oh @shanaber that sounds absolutely awful. I am right there with you on hoping everything resolves so you can have the surgery on Friday and get that dang thing out of you!

Many many many hugs from the toasty state of tx to you and your family right now. Waiting must be impossibly awful. 🥺😢😕

I've missed being on here for a week or so....just really super busy last week. Seems I've missed a lot.

@shanaber I love all the pictures from your trip. I sounds like you had a wonderful time. Love the 'barkchutery' treat board for Hobbes. I'm glad to hear your surgery is soon. I'll be sure to say a prayer for you and the surgeons on Friday! Please let us know how it goes when you feel like it. How long are you expecting to be in the hospital? I'm sorry to see that you had a rough weekend. I hope the antibiotics are doing their job and your numbers will be back to what they need to be in the morning.

@swenson19d You sure have a lot going on! Hugs to you.

@CMorning99 Once you have the mindset of retiring, I would find it hard to reset for another year too. Sounds like things are progressing, even though really slowly. I'm a patient person, but I think CA bureaucracy would the end of my patience. LOL

Honestly @shanaber my heart stopped at the words "clear margins" and I had to get up and do a happy dance all around the house before I could read the rest of your post!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

SOunds like the BEST possible outcome but WOW what an intense surgery. Hang in there and take care of yourself. Lots of healing to do.

@shanaber So good to hear! Did you get that taco yet? Is Hobbes keeping you company? Why no veggies, is it a risk to bacteria or roughage avoidance to let things heal? Nice that you were able to leave early. I always felt bad for eric having to wait on me and being kinda helpless. The psych consult was simply to manage depression. I told my PCP that i have major depressive disorder (MDD). I met with a councellor and really like her so far. Ive decided that dh is a narcissist and am trying to manage that poo show.
rest up!

So glad to hear from you @shanaber! Thanks for checking in. I hope the doctor allows you to start adding in the foods you are craving. It seems if we are told we can't have something, human nature is that we start craving that thing. I can imagine that is easy to slip into a dark place. Glad you are recognizing it and taking steps to not go there. I pray you continue to heal quickly and can get back to your "normal" self soon!

@swenson19d Somehow I missed that Kevin got bit by a copperhead! I'm glad he is okay. Sorry that Cori is missing. We had a neighbor that kept feeding the feral cats. I get that they think they are doing them a favor, but all that does is allow them to reproduce more effectively. Good luck on your exam.

@shanaber Yeah for the surgeon's report and getting out to walk already. You are doing great. I'm also glad you are getting a second opinion from another oncologist. This one doesn't sound like the right one for you, for various reasons. Hang in there and I hope you find an oncologist that makes you feel like they have your best interest in mind and will listen and discussing all the options and why one is better than the other given your circumstances.

Glad to hear from you @CMorning99 . I'm glad your surgery went well. Just 7 more work days! Where has the time gone! I'm sure you will figure out the best course for you after you retire. One thing to remember is that you have your retirement money, so you don't HAVE to keep a job you get if it turns out you don't like it. Give it a chance, but move on if that is not what you want to do. Retirement is great that way. You're house woes give me a headache and I just have to read about them. I can't even imagine. Good luck with everything and please stay in touch. Enjoy your friend's visit.

That is wonderful news about the new oncologist @shanaber ! It sounds like they really listened to you and have your best interest in mind. AND I LOVE that he said it is "curable." I had my fingers crossed it would be since you found it so early. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Monday is the beginning of the end of treatment. After treatment is the beginning of a wonderful rest of your life.

You do what you need to, I'll be here anxious to have you walking the dogs and figuring how to best approach your return to running glory. All thr best.

I'm glad your port surgery is healing well @shanaber and that you will finally be able to take a shower, today, I hope. I've never had to take chemo, thankfully, but have heard you will probably be okay for a couple of days, have a horrible day, and then more good days. I'm not saying this to be a downer, but so you will be prepared and know it is normal. Maybe ask when you go in and see what they say is normal. I don't know if all chemo is the same, but have heard a lot of people like to take ginger cookies to snack on or ginger ale to drink. It seems to set well on the stomach. Do you know how many treatments you are going to have? I hope not many, they do the job, and you are back to walking and running soon! Prayers.

I'm glad you got that feedback @shanaber . I hope you tolerate it well and it kills those nasty cells. Thanks for keeping us/me updated.

Thanks @quilteryoyo! It went pretty well without a lot of side affects. I was pretty stressed out before we even left the house as evidenced by my very high BP and a bit of maybe a panic attack in the waiting room. They didn't get me in until a bit after 10 (my appointment was at 9) and the chemo infusion didn't even start for an another hour+. It was a long day! I left the center a bit after 4pm. The only side affect so far has been a general feeling of jitteriness(?). It really feels strange allmost like my heart is racing but it isn't, but my hands are shaky. So weird!
I hope you and all of your family are safe from all the storms!!

Helllllooooo......
This thread has gone silent!
@CMorning99 - you out there and still doing ok? I think you must be retired now. Did you decide on doing some contracting or just relaxing for a bit? How are you doing now with exercise and food?
@swenson19d - How are the pups and kitties all doing? How are you doing with all the pain? I hope better! What are your next steps for school? Has it started already?

I miss hearing from you both!

Good morning everyone!

I told myself I NEEDED to see what everyone was up to!

@Shanaber Thank you for all the updates - chemo is such the pits and so ick. How are you doing now?

All is well here. Yes I am officially retired now - not on paid vacation. I have been adjusting, I think. August flew by! I really thought that it would drag as I really had nothing planned but holy heck...a blink and it was gone! DH had to take 2 weeks of vacation in August as well because he was over his allowed time (he had been saving it up for the trial which still has not happened) so it was great, we just hung out and enjoyed spending time with each other. I started off my paid vacation with a schedule and cracked the whip...but alas it only lasted 10 days before I was so dang tired.

Property: Oh the drama. So my neighbor told me about Senate Bill 9 that was signed in Jan that was a state law to try and increase available housing in the State. It pretty much voided all the county's red tape INCLUDING the developmental credit I paid $25K for. My project manager (who seriously needs a mega bonus) reached out to the county and asked what was up...the county played dumb but acknowledged I did qualify for the permit. So we started all the permits again and I had to sign an affidavit that I was "developing" the property for residential use only (no short term rentals). Under the new law my neighbor who had previously not been able to divide b/c he is .01 acres short of 10, would be able to divide. Fast forward 30 days the County "announced" they had redrawn some maps (IDK what ones) and they didn't know if I qualified. Long story short, somehow I allegedly still qualify and my neighbor does not. Sounds like the County tried to do some quick damage control once they realized the cat was out of the bag. Seriously? This should be a straight forward admin process..but somehow I feel it is personal. So hopefully I get the credit money back AND allegedly the State capped the permit fees at $3K - so I should hopefully get about $10K back on fees I have already paid. We still don't have the grading report back, I think that some of the requirements were removed with SB9 so I "think" that is what we are waiting on. I did get the easement legal paperwork done though. Project manager is hoping we will be done before the end of the year.

Retirement: Still trying my hand a reselling. Although if I had to be honest with myself, I am putting a lot more effort into it, but probably not enough. Sales are steady which means they are growing b/c there are been a lot of glitches in the platforms and so many others took big cuts in profits. I am waiting on the VA determination for my benefits - they have 30-60 days after separation (1 Sep) to do it. A lot of my friends got theirs within a week or two but I also filed at the end of my window and the VA sent me 300 miles round trip for an 8 min pulmonary function test a week before my separation date so I am not expecting my rating as fast.

Black cat is doing well. We have been able to push his chemo out to every 5 weeks and he is doing well. His weight seems to have leveled off and he has officially gained back about 1lb. He has developed a bit of a cough but the vet ran every test under the sun and pretty much came up with he is a 16 y/o cat with cancer...he is not gonna be a kitten all the time. Well damn. The neighborhood cat the previous owners used to feed (He belonged to an old man who died awhile back and so allegedly the "neighborhood" adopted him...I don't know how long ago though) has been coming to our door meowing like he is hungry. I wonder if the other old man who was feeding him is not for some reason? I "think" someone takes/took care of him b/c a couple months ago I noticed it looked like his back legs had been shaved for treatment of a skin issue. DH and I tried to resist and send him home but he persisted and the previous owners had left a big jar of cat food for him so we put it out and was very hungry. DH and I are still grieving grey cat and the thought of another cat is not appealing, not to mention he is very much an outdoor cat and a bit skittish.

My weight has leveled off and I have not gained anything for 2 months - right at 185lbs so that is officially a 30lb gain in the last 3 years. I start to track but lose it by mid day - such a hassle...and when did MFP make barcode scanning a paid feature? WTF! When I first started my paid vacay I walked every morning for 30 min everyday. I need to start doing that but for some reason I am still.so.damn.tired! Not sleepy, if I lay down I don't sleep. IDK what is going on with me, I have never felt so "weak" and "tired". I have always prided myself in my mental fortitude and willpower and it seems gone. I actually had an anxiety attack in the middle of the night the other day - it was about PD (Psycho doc neighbor). It seems my carefully crafted mental compartments are cracking. I guess I took more damaged that I admit to myself in my career and combat deployments and obviously my mom. I was watching some YouTube video and it was talking about how people (specifically military) learn to disassociate or dehumanize events...well I seem to have excelled at that. I think back at how I handled my mom's death and it was eerily too calm and sterile...I had disassociated. And perhaps this is all coming back to bite me as in a book called "the body keeps score"...I don't want to handle it, I don't want to admit it...I just want to feel like I used to.

Well that was a bit of a downer LOL. But in all honestly I have so much to be grateful for and while the future is fuzzy - everything is going well and will go well! Well time to get my shipping done...yeah $$$$!