Chapter 15

Good Evening,

Hope everyone is doing okay.  So far so good here.  I haven’t left the house in close to a week.  Mama is starting to weird out on me.  She needs to get out and just can’t understand how I can stay with no problems.  So, I have a pretty good idea that I’ll have no choice but to go out tomorrow.  Besides we do need to hit the grocery store.  I’ve managed to avoid Wal-Mart, but there’ll be no more avoiding the place. 

Jerry is sleeping and Mama is fixing a chicken sandwich for her supper. 

She’ll eat in her room watching The Waltons and fall asleep with her cat beside her in the recliner.  She’s had that cat for 20 years. I really dread the day that Miss Sassy passes away.  Mama really grieves for our pets.  That’s how Miss Sassy came to her.  Her other cat had passed away and she just cried for days.   “NO MORE PETS,” was about all she would say, and she grieved so deeply that Leslie and I had no idea how to help her.  So against her wishes, I got a kitten.  Mama and I had a habit of getting cashew chicken for supper, and while she wasn’t paying attention I almost got the little thing in the house, I just wasn’t quick enough.  When she saw it all she had to say is “WHAT IS THAT?”  With me being a little ornery (okay, a lot ornery and a smarty pants) I explained that it was a baby cat.  That didn’t help at all.  (Bad girl.)  I asked her, since she didn’t want it, if she would keep it a couple days until I could find it a home.  That did it!!  Yeah, that’s the 20 year-old cat in her room now.  If the lifespan of these cats are 20 years, they’ll outlive all of us.  So, who wants a cat, and how many do you will you take?  Just kidding.  She’ll get a switch and whoop me with it.

I don’t spend a lot of time with my nieces and nephews (Leslie’s kids).  Loren is now 27, and Michaela will be 19 in November.  Loren is a manager at a grocery store in Ozark.  Michaela is a freshman at OTC.  Just looking at her math book made my head hurt.  Apparently, they start teaching algebra in elementary school.  So, the college-level stuff is quite advanced for me.  There were numbers, symbols, and equations all spinning in my head as I handed it back to her.  She had a good laugh watching as I must have made horrible faces. They don’t live far, but we only see them on birthdays or holidays.  Jerry’s brother has 2 girls, Ashleigh and Sydney, and 1 boy, Caleb.  They’re over an hour drive to their homes.  I haven’t seen any of them in years. Caleb is a wonderful young man.  He’s working for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources at the trout fish hatchery in Roaring River State Park, and takes some classes.  He and his fiance have a baby boy, and Ashleigh has a baby boy.  So, it was left to Sydney to keep the female side back in control.  She gave us our baby girl, Eva.  Sydney and Keith are now making sure the balance stays in our control for a while.  Another girl on her way. You just can’t beat that, tee-hee.   I miss them so much.  I can only hope they will know we do love them. 

Well, I need to do some things before I get completely wiped out.   Hope you enjoyed Family history, LOL.

CYA,

Arlynda

Chapter 14

Good Morning,

Everybody in the house is asleep.  It’s a nice, calming time.  No barking dogs.  No hissing, growling or meowing cats.  One of the cats will actually yell!! I yelled back once and he took it as a competition.  I just can’t win, tee-hee.

I actually managed to stay home since Tuesday.  I’m not sure how it happened, but I have enjoyed it.  No doctor appointments, labs, x-rays or MRIs.  The week has just flown by.  It looks like I don’t have any appointments until the last of October. WOW-what are all these doctors  going to do without me coming in to entertain them???

Our niece is having a baby shower this coming Saturday.  This is her second baby, add another girl to the family.  I still haven’t met her first baby girl.  I need to get down there and see everyone.   There are soon to be 4 great nieces and just the one great nephew. 

I have a project that may just go ahead and drive me totally and completely  insane.  It’s not very easy to find life insurance when you’re sick.  I heard a comedian explain life insurance as you are betting you will die and the insurance is betting you won’t.  What a racket!  Tee-hee—how can you win?

It’s starting to cool off here.  One day our high temperature was in the 60’s, and if felt so good.  The nights were in the 40’s, but it didn’t last long enough.  Tomorrow is climbing back into the 70’s and by the end of the week, we’ll hit the 80’s.  Missouri weather—f you don’t like it, just wait a little while and it will change, LOL.  The cats killed all my plants, and I thought the one peace lily might have a chance to bounce back.  So, we put it outside in the fresh air and rain water.  Away from the cats, it is trying to make a comeback with several little healthy sprouts coming up.  So, how do I keep the cats from eating it again?  They seem to think I grow it especially for them.  They have ate so many plants, I was afraid they’d be poisoned, but it doesn’t seem to hurt them at all.  I need to go to a hardware store and get some kind of screen to put over that lone survivor.  I know cats have 9 lives, but I don’t think that applies to plants.

Well, I guess I should shut-up if I don’t have anything interesting to say.  I don’t want to start repeating myself.  I don’t want to start repeating myself. 

CYA,

Arlynda

Chapter 13

Good Morning,

Goodness, what a mess we live in!!!  Started spring cleaning (yes, I know I’m a little late, tee hee).  We threw a lot of stuff away, and the living room looks a little bigger.  It’s a little easier to get around in.  Next week, I hope to start in the kitchen.  When you combine 2 households there’s a lot of repetitive kitchen utensils and appliances.  We have 4 rice cookers, and in eight and a half years, we’ve used 2 of them about 10 times.  We have used one for steamed veggies, but we really don’t use them.  Let’s not even mention crock pots—haha.  Time to get rid of some of this clutter.

Some good news.  The dermatologist called and the lab declared that the cancer on my upper right arm has been taken care of.  Come back in 6 months.  Dr. Dimmick is a great provider.  I couldn’t ask for better care.

I was truly amazed, it only took 1 request and 15 minutes to get the copies of all my MRIs, ultrasounds, cat scans and the reports to take with me to my appointment with the St. Louis docs. 

If I’ve already explained the S.t Louis docs, please be patient with me since I don’t remember.  You make an appointment with the liver clinic.  When you get there, you sign in and they call you to put you in a room to see the next available doctor.  So, you really never know which doctor you’ll see.  I’ve seen 3 different doctors up there, but this one really doesn’t have any bedside manners.  He’s a take no prisoners kind of guy. 

Dr. Ng (my new liver specialist in Springfield) definitely wanted the St. Louis docs to pay close attention to a 1.6 cm lesion on the backside of my liver.  It wasn’t there 6 months ago, and it’s so tiny, the Springfield bunch can’t do a biopsy.  Well, at least that is what I think they told me, which makes sense, but I don’t remember just exactly what was said.  Dr. Congeniality in St. Louis read about it in the reports, and he went on to explain that he wants me back in 2-3 months, with the results from another MRI, to see if it has grown to 2.0 cm.  If it has, they will run a line in my leg up to the lesion  and zap it with chemo.  That was the last thing I remember.  I checked out and just stared at the wall.  If he moved into my line of sight, I stared through him.  My sister goes with me for 2 reasons, I can’t ( or won’t) drive in  St. Louis, and one side effect of cirrhosis is mental fogginess that causes forgetfulness, inattention to details.  So, Leslie has her work cut out for her.  The next day I asked her about the visit and she was able to explain in terms that my poor befuddled brain could understand.

It’s getting late, so I’d better start getting ready for a nap.  Naps are so wonderful.  Why did we fight against taking one when we were kids????    

CYA,

Arlynda