March 20, 2011
2 Year Cancerversary
Hooray for me!!!! Today Sunday, March 20, 2011 is the two-year anniversary of my first Chemo. I actually received my diagnosis on March 19, 2009, but didn’t get to the oncologist until 7:00 am, the next morning, so I really consider March 20th my cancerversary date!
People ask why I am ‘celebrating’ this day. I am celebrating this day because two years ago, we were not sure how long I would live. The average life expectancy for ovarian cancer is 25 months.
I am rejoicing because I feel good, people tell me that I look good and I am far from the grave (that is unless God has different plans for me). I figure that my worst case scenario is 1 year and I plan to far outlast that. After all Beautiful Grandbaby Number 2 is on the way (might arrive this week!) and I plan to watch Grandbaby Number 1 walk into his first day of kindergarten 3 1/2 years from now.
I am so very optimistic. I have had a great response to the standard chemo drugs and I have only had two of them. There are about 20 more chemo drugs available and new strides are being made every few months, certainly every year. So the longer I can stay alive , the better my chance of living longer because of the new medical advancements that are being made!
Yes, my energy level is not what is once was and I now realize that it will never be. I still get tired, but then, I am able to do a lot more than I was able to do that first 18 months. I have completed most of my travels. Oh, there are still a few places calling to me… but currently I am resting up and not planning any new travels.
So, Hooray for me!!! I am still alive…. I am happy, I am loved, I have fabulous friends and a beautiful family and a cute new doggie. I am assured of my salvation, I know I’ll go straight to heaven when I die and I ask you, my dear readers, what could be better than that? Blessing to you all.
March 16, 2011
St. Patrick’s Day
Ah, tomorrow morning is the day to say, “Top o’ the Morning to ye.” I hope you all have a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day and enjoy the parade and the corned beef and cabbage and colcannon.
Here is the link to a colcannon (mashed potatoes & cabbage) recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tylers-ultimate/colcannon-recipe/index.html
March 8, 2011
Shrove Tuesday
Today is Shrove Tuesday also known as Mardi Gras and is the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday.
Mardi Gras Masks by PDXFireflyMardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and it is the day before the Lenten Season begins with Ash Wednesday.
March 5, 2011
March 5th – TWA Anniversary
It was March 5th many years ago when I started my training classes for TWA. TWA flew me from LAX to KCI on what would become my favorite airplane, the 727 Stretch.
We took off over Marina Del Rey and I sat watching the glistening blue waves kiss the golden sands receding below me. I still have that beautiful picture in my mind. Hours later – probably after a delicious meal – remember the airlines used to serve great food even in coach – all included in the price of your ticket. Hours later, we came in for our landing at the old Kansas City International Airport where the landing pattern takes you over the downtown skyscrapers and then the bridge spanning the Missouri River, just at the end of the runway.
We were housed at the beautiful, new, state of the art Breech Training Academy in Overland Park, Kansas. It is still there today and has been sold and used by many different companies over the years. This facility was built just for the purpose of training Flight Attendants for Trans World Airlines. Our accommodations were 2 to a suite with 2 well-lit desks, plenty of closet space and a generous private bath. Ten of these suites opened onto a central area which was a sunken living room complete with a modified kitchen. These 20 young women comprised one class. The classes were arranged alphabetically according to last names. Our class was notable at the Academy for its ethnic make-up . I think we had the single most diverse class that was ever enrolled at Breech Academy. There were 4 black women, 1 Egyptian, 1 Chinese, 2 Hispanics, 2 Catholics, 4 WASPs, 2 Jewish, 1 Japanese, 1 from Belgium, 1 German and 1 from Poland. This diversity would not be unusual today, but ‘ahem’ number of years ago it was very unusual. Remember that our classes were determined by last names only and the classes on either side of ours consisted mostly of ethnically similar, if not identical, young women.
Our classrooms were in another building within walking distance from the 4 multi-storied dormitory buildings. These were also state of the art. Each classroom was horseshoe-shaped with a semi-circular bank of 20 fixed chairs with one long continuous horseshoe-shaped desk for the 20 chairs. Each desk ’station’ had its own set of three buttons marked A, B, or C. Theses buttons were used during the 6 weeks of training for in-classroom testing purposes. At the front of the room was a projection room behind a black window which served as the screen for the slides and videos that were used in just about every single class of our training. To the side of this screen was the teachers podium. Her podium was electronically connected to the buttons at our desks. She could put a multiple choice question up on the screen and we would each push the button that indicated what we thought was the correct answer. We would get immediate feedback as soon as we pushed a button at our desk . If you got it correct, a little green light flashed, if incorrect, a little red light flashed.
We were served three meals a day in the huge cafeteria and we had an enormous swimming pool which was encased in a big white plastic bubble so the pool could be used year around. The pool was necessary because it was imperative that each flight attendant pass the water ditching test in order to graduate. And that meant jumping off the end of the diving board into the pool and swimming over to the enormous life raft floating in the center of the pool. Then you had to climb on board the raft with your life vest fully inflated while the people in the raft made the raft bounce around to simulate North Atlantic Ocean waves!
Out of our class of 20 women only 16 graduated. Of that 16, I think that 10 of us went on to international training for another 2 weeks. At that time one had to be proficient in a foreign language and I passed the test in Italian.
And so March 5th is the date that my career with TWA began. It was a career that gave me incredible opportunities, much happiness, innumerable friendships, and was the fulfillment of my childhood dream. And now in retirement, I am still reaping the benefits of all those years of service by being able to use my travel pass benefits. Ah yes, here is a toast to March 5th and all the memories it brings to this now weary traveler.
February 24, 2011
Doggie Diary I
As you know, I have been looking for a little Bichon or Poodle mix puppy. I say puppy, but I am really wanting an older dog… maybe around 3 – 8 years old. I have just missed out on 3 dogs over the last month and so when I saw one online last Friday I made arrangements to go and see her on Sunday.
Saturday night I cleaned the house one last time, got the new dog bed ready, got the doggie dishes out and set up in their own special spot in the kitchen, laid my clothes out for the next day and went to bed early so I could get up and go to early church before I went for the meet and greet scheduled for noon. I cleared my Sunday afternoon schedule so I would have all afternoon getting acquainted with her.
Sunday morning, I got up early and checked my emails before church and there it was –the disappointing email. The person could not meet with me that day. Oh she gave what she thought was a good excuse, but it raised another red flag with me. Yes, I had a couple of red flags go up during my previous contacts (phone & email) with her; but I persevered because I wanted a little rescue doggie.
She told me in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to see the dog, that I could drive over 2 hours to see her to Longview, Washington. I took her up on this challenge and we made arrangements to meet the following day – last Monday.
Monday morning dawned bright and cold and beautiful and I was ready for the trek to another state! I had asked a good friend who lives in Longview to meet me for the doggie meet and greet and he agreed. I am so glad that he was there to give his input and just to listen to what I was trying to process. Well, this dog was a mess. She was covered in fleas, filthy dirty, had an infected breast, and growled at me! The rabies tag said that she was a tan and black yorkie terrier, not the white bichon that the person had stated online and to me personally. Needless to say I did not take the dog and I was glad that I had paid attention to those red flags.
My friend and I had a great visit over lunch and after lunch he insisted that we stop by the local Humane Society to look at the dogs there. After looking at the dogs, we stopped by the front desk to ask about the rescue person that I had been in contact with . As I said her name to the lady at the front desk, the Shelter Director stopped short in his conversation with someone else and turned toward us and came over to answer our inquiry about this private rescue person. He took us over to his private desk where he told us an earful about the deplorable conditions at that private rescue where the dogs were kept. Then he took us to the 2 private parts of the Humane Society where little dogs were kept! No match, but a much better feeling about the way those dogs were cared for and treated.
I bid my friend good-by and got in the car without a doggie, for the drive home. As I mentioned the ride was beautiful and the friendship fun, so the day was not wasted at all. But I was tired when I got home!
February 17, 2011
President Obama in Portland
Air Force 1 will be ariving at the airbase near Portland International Airport about 10:00 am on Friday, Feb 18th, 2011. President Obama will then helicopter across our fair city to the Intel plant in Hillsboro, Oregon. Hillsboro has been called the Silicon Forest due to the large number of computer processing industries in the area.
January 28, 2011
Fog in the Valley of Memories
Here in Portland, we have had a rather mild winter compared to the rest of the country. Yes, we did have some bitter cold during December, but with the lengthening of the days (so important at Northern latitudes – you in So Cal have no idea!) and the promise of a week of no rain, our Portlander spirits are rising!
And then what happens? The wind stops blowing and all the moisture that has accumulated in the ground begins to move upward and evaporate. And then with the night-time cool down we have been experiencing a LOT of fog the last several mornings. Mind you, I am not complaining…. Daytime temps are in the 50′s and one almost doesn’t even need to wear a jacket when you go out. Well, maybe a lightweight jacket, but not the necessary heavy coats of November & December!
I do not remember this type of fog occurring in the Midwest. Yet is is familiar to me and brings back memories of long ago. When I look out my bank of windows, I am reminded of foggy mornings at my Southern California High School. We wore uniforms. A beautifully styled grey straight skirt with 4 kick pleats (2 in the front, 2 in the back) and the omnipresent white uniform blouse which was topped with a navy letterman sweater. On especially cold mornings we would not even wear a coat, (it was southern California after all!) but would put another sweater under our uniform sweater for added warmth! That way we still had the required ‘uniform’ look, but were still warm in the morning and would be able to shed the under sweater as the day warmed up. And so those high school mornings are what I see when I look out my windows at the fog today.
PS: I always thought adding one sweater under another was a really cool trick! Or should I say a really ‘warm’ trick! Tee Hee!
Portland Firefly is in a great mood today! For those who are wondering I am feeling well!
January 18, 2011
Love Letter Walls
I was just reading over some old love letters that I had written several years ago and I was amazed at the depth of passion that I had conveyed in them. A depth of passion that I had even forgotten existed.
Is it possible that I have been so hurt that the walls I have built have erased even the memory of the depth of passion I once felt? I think that is exactly what has happened. The pain that was inflicted on my sweet, tender, giving, loving soul and heart was so brutal and unexpected. I built up such strong and massive and tall walls against the hurt of painful love that I am taken aback by the strength of those walls.
I am moved to tears. I am moved to tears for the loss of love in my life. I am moved to tears by the unfairness of it all. I am moved to tears by the realization that years of protecting walls may have now become permanent and unmovable. I am moved to tears by the loss of that beautiful, open, willing, trusting person I once was. She is gone, Perhaps she is gone forever. And for me, that is the saddest thing of all. That sweet, loving, forever young woman is not to be seen with joy and love dancing in her heart.
Sometimes life seems so unfair. The tears flow, the facade has cracked, but the walls stand secure and strong as ever. Because that is only what allows this woman to carry on daily.
January 5, 2011
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 17,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, your blog would have filled about 4 fully loaded ships.
In 2010, there were 227 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 596 posts. There were 50 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 90mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 297 views. The most popular post that day was Ultimate Survivor Casting Call Today.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were inspire.com, en.wordpress.com, search.aol.com, centurylink.net, and en.search.wordpress.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for flamenco, kgw raptor cam, this portland movie channel, flamenco shoes, and riptide.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Ultimate Survivor Casting Call Today December 2009
Flamenco! OLE! October 2008
1 comment
KGW Raptor Cam March 2009
Flamenco Dance Terms October 2008
6 comments
THIS Movie Channel July 2009
January 4, 2011
New Year’s Resolutions
I know, it is nearly a week into the new year of 2011; but that is Ok, it is never too late to begin positive changes.
I have some things that I hope to accomplish in the new year.
Movies. I was reminded of my love of movies at a New Years Day party and how I have not ‘rewarded’ myself with that simple pleasure very often the last two years. Too much chemo sickness, I think. Anyway, I am going to try to attend at least 12 movies this year. I am very picky about the type of movie I enjoy, so it might be sort of difficult, but I am going to go to the movies more often!
Organize. I have a very good girlfriend who is a professional organizer and she has offered to help me. Well, I don’t want to impose on her, so I have started taking little tiny baby steps in organizing my house. Just the fact that she offered to help was an inspiration to me and now that I am feeling a bit more energetic, I can tackle some projects that I have been unable to even think about for the last three years.
Write. I will publish at least one book this year. My photographer is in place and we will be taking the photographs for my Scarf tying book for chemotherapy patients soon. Then I’ll be doing a lot of revising as we set the photographs into their position in the book. I’m very excited about my ‘authors photo’. It is a candid photo of me taken during one of the workshops at the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Convention in Washington, D.C. last summer. I was still wearing turbans as my hair had not grown out yet, and I was unaware as the photo was snapped. I will continue to write my weblog. And I will continue to work on my other book.
Travel. I will probably take a few trips this year as my health allows.
Stuff vs Things. I have so much stuff and so many things. I think that I’ll try to eliminate some of the stuff that is inside of some of my things. It is part of organizing, but I wanted to give it it’s own ‘stage’.
Live & Love. I plan to live my life and love deeply the people in it.
G. K. Chesterton
The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
January 1, 2011
A Happy New Year to All!
Wow! It is 2011 already! I want to thank all of you for checking in and reading my blog this year. I also thank you for the many prayers, thoughts, and comments that you have made on my behalf. Lets go and enjoy 2011!
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland
December 20, 2010
Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight
Tonight, Monday December 20, 2010 there will be a total lunar eclipse. It will be visible from the Pacific Northwest if we do not have too much cloud cover. It is the Winter Solstice and a full moon. You only need to be anywhere that you can see the full moon in order to view the eclipse. The moon will be high in the winter sky.
This celestial event begins at 9:29 pm Monday night and ends at 3:05 am on Tuesday morning. The time frame for the total lunar eclipse is from 11:41 pm (Monday) to 12:53 am(Tuesday) on the West Coast.
Pacific Standard Time:
- Penumbral eclipse begins 9:29 PM PST
- Partial eclipse begins 10:33 PM PST
- Total eclipse begins 11:41 PM PST
- Greatest eclipse 12:17 AM PST
- Total eclipse ends 12:53 AM PST
- Partial eclipse ends 2:01 AM PST
- Penumbral eclipse ends 3:05 AM PST
If you want to get a better view, go to OMSI and they will have telescopes out for the public to view the eclipse for free.
Be sure to dress warmly if you go outside — it is Wnter!!!!
December 10, 2010
Great News!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
I am sitting in the chemo room finishing up my LAST CHEMO!!!!!
When my son & I came in to see the doctor today we were prepared to be told that I would be starting on an alternative therapy of Avastin in 3 weeks. I think the prospect of on an ongoing open-ended therapy contributed to my depression these last three weeks.
But today, the doctor said that he thinks that this is all I need right now!!!!! Now I will have hopefully at least 6 months of feeling good enough to travel before my next recurrence… It will take me several weeks to recover from this round of poison, but then I should be good to go!!! I am so looking forward to feeling good again.
Thank you all for all of your prayers
Looks like a happy Christmas for us!!!!
November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010
Today is the day that we give Thanks for all the bountiful blessings that we have been granted. Portland Firefly is very grateful and thankful for so many things….
I love cooking Thanksgiving Dinner but today I will not be spending the day cooking for my family. Today I will be working at a homeless shelter. My duties today will include passing out blankets, hats, coats, gloves and toiletries. As a Flight Attendant, I would often deposit my hotel toiletries in a box designated for the homeless. I never saw ‘the rest of the story’; today I shall.
I wish all of my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving…..
November 21, 2010
Pumpkin Pie Cake Cobbler
Here is a wonderful recipe for a reputation – making Thanksgiving dessert! Enjoy from Portland Firefly!!!
Pumpkin Pie Cobbler:
Mix the following 6 ingredients together and put into a 9X13 pan sprayed with pam.
1 20 oz can of pumpkin
1 C. of sugar
1 13oz can of evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 t. salt
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
Put this into the pan and sprinkle 1 box of dry yellow cake mix over the top. Pat this into the batter a little. Sprinkle 1 cup of nuts over the top. Pour 1 and a 1/2 sticks of melted butter over the entire mixture. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Serve with whip cream.
Portland Firefly uses brown sugar and adds additional cinnamom and spices because she likes her dessert tasty!
Enjoy!!!! From Portland Firefly…..
Happy Thaksgiving!!
November 17, 2010
A Chemo Prayer
Tonight I received an email from some friends. This is the prayer that they included in the email. It really lifted me up. I know that many people are praying for me, but I don’t usually get to see their actual prayer. It humbles me and makes me feel honored that you are praying for me. Thank you from the bottom of my Chemo heart!
Jesus, we lift up Pam’s chemo tomorrow and ask that you’d be so close to
her that she would shine your light to all involved. Thank you for your
promises that you never leave us and you give us grace to go through
all things. We love you and give you all praise. Lord we thank you that
you are a caring, gracious, loving, faithful and all-wise friend. Touch
our sister with your healing power we pray. Amen
November 15, 2010
Amazing 22
Portland Firefly has been feeling like something is going on in my abdomen for several weeks now. It is a sensation that I have never felt before and I was understandably slightly concerned. I wanted to ignore it, but then I also had that low-grade nausea that I sometimes get and it wouldn’t go away.
So…. I called the ‘triage nurse’, Robert, at the Cancer center and told him how I was feeling. He said that he would check with the doctor. When he called me back he told me that my doctor said that since I was having such a remarkable response to the chemotherapy (my CA 125 went down from 444 to 96 in 3 weeks) that it could just be the chemo drugs working on my abdominal tumors (which are small). He also gave me the opportunity to have another CA 125 a week earlier than I would normally have one done. I jumped at the chance to do so and my blood was drawn last Thursday afternoon.
Friday afternoon, after 4:00pm I was on my home from watching my Grandson and I had two messages from Robert awaiting my return. In the second message, he said that he had really hoped to speak to me personally but since he wanted me to have the results before the weekend that he would go ahead and give me my test results.
Then he said “Your Ca 125 is 22. Whoo Hoo!, Now you can go and party this weekend!” I have never heard him so excited and happy.
It was then that I realized that he is also invested in my care and survival. He is the one I talk to on the phone whenever I have a question or side-effect or concern of any sort. He is the one who often gives my test results to me. And so he knows as much about my medical condition as anyone… It has to be difficult for the nurses as well as the doctors… This oncology is a nasty business….. patients die….. and it takes special people to work in this field.
And all of the nurses and doctors at Northwest Cancer Specialists are VERY Special People.
Anyway my CA 125 is down to 22 from a very high 444 just 5 weeks ago so I am once again having a remarkable response to the chemo drugs. I am so happy that this chemo is working and it looks like I will not lose my cute curls for a long while.
November 11, 2010
Veterans Day
Today is Veteran’s Day. This is the day we should thank those who have served our country and made it possible for us to enjoy all of the freedoms that we have. Be sure to thank at least one vet today!!!
November 5, 2010
Dr. Heidi
A few days ago, my Primary Care Physician (PCP), Dr. Heidi, had her nurse, Sheena give me a call to see how I was doing. Several weeks ago, their office had received the results of my soaring CA -125 blood tests and Dr. Heidi wanted to know how I was feeling now. It made me feel very good when I realized who was on the phone and the reason for the call.
You may wonder why I consider this unusual. It is because even though she is my PCP, Dr. Heidi is not the doctor that is in charge of my cancer treatments. She takes care of everything else for me, and my cancer specialists keep her informed of my visits and progress and my test results.
I have been struggling under the weight of this new burden that I am carrying in my cancer odyssey and her concern touched me and really gave me a much-needed emotional boost. Medicine is after all, taking care of the entire patient… not just the symptoms or the disease. And her obvious concern in having her nurse call me personally made a big impact on me.
This is the same Doctor that had the duty of giving me my diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer. The fact that she had to be the bearer of such terrible news was made more difficult because it was the first time that we had ever met. I do not envy her duty of being the messenger of terrible tidings. Yet, she handled this burdensome duty with composure, professionalism, and immense sensitivity.
Unbeknownst to me, before she came into the examining room to speak to my Son and I, she had placed a call to the only doctor that I had seen in Portland. It is perhaps the best thing that she could have done, because the next sentence out of her mouth as soon as she told us that I had Ovarian Cancer was ” I have spoken to Dr. Kehoe and she agrees with me on the choice of the cancer specialist that I want you to see.” I had a wonderful doctor/patient relationship with Dr. Kehoe and I respected her judgment, so her agreement on the choice of a cancer specialist was paramount in relieving anxiety.
And so, Dr. Heidi’s compassionate bedside manner has shown through once again. And her nurse, Sheena, was so sweet during the call and she told me to “call if there is anything that I need and she will take care of it.”
And you know what….. I know that she will….
I am so blessed to have wonderful doctors and nurses.
Thank you, God. Please continue to bless them as they care for the sick…..
November 4, 2010
4:44 am
Back in January, 1981, Portland Firefly was awakened three consecutive nights at the exact same time. I know the exact time because we had a new digital alarm clock and I would open my eyes, being wide awake, staring at the time on the clock ~~ 4:44 am.
Since my children were small, I was immediately concerned for their safety since I could not make any sense of why I should suddenly be awakened, fully alert, at such a strange hour of the morning. I did what any conscientious Mother would do. I got up and dutifully checked each precious child to make sure they were alright, still breathing and covered up from the chilly night’s air in our remodeled civil war constructed home.
The first night, they were fine. The second night, they were fine. The third night, they were fine.
On the fourth night, as we were readying to go to bed after an evening of TV watching, I made the comment to my husband that I sure hoped that I would not be awakened again at 4:44 in the morning like I had been for the last three mornings. He asked me “What time did you say you woke up?” I replied “4:44 am. It is really strange that it is at the exact same time every night for the last three nights. Not 4:43, not 4:45, but 4:44 am. It is kind of eerie.”
I could tell that I had his complete undivided attention and I could see his mind turning as he experienced an ‘ah-ha moment’. He gave me the strangest look as he intently asked, ”What were we doing tonight?” I said (with the tiredness of an exhausted working mother), “Watching TV.”
He countered with, “ But WHAT were we watching on TV?” I replied, “We’ve been watching the news all night.”
Again, he said, “ WHAT on the news were we watching?” Getting tired of this not fun game, I replied, “The American hostages coming home.”
From his reaction, I could tell that this was the correct answer to his line of questioning, but even thought the ‘light-bulb’ went on for him, I was still in the dark. Not willing to give up so easily, he pursued with ” Yes, we watched the hostages come home. How long were they held?”
I wearily replied, ”Four Hundred Fourty-Four …. oh… days….. Oh! 444!”
He smiled at me as he realized that I had discovered the significance of my awakening for the last three nights at 4:44 am. I had been waking up at exactly 4:44 am for the three nights prior to the Iran hostages being released from captivity after their 444 days of ordeal.
This is a true story. This conversation was held on the evening of January 20, 1981, just hours after President Ronald Regan had taken the oath of office of President of the United States and the Iran hostages were released shortly thereafter.
This crisis has been described as the “pivotal episode” in the history of Iran-US relations. In the U.S., some political analysts believe the crisis was a major reason for President Jimmy Carter’s defeat in the November 1980 presidential election. In Iran, the crisis strengthened the prestige of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the political power of those who supported theocracy and opposed any normalization of relations with the West. The crisis also marked the beginning of U.S. legal action, or economic sanctions against Iran that further weakened economic ties between Iran and the United States.
For more information on the Iran Hostage Crisis go to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
November 3, 2010
Sedona Sky
Sedona Sky 1 by Pdxfirefly
Portland Firefly took a trip to Sedona, Arizona several weeks ago. Here are two of my favorite pictures that I took….. I hope you enjoy them.
Sedona Sky 2 by Pdxfirefly
November 1, 2010
Vote Oregon!
Oregonians, be sure to deposit your ballots into a registered drop site box. It is too late to mail your Oregon ballot as postmarkes do not count. In order to be counted your ballot must be received by 8:00 pm Tuesday, November 2, 2010 in an authorized ballot drop box site. You can find one at most local libraries.
Go to www.oregonvotes.org for more information.
October 31, 2010
Too Sick for Trick-or-Treaters
Portland Firefly had Chemo again on Thursday and usually days 3 & 4 are the worst for experiencing side-effects. This week is no exception.
I have been fighting down the nausea and taking my prescribed anti-nausea meds. They work fine except they make me very sleepy and all I want to do is nap the day & night away! I have lots to share with you, but dog-gone-it, I’m just too sleepy to concentrate and write much more than this….
It’s all I can do to fight down the ever present nausea. I’m even too ill to open the door and pass out treats to my cute neighbor kids…..
October 28, 2010
Second Chemo Today
Today I’ll have chemotherapy again. It starts with a blood draw, then I see my new doctor, then he sends me to the chemo room.
I had to restart Chemo three weeks ago because my CA -125 levels skyrocketed to 265 in one month and then to 444 the next week! Back with a vengeance!
I had Chemo on a Thursday and then my girlfriend and I left for Arizona two days later for a trip that we had planned and paid for 7 months ago when I went off Chemo. I tolerated the trip very well and had minimal side effects. My color started looking much better about a week ago and I also was feeling much less ‘symptomatic’; so I have no doubt that the chemo is working. I will have another CA -125 drawn this morning and I’ll get the results tomorrow… but I’m not on ‘pins and needles’ because I know that the chemo is working by the way that I am feeling.
I am really looking forward to my Chemo today because I know that I need it and I know that it is helping me.
I know what the big question is in your mind…. because it is in ours, too. How much time do I have?
The doctor said that he can pretty much guarantee that I’ll be here in 1 year but he can’t address what kind of physical condition I’ll be in. I may have an excellent response from this Chemo and be in very good health or I might be just hanging on. Hard questions with hard answers, but realistic; and that is what I strive to be. I do not want to put my head in the sand and I do not want my Children to be caught unawares and not ready.
All that being said, I expect to be here for many years to come. I have had an excellent response from the Chemo in the past and feel that I am continuing to do so right now. I have much yet to do…..
October 26, 2010
It’s Time to Vote!
Well, all Oregonians should have received their ballots by now. In Oregon your ballot must be RECEIVED by a county elections office no later than 8:00pm on Tuesday November 2, 2010. Postmarks DO NOT COUNT!
There are ballot dropsites throughout Oregon. You will usually find one at your local library but go to the following website for the exact location of your nearest drop site for your ballot.
or call 866-673-8683
You can also begin viewing the unofficial results on the website at 8:00 pm on November 2nd.
