. Madison is fine but our beloved convertible got hit from behind which threw her into the back of a cement truck - All this happened last week in East Falls, just down the street from the apartment as she was going to work. She was completely stopped and a SEPTA bus hit the car behind her which then lunged forward into Madison's rear, lifting it up in the air and shoved her forward into the back of the cement truck- Needless to say, the car is totaled since it was a 2002. The front crash missed the bumper all together and the hood and engine crunched under the truck 's rear.  Not a pretty site at all. Many people were quick to point out how lucky we were that no one was hurt. Which is true of course.  I loved that car and Madison was so looking forward to driving it this summer. Fortunately, she and Brian were sharing her car and his car was back home, so they went and got it and now they will share his car until she gets a newer used car. Hopefully by now, they are sitting pretty at an all inclusive resort in Montego Bay Jamaica. They planned this trip months ago. I hope the weather holds out for them. I told her- if the sun is up in the morning- go outside!  because it is likely to rain the afternoon.
I will be traveling soon too. I am off to an Aging Life Conference in San Antonio Texas. I will be there for Cinco deMayo. My friend and colleague, Rona will be there too. I am looking forward to at least one day in the sun, sitting by the rooftop pool. I selected to go to this conference just so I could see Rona. She is a wonderful loving friend and I am so looking forward to our visit.
Also, I am submitting a workshop for approval for CEUs to NASW - New Jersey on how to help caregivers of loved ones with dementia. My private practice has gotten busy too.
I have been able to get hot yoga between 2 and 3 times a week. Boy oh boy, does that ever make a difference.  I love seeing my body change for the better- stronger, more flexible and so much better balance. I have been taking my time with making my body smaller. I still like to eat my food rather than drink it. I have held off the 22 pounds that I lost and I am back on track seriously. It is hard as life is too much fun.
In fact, this weekend I am going to a comedy show in support of our troops and Dena Blizzard is the headliner. She was the MC at Madison's Miss New Jersey contest in 2012. Very funny lady. My girl friend Rebecca is going with me to the Ritz playhouse in Oaklyn. Last week I drove up to North Jersey to see 2 mediums- they were excellent and then I stayed over at Caren's house before coming home to get ready for the garage sale.  That turned out to be fun day with the family but a flop as far as a sale goes in getting rid of my stuff. The weather turned on us and not too many people came out for it.  
As much as I like being busy, I am also eager to rest while I am away and explore the area at my own pace rather than meeting deadlines all the time. I enjoyed the winter for that very reason.  Less to do, less places to go and less outside work.  I  was going to write that it is true- "for everything there is a season", better make the most of it.  But then I looked it up and it said there is a season "to hate" because the song is based on a part from the New Testament. I wont accept that hate is necessary. It is a poor choice. And I will leave it at that.

Gratitude

It feels like Spring today. All my windows are open and I am going to clean up around the house today so I can go to the Cherry blossom festival in Philly tomorrow.

Well folks, it has been sometime since I wrote you and part of that is nothing too exciting was going on.  But I am happy to fill you in on whatever I am thinking. For starters, my curly hair has started to change back to what I was born with so the evidence of chemotherapy is slowly leaving my body. I am sometimes at a loss as to what to say to people who ask me how I am feeling because I have never felt "bad" because of my cancer. The treatment was not pleasant but overall, I never got sick from the cancer- I guess if I had, I would not likely be here.  It is almost 1 years since I started my hormone (estrogen) reducing oral medication (05-05-2016) which I will take for another 4 years. Next Friday, I will see my medical oncologist.( the one who concocts the poison formula)

One of the things I learned or had reinforced during this experience is how important support really is. Having my friends Carol, Shari, Karen and Maureen to talk to about their experiences and what to expect helped ground me and made coping so much easier than it would have been otherwise. Fortunately, I learned a long time ago that it is okay to ask for support and help.  My husband Philip's addiction got me to my knees back in the 80's and I crawled my way to an Nar-Anon meeting. Back then I was ashamed and scared almost all the time. I did finally surrender and learned I could cope with life as it is rather than wishing for something different. I no longer had to be alone anymore either and I could own that I did not have all the answers. The world was lifted off my shoulders and back once I did that.

Just this week I reached out to my former employer and friend, Rona Bartelstone.  Rona gave me so much love and support when I was certain that I deserved to be shunned and punished. Besides all the lessons about geriatric care management, she taught me all about the gift of forgiveness.  This week she helped me write / edit my submission for a workshop I want to do on dementia care for other social workers. It is all done on line through NASW of New Jersey so I can give out continuing education credits for attendees. The process for the proposal is long and cumbersome. It is challenging for me to take what I have been doing seamlessly for many years and translate that into words in an organized manner so that others can understand and learn how to do what I do.

I am so grateful for all the people who love who did not have to love me. You figure your family is sort of obligated to love you and of course there are wounds when they don't know how, but others still can open their hearts to you. I have been totally blessed in that regard. Patrice McDonald was the first to step up when I was lost and lonely back in 1971-72. My mother had died a few years earlier when I was 12 ( February 1969) and my father had moved me miles away from friends and family by the time I was 13 ( June 1969) and then he married someone who was cold and clearly not interested in knowing or loving me ( February 1970)  So I become a 4th McDonald daughter. That is how I got my training in being a good Catholic and that looks can kill when they come from an Irish mother like Kitty McDonald. Elbows off the table, napkins on the lap and please pass that or this and thank you very much were clearly expected behavior 100% of the time. So I shipped up rather than out.

My survival instincts continued as I attached myself to others along the way waiting for my prince charming to show up and rescue me.  And we all know that ended badly when Bob asked for a divorce 6 months after we got married.

The take away message from all this is at least 2 points. #1- ASK FOR HELP!  #2- Everything that you need to survive is available if you are willing to look for it.

And most importantly, I am sending a sincere warm thank you to all who love me because your love carried me through my darkest hours and it still does. No matter how small you think your warm smile has been, it and you matter to me. ALWAYS!