Another Day...another doctor appt

Well it is Halloween and i started my day going to Dr. Tranakas's office. Jeff and i took the kids to school and then met Barby at Einsteins for a quick breakfast. After eating we headed over to his office for our 9:15am appointment. We were taken in almost right away and then he came in. He proceeeded to check the wounds which he said are looking great and then he said he was going to remove my drain (yay!!!!!). Then he removed my steri-strips which are covering the port and proceeded to tell me the others will eventually fall off. I have to go back neext tuesday for another check of the steri-strips, hopefully there will be some movement. He also told me i need to do shoulder exercises to make my left arm more mobil.

Once we left there, Jeff went to work and Barby and i started the prosthesis event. We called a few places and finally decided to go to a place in Margate called "A Fitting Experience" The women there were really nice and they even had items for my size (this i will not divulge but i can safely say its not small). After trying on a multitude of bras with various stufffers - they look like shoulder pads we finally found the perfect specimen that was as close as we were going to get. I am very excited i can go out walking now!! In any event i need to go back in a month or so for the silicone version (which btw is quite interesting and yes large)which will be the one i wear for the next little while.

As we made our way back to the apartment for our afternoon appointment we went to get haircuts. They came out quite cute but i have to say i hackeed off quite a bit, but in the grand scheme of things its longer then it will be 2 months from now so who am i to complain. Barbys' looked very cute as well. Hopefully mine will look just as good once i dry it myself :)

Tonite Jeff & I took the kids over to our friends Stacey & Jeff's so they could go trick or treating it was alot of fun and the kids greabbed alot of yummy candy.

Anyway thats it for now. I am feeling good and hope to be out and about real soon.

XOXO
Mich

HAPPY H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N !

HERE IS WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY AND SPOOKY HALLOWEEN!

LOVE,
MICHELLE, JEFF, JUSTIN AND JORDANA

NEIL, LINDA AND SUSIE

BARBY, SHAYNE and of course Princess, Hershey and Pletzel!

Pig Pen in the House ..

Ok for all of you who may not already know this, Michelle's nick-name by her loved ones is "Pig Pen", so for Halloween I thought this image was great!

Now back to Pig Pen did you know:
Before grunge was cool, Pigpen made his debut in the Peanuts comic strip on July 13, 1954 and since then has been the butt of "dirt" gags. He walks around in a cloud of dust, sprinkling dirt on all he comes in contact with. Pigpen is happily messy. He doesn't try to explain it, hide it, fight it. For him, it's just a fact of life. His slovenly ways paid off in 1993 with a series of television commercials for Regina vacuum cleaners which combined animation with live-action.


Well after Michelle mentioned a few times time tonight I have not posted I told her I would go on and do so .. sheesh! Is she pushy or what ;)

Tomorrow morning I am meeting Mich and Jeff at the surgeons office for her post-office visit which I know will go great as she really is doing wonderfully. I know she can't wait to come back to work!! We all miss her.

Next week she also has the oncologist which is where they will tell us what type of chemo they will be giving her. I am trying my best to move the appointment up and see if any cancellations come up as I really want to be at the appointment. So far no luck .. but I am quite persistant and will continue calling the office !!

Mom and I leave for Minneapolis next week so you know my cel phone will be pinned to my ear. Wish me luck in getting our appointment sooner!

Also as a treat, Michelle and I will be getting our hair cut this weekend! Micheal my hairdresser is to much and I know she will love him .. he is very funny.


Well to all of you happy halloween and I will make sure Michelle updates everyone with the details of her appointment.


Nite Nite,
Barby (aka linus)

Friends

Well it is now Thursday nite and i am watching ugly betty with justin and decided to give a little update. The home health nurse was here today and again said everything looks and sounds good (yay) and then my friend Barbara (Barbie to me) flew in from Toronto to spend some time with me 4 hours to be exact! Talk about a whirlwind but it was great it was like old time, just the two of us talkking and laffing and best of all GOSSIP!!. In anycase Barbie thank you thank you thank you it was a nice treat.

My little one (nana) got strep throat so she is at my folks having a sleepover and will be back home tomorrow afternoon (24hours) WE MISS YOU!!! Feel better.

Tonite is Greys anatomy andd i am trying very hard to stay up so i can watch this, i mean lets be real the eye candy is totally yum yum!

Anyway i just want to say thanks to everyone for all there emails and gifts, it really means alot...so kudos to all of you.

Anway gonna go and get ready for Greys.

Chat soon,
Mich

The days go by

Good morning,

Well its now tuesday and i have been home for a few days and i must say its been nice. The kids have been great and my parents have really been very helpful so thank you thank you. Sunday night we had the family over for bday cake for justin it went very well. On monday my mom came over and kept me company which was very nice although justin had to picked up from scholl early as he threw up and once home he just slept and slept :(.

Last night i watched the movie "i wore red lipstick to my masectomy" which was really a very good movie but i have to say that watching her go though chemo sort of made me uneasy but hopefully my turn wont be so bad (pray for me!) anyway my home health nurse came today and said everything looks and sounds great (almost feel like a car) but good news is the only news to get!

My parents are taking justin to the dr to make sure he is ok and then will get jordana and bring them home.

I must also tell everyone that Jordana made the All-Star team for Cheerleading - for those who dont know 3 girls per team are picked and they go on to learn a new routine and perform at the cheer-off - she is totally psyched! GO NANA!!!

Anyway thats all for now. Speakl or see you guys soon.

xoxo
Mich

Sunday

Good morning,

Well i must admit i had a great nights sleep - i slept from 11 till 7:22 without having to get up to give my blood pressure or have my temperature taken - this is livin! Anyway the home health nurse just called to advise she would be here between 10:30 - 11:30 this morning.

For those of you who dont know today is Justins 8th birthday - happy bday baby!!!! He even made me breakfast this morning and who knew toast could taste so good. They are going to wilt's this afternoon for lunch and to play games and then later today the family is coming over for cake.

So the home health nurse was here, she was very nice, told me my war wounds are looking nice and that she would be back on Tuesday. Ok see you then :)

Jeff took the kids to Wilts for lunch and then they were going to hang out and play some games - wish i was there but there will be next time, so my folks are here keeping me company.

Anyway not much else to report so ciao for now!

Mich

Happy or what!

As everyone read Michelle came home yesterday!

Everyone got together last night, although Shayne and I showed up a bit later, but none the less we were all there to visit!

She is looking very good as are her spirits.

The next week will continue to be the healing process then we will follow up with the surgeon hopefully a week Tuesday so we can make sure all is healed and good to go.

The next step as we all know which is in early November is for Michelle to follow up with the Oncologist. At that time they will advise us what type of chemo they recommend her to go on. Right now they are still waiting on the results of the actual type of cancer (e.g. hormonal..) this will depend what type of treatment she will receive.

I am sure the blogs will be intermittent for the next few weeks, but keep checking in as we will continue to let you know as things progress.

NOW WE CANNOT FORGET "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUSTIN!", TODAY HE IS 8 YEARS OLD, AND MOM'S LITTLE HELPER ;)


Again from all of us to all of you, thanks!

PS Sima, Neomi and Lauren - Very cute cookie bouquet!



Love,
Jeff, Mich, Justin, Jordana
Linda, Neil, Susie
Barby and Shayne

Well i am finally home!!!!

Hi everyone!

It is me, Michelle and its official i am home - yay!!!!!! Whoever said the hospital was a restful place really needs to have there head examined, the true rest starts now. I know that the updates have been updated daily so i am not going to repeat it as barby has done a great job and left no stone unturned so a big hug and kisses to her for doing such a great great job....if i havent said it enuf i say it again THANKS for being who you are without you i would be lost. To my husband jeff you have truly gone above and beyond your call of duty and hopefully the ride from here is a little less rocky. To my parents thanks for everything and yes daddy they gave me some pills to take the edge off! To susie thanks for stopping by and NOT wearing your big glasses! To Shayne a big thank you for helping out with the kids and well i still dont see the resemblence. To my friends and co-worker i say kudos to you for all your well wishes and thoughts as they made everyday a little lighter when barby read me your emails and stuff and i look forward to seeing or speaking to you all real soon.

Anyway i am going to go rest a little but will blog again soon.

Luv to all of you,
Mich

GREAT NEWS!!

I first want to thank Jeff very much for coming as support on Thursday when I had my ultra-sound. It was not expected but greatly appreciated.

Here is Friday's rundown:

Unfortunately I didn't get to the hospital until late afternoon but Michelle ha a decent day in the morning with discomfort.

She walked the halls several times and sat in the chair for a while which is great!

By the time I arrived the chest tube had just been removed ... She looked like a HUGE weight was off her and starting to come back to the Mich we all know.

Jeff was with Michelle the whole time and again has been a great support for Michelle during this time.

While I was there her surgeon came in to give the GREAT news they got the pathology report results which confirmed the LYMPHNODES WERE NEGATIVE and her MARGINS WERE CLEAN. This was AMAZING NEWS to know it didn't spread. He also advised and confirmed that 2 of the cancers were invasive and one was in situ, which means if they didn't take care of it now it could have spread.

I also got my own ultra-sound results back from my mammogram which also came back negative which was also a great stress releif for the family.

Mom and dad stayed most of the day til dinner, and Susie came after work and the 3 sisters went for a walk down the halls .. It's truly amazing to see everyone come together as a family at times like these.

Shayne came around 8:30pm and the nurse first thought he was Michelle's husband, then when they questioned why she said they looked alike .. then when we told her he was MY husband she asked if he was Mich's son ... OK so she is not the brightest bulb what can I tell ya!

Michelle said to me "I guess the hardest part is done now, I guess it's just the chemo". She is right .. she can do anything and will continue to be positive moving forward.

Before I left Michelle was talking to Rochelle on my cel and I could see Michelle coming back to her spirits etc .. she was even basically booting us out so she could have one of their chat fests! .... I joked .. but to be honest I thank you Rochelle as she looked so happy and couldn't wait for the latest updates from you!

Today (Saturday) they are planning to do another x-ray and if all good she should be coming home later this afternoon.

I'll update everyone once we know.


Thanks and have a great weekend ... just getting ready to head to work.


Barby


P.S. ALL GIFT OF LIFER'S IT IS WITH HOPE THAT MICHELLE IF UP TO IT AND GETS DOCTOR APPROVAL WANTS TO BE BACK BY NOVEMBER 1ST ! -- Thanks again for all your support and concern for Michelle. I told her all about your educational lunch yesterday on Breast Cancer hosted by Dori, Merna, Sarah and Nelly. I also gave her everyone's well wishes! Jeff - I even told her you needed your blog!

Rough Day ...

Here is today's update:

Michelle still has the chest line in, which is causing her a great deal of pain. This was the first time since her diagnosis date that I have seen her cry. The hardest part is all the pain is coming from this not even the surgery site.

I told her I wish I could take the pain myself so she wouldn't have to be going through this .. Today was the first time as well for me where I felt helpless as I couldn't do anything to make her feel better.

Although I did figure out where her room mate from last night was from. We have actually seen her in the streets before .. I tried to show Michelle where .. then she started to laugh .. was in pain .. then we had to stop!

Her nurses over the past few days April and Norma have been so sweet and even told Michelle that she is their favorite patient. April even told her that she is the strongest person she has seen and its ok to cry, she doesn't have to be strong all the time .. she has done that for the past 3 days. (What did I tell ya --- shes a bulldog and takes NO CRAP!).

They gave Michelle some meds to help throughout the day.

Now note, even though she is having this pain, she is still holding up amazing .. this is just a ditch in the road which I truly hope she will be out of by Saturday.

I left her shortly after Grey's Anatomy as we were still waiting to see if we would get her xray results. I wanted to make sure we got whatever we could before I left.

So as I say my goodnight, and asking her if she needs anything which she says no .. I am about to walk out the door and then I see her getting up to go to the bathroom .. now realize the IV drip is still plugged into the wall!! -- NUT JOB.

We help her then we get her re-positioned for bed and they gave her some painkillers to help her sleep.

I hope tonight she sleeps well and tomorrow we hear the line can come out.


Well I am tired and tomorrow I am going back to work .. so speak to you all tomorrow night.


Nite Nite,
Barby

Special Guests!

This morning we have a few special guests that wanted to visit Michelle (mom) and share their halloween get ups!



Are they cute or what!

For those of you who may not know they are the FAMOUS DUO of Justin and Jordana ... or as I call them Munchkinpuss and Moodle-babe, and as Susie likes to call them Pooks and Nannas!

We also have a very CUTE voice message from each of them which Jeff also prepared for Michelle which we will be bringing to the hospital for her to listen to.

Way to go Jeff :)

Speak to you all later.

Barby

We have P-H-O-T-O-S !!

Well I wanted to start off tonight's blog by saying THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for making Michelle smile this morning!

I told her how we corrected the blog and created an email address for everyone to write to, as well as a link to click on to email her.

I read her EVERY email this morning .. she was sooooo happy and sends a very heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who sent emails in for us to read to her since the first day! This of course includes:

From the Gift of Life Family:
Jeff, Suzanne, Dori, Merna, Rusti, Regina, Eddie, Bonnie, Nelly, Nelson, Jay

Michelle's Special Friends and Family:
Aunty Corinne, Hadley and the Baumol Clan, Uncle Freddie and Auntie Francie, Ava and Uncle Ronnie, Shayla, Doreen and Alf, Bonnie, Stephanie, Anamaria, Sima, Neomi, Laurie and Marc

Today was a pretty good day for Michelle. She is still having discomfort on the left side due to a drain but hopefully that one will be removed tomorrow. They will be doing an xray, then removing it for a few hours to make sure the air has come out and then re-do the x-ray again.

Her other drain will remain in until she goes home from the surgery site, and may remain with her at home, in which case a home health care nurse will come to assist in the maintaing of it.

Michelle's appetite is coming back slowly, and I was happy to see her eat at each meal. Not alot but enough. Her drinking is very minimal, but with the fluids they give you at least we know she is getting what she needs.

She was all smiles to day after we read the emails to her, then her NEW room-mate was non-stop talking (poor thing). It was terrible. If anyone knows the Sloven girls, all we have to do is look at each other and its over. It got to the point where once again she was gonna kick us out of the room again for making her hurt!

Again, we are all in amazement at how well she is dealing with this and being so positive, direct and doing what she has to do. She is really amazing.

As Susie, mom and I left tonight, that's all we kept saying to one another. This is a woman on a mission to get home, get better, be with her kids and get on to bigger and better things!

Well we took some pictures of us with Michelle today so I hope it brightens up everyone's day as it did ours.

Now remember this is October, "Breast Cancer Awareness Month". Please make sure to get yourself tested and perform self tests as well at home. This could save your life!


Til tomorrow, sleep well.


Barby

from Barby and Shayne!

Hi Mich,

We just wanted to say how proud we both are of you and your strength!

We have seen more in you these past few weeks we never thought possible. Know that we both are here for you for anything you need .. and when you need a good laugh just remember the infamous "YOO-HOO".

Jeff has also been wonderful these past few weeks and you are very lucky to have him in your corner.

On that note we are going to bed and leaving a picture to sign off with tonight!

Luv-
Barby and Shayne

PS Shayne got inspired so we have some CREATIVE shots for you!

Today's Update

Good Evening everyone. As promised here is today's update on Mich:

Dad actually beat Jeff, Mom and myself this morning to see Michelle and he brought some really nice flowers to cheer her up! We brought her a BIG stuffed dog from all of us name "Yodel" who is watching her at the edge of the bed .. too cute!

We got there just as they had given her some meds to help with the discomfort. She actually looks very good and was talking more until she started to fall asleep. We let her sleep for a few hours, then came back and she was awake and up to talking. It was nice. She was saying how she couldn't wait to watch dancing with the stars tonight! (Dori and Merna you better keep her posted!).

We started on a conversation that made us laugh, then she yelled at me to stop as I was making her wince and she hurt. It was terrible, we really couldnt stop laughing! It was all "Yodel's" fault.

Today was a good day as she went for a walk around the floor and was sitting up for a while in the chair. She also started to eat a bit, and drink a bit .. not alot .. but it's a start.


Michelle also sends everyone a very BIG thank you for the flowers which goes out to:

Daniel and Halana
Jay and the Gift of Life Family
Abby and Alan

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE TRIED TO SEND A BLOG COMMENT BUT HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS, I HAVE CREATED AN EMAIL ACCOUNT SPECIFICALLY FOR THESE. THE EMAIL ADDRESS IS:

michys.updates@gmail.com


Please note this for your records!

Well I left around 7:40 pm and they had just given her some meds so she could goto bed, so I waited until she was almost asleep to leave. Dori and Merna you will need to let me know how the show went so I can update her!

I will send another update tomorrow night when I get home.

Sleep well everyone!
Barby

Thank you ..

Just a quick good morning to everyone.

I wanted to let everyone know who emailed Michelle that I read to her all of them last night .. she was very touched and sends everyone a great big thank you!

To our very special GIFT OF LIFE BONE MARROW FOUNDATION family, an extended and heartfelt thank you goes to all of you as well. You all made Michelle's night as I read your posts and I even got a few awes, and chuckles. They are priceless right now, so thank you! (Jeff, Jody, Suzanne, Chevi, Dori, Merna, Michele, Nelly, Jay, Eddie, Rafi, Daniel and Halana)

I will post an update on Michelle tonight once I get home ... but any thoughts etc. keep em coming for her!



Have a good day everyone!

Barby

From Michelle this morning ...

Dear family, friends and colleagues,

By the time most of you read this message I will be at holy cross hospital
awaiting surgery.

Let me take you back a bit. In the middle of july I felt a lump in my left
breast but after doing some research and looking at all information I
figured it was a cyst. I went for my gyno appt 1 month later and there to
they thought it was a cyst but as I am 40 recommended thati go for a
mammogram and ultrasound to rule anything out. On September 14th I went for
my mammo and again the was told cysts but when I went to the radiologist she
said it looked out of sorts, it was at this time I began to get that sick
feeling. On September 18th I went in for a biopsy which for those of you
that know me I am TERRIFIED of needles so it was quite an experience. Once
in the chair I must tell you it wasn’t as bad as I thought – I didn’t even
pass out! After an hour or so they biopsied 3 different spots and in my
heart of hearts I knew something was amiss as why do three spots when I was
only concerned with one.

Well now we move ahead to September 20th and this is a day I will never
forget, I called the doctor for my results and what she told me absolutely
took every breath out of my body…..”michelle you have invasive ductal
carcinoma” in other words I had breast cancer. I instant messaged my sister
barby (who I work with) and told her it was not good we then went into an
office and cried. Jay also came in and suggested I speak to another
colleague Nelly as she might be able to offer us some insight. He was
totally on the money, she was a huge help and was able to give us all sorts
of information. Barby and I left the office almost immediately and went to
go get my mammos and ultrasound films from the hospital – which by the way
the radiologist and the doctor were there and were very helpful in telling
me what was what.

Barby has been my eyes and ears and she is definately on top of the program.
She is really doing all the ground work for me so I shouldn’t have STRESS
– tell that to my head! Anyway we proceeded to make an appt with a breast
surgeon (thanks Nelly) and we went to see him on that Friday. For anyone
who is one the modest side , I must tell yu that there is no DIGNITY when
you are ill, for heavens sake he was feeling my boobs with my hubby sitting
right there, but in the grand scheme of things it is what it is and now I
have to get on with it.

After leaving the surgeons office I must say that on that night i was
finally able to get a good nights sleep and that in itself is a wonderful
thing.

My surgery is scheduled for the 16th of October and I am told that I get to
go home the following day but will have a drain in me for a week or so. So
for my Colleagues I probably wont see you for a little while but I will be
back!! Don’t get too used to the quiet. For my friends and family just
think of me and think of well wishes. I will probably need chemotherapy
which means my hair could and will fall out but I have always wondered what
I would look like as a blond hmmm or maybe even a redhead.

The only thing I ask of any of you is please do not feel PITY for me as
someone once said “that which does not kill us only makes us stronger” and
this is the motto I am taking under my wing.

If you want to read about me, Barby has set up a blog site which I will be
updating on a regular basis and of course I would love to hear from you as
well. http://michys-updates.blogspot.com/

But before I sign off I want to say:

Jeff – you are my rock and have been wonderful and when this is allover I
promise I will do some housework!

Justin and Jordana – You are my heart and just know that mommy loves you
very much and Justin we will celebrate your birthday the proper way after
this is all over, even if it falls in a different month

Barby – you are my other rock, I am very lucky to have a sister like you and
wouldn’t trade you for anything and like I said to jeff, when this is
allover we will definitely have to go and do something crazy – just the
girls!

To my parents - thanks for all you will be doing in the months ahead - if i
forget to say thanks to you just know that i am thinking about it and it
means alot to me.

Susie - Thanks for being you and please remember to bring me the parklander
magazine!

To everyone else just thanks for being who you are and I will see you or
speak to you real soon.

Love,
Mich

Surgery Day

I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone for all your warm wishes for Michelle. We all greatly appreciate them especially Michelle! They truly made her day, and I was fortunate enough to read some of them to her as we waited in Nuclear Medicine this morning.

Today started at 7:30 am where I met Jeff and Michelle at the hospital. Mom and Dad helped out this morning to get the kids ready for school, and what a story Zappa can tell of Jordana (now that's another blog in itself!)

We went to admitting, then up to Nuclear Medicine as the first line item of the day was to test the lymphnodes. I AM HAPPY TO SAY THEY CAME BACK CLEAN !!!! (ya-hoo!).

In Michelle's typical fashion she did wonderful and remained upbeat. She even made some friends as she waited in the waiting room for the dye to kick in.

Towards the end of that I went to see if I could move my mammogram up so I could be with everyone before she went into pre-op. They were able to take me, but unfortunately I did not get to see her before she went in for surgery.

Around 12:30pm Jeff came down as they had just given Michelle some meds and as Jeff says "she was going to visit her happy place".

Around 2:30ish pm the doctor came back to advise she was done surgery, and the lymphnodes came back clean. I was sooooo happy I was ready to burst. This was very happy news for all of us.

Shortly thereafter Jeff and Susie went upstairs to see where they will be taking her as mom, dad and I waited on the floor. Michelle came out, and we joined her in the elevator as they took her upstairs.

She looked great considering (honest). She was so concerned about her hair being put into a headband but she didnt even need it! She said she felt as if she had been run over by a mack track, but then the meds started to kick in. One by one we all went to see her and the pain was subsiding and as it strengthened they had meds to give to her. She was doing very good, and we even got some laughs (mini) out of her!

We all left for the day around 5ish so she could get some sleep as this was a very long day for her.


We will be going back in the morning and checking in on her for the day.

Thanks for everything.

The Rapaport and Sloven clans

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!

Well we all just finished dinner tonight at Tratoria Romano which I have to say was quite good. They even gave us a large table in the back which was sorta private although the people beside us both times were EXTREMELY LOUD.

Michelle and Jeff stopped by on the way home to take some items home and we had some great laughs .. we laughed so hard my back was killing me. So you can see why I am attaching some photos. To funny!

I have one of each couple normal and the rest silly --- can you tell the difference ... lol!

Well I will update everyone tomorrow night and Monday so please check back in!

Sleep well everyone,
Barby

A new voice heard.

Hello, everyone, i'm Michelle's husband jeff. Yes i do exist. I am not much of a talker so until now i didn't have much to say. Especially expressing how i feel, thats not who i am. I just felt from time to time, i should make my presence known. But first and foremost i want to let everyone know that when Michelle got diagnosed, I thought i can only do so much on my own as far as support. But as time past i saw how a select few really came to our side. To my wife Michelle, your strength is inspirational and i am honored to be your husband, if i could steal your pain i would of done so from the first moment we heard. We have been through so many things in our years together, this is just another page in our story and the book is far from over. To Barby, my muse, my guiding light, i never would of thought such a person like yourself would be capable of doing so much in just a few weeks. I wouldn't of known what to do if you weren't there, i would of been lost. You are very special to me and although i never tell you i Love you very much and i am truly humbled by what you have done. I would also like to let everyone else know how much they mean to me, although everyone helps in there own way, i am glad that we are doing this together.

I am very sorry michelle didn't like Gilda's club, she obviously spoke to an idiot. When i went last week, i spoke to a very nice guy and he explained everything to me. i even signed up for journal writing class. When i find a good event or class i will take her with me. Well as i have stated before i am not much for talking. I would like to leave you with this. There is a saying i always recite. SI VIS PACEM PARA BELLUM. its latin, translated, it means if you want peace, prepare for war. With Michelle and Barby and everyone else we will definately be the victors.
Love you all and i will speak to you another time.

Gildas Club - Part 2

Ok so i have to tell you, i was thoroughly disappointed in my outing at Gilda's Club. For starters they called my house and told my hubby that i was 1 hour late for my appointment (which btw was scheduled for 6pm) and then i get there and Heather (my person) was not what i pictured but besides that it didnt go the way i thought it should of. So once they finally realize that they messed up Heather takes me to the sitting room and goes over the questionairre which is a bunch of questions like diagnosis, diagnosis date, how is my life changed etc etc. To make a very long story short she goes on to tell me that everything they have is free but then in the next breath asks me if i would mind them sending me info on donations. Needless to say i was quite relieved when she said she was sorry she had to cut the meeting short andd was sorry she rushed through but she had somewhere to go. So to all my friends andd family i am sure this is probably a great thing but unfortunately it is not for me.

But there is always light at the end of the rainbow...i came home and was greeted by my kids and hubby who had dinner for me :)

Later,
Mich

Toronto .. Toronto!

You go Michelle! I am so proud of you today you have no idea.

I know today was not the funnest day but you did it .. and no crying! You go girl :)

Well Toronto is nice, dad has been showing me the areas of where he grew up and where his grandparents lived, it's really quite amazing. Each time I come back up I realize just how pretty it is here. Not saying that I would want to move back, but very nice to look at.

Today I got together with Adina, who I haven't seen in my g-d what 9 years .. and yesterday Eyal who I haven't seen in 16 years .. OMG I AM OLD !! I had a wonderful time on both days and wish you were up here with us.

Anyways, I will be calling the oncologist tomorrow to see if we can up an appointment and other than that I can't wait til the next update.

I'll talk to you in the morning and remember send in your hours ;)

Luv ya! nite nite.

B

Pre-OP

Well it is official......i made it through my pre-op appointment without one tear! For those of you who know me you should be saying "WOW" you go michelle for the rest of you i am a needle-a-phobic, even after having 2 kids the needle thing freaks me out!!! Anyway Jeff and i dropped the kids off at school and made our way to holy cross for my pre-op appointment which was the regular gammet of blood work and the doctor asking a zillion questions. Had an EKG and then went for a chest xray and even did my pre-register so i am all good to go for mondays big event. After the morning stuff jeff went to work and my mom stayed with me. We went for lunch and then came back to do the mugga scan (a 1 hour episode where they take pictures of my left ventricle to see if it is workng properly) which btw required 2 more needles and some down time. But rather than bore you with the details just let it be known that made it and am now clicking away on the computer.

After we left i came home to susie and the kids and now just wanted to put in something so you could relate to my day (maybe) but this is it for today but i will be back on wednesday after my solo trip to gildas club. till then......

Live from Minneapolis ... It's MABLES!

Good morning!

Well I am at the Minneapolis airport right now waiting to catch my flight as I am going to Toronto for a few days.

In my usual fashion I tried to call Michelle but if you can beleive at 7am (her time) she didn't answer ;)

Anyways I almost fainted when I saw Michelle actually made a blog .. a day late but equally impressive.

Jeff had his appointment yesterday at Gilda's Club and was going to email me what happened but I never heard so I am figuring he will spill the beans via this blog so just like everyone else we will have to wait!

I spoke to Michelle yesterday and she is to much! She spoke to a friend of hers who also went thru the same thing and got some good insight on what to expect, as well offered to help her post surgery which is really nice. It's so nice to see in a time of need and concern your peers help one another. She is very lucky.

We spoke about Gilda's Club as her friend mentioned this really wasn't for her. Now this doesn't mean Michelle won't like it or go there, but at least she knows her options should she need to get out and about or just go somewhere to vent, listen and learn.

Well I have to many laughs to share with Midge upon my return. My trips aren't the same without ya .. but I will fill you in I promise!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!


Luv-
B

P.S. Nelly and Michelle I couldn't find Aunt Edna but found her when she was younger ;)

Can you say FREEZING!

Good Evening!

Well right now I am in Minneapolis for training with my colleague Nelly and I thought I would check in, but so far NO BLOGS from Midge :)

Well all I can tell you is it is FREEZING HERE !!!! -- We missed our shuttle bus this morning but luckily they were not to far away and came right back for us. Go figure we were right on time too!

Well last night I scheduled for Michelle and Jeff to attend a meeting to become new members at Gilda's Club in Fort Lauderdale. I thought this would be a great resource for them both, as well as the family to learn, support and be educated. This also will be a very wonderful atmosphere for Michelle in the upcoming months.

When I spoke to Michelle last night she said it actually went very well and they were very nice there, although also sad at the same time. Jeff even made the comment that they treated everyone equally whether a patient or family member. I have to tell you that really meant alot to me. Working with patients myself it really does make a difference and I am very happy they felt this.

Jeff will be attending the NEW member meeting himself for a consult on Friday as the first one. This is where I beleive he will explain more as to why he wants to be there, but also choose classes and lectures that will benefit him most. Then he can share what actually happens with all of us. Michelle goes back next Wednesday, and I will go with my mom when I return.

Well I hope to hear more from Michelle this week, but know I am thinking of ya from good old Minneapolis!

Nite.

Luv -
B



PS Michelle I was trying to find a decent picture to sign off with so here is one from the gala! Besides matches my haircolor again ;)

Gilda's Club

Ok....ok its been a while but shees buy a sister a break!! So here is mmy blog about my nite at Gildas Club. It started at 5:30pm when my mom came over to babysite justin and jordana and jeff and i made our way in the pouring rain to Gildas Club down in Ft. Lauderdale which should of been a no brainer drive turned out to be a long drive due to highway shutdowns. Anyway we got there and i decided to get out of the car in the pouring rain and went to the big red door where a woman opened the door and let us in. The home which the club is located was actually donated by the state and is actually a historical monument. Anyway she led us to a room which was done up in taupes and told us to help ourselves to anything we wanted in the kitchen (lucky for her we weren't hungry or we might of taken her up on the offer.) So we wait in this room and fill out some papers and then a few more people come in. Rather then bore you with those details i will tell you that the woman who led our group herself is a 15 year cancer survivor and she was very nice. Our group had 6 famillies including ourselves. The other people had various illnesses and were at various stages but it was quite calming to see others like myself going through something and having there family with them :) Jeff is actually going back on Friday and i am going back next Wednesday for my one-on-one consultation to see what if any groups i would be interested in going to. I did eplain that i am having surgery opn the 16th but i can go anytime before or after. So this blog isnt overly full of vim but o well whats a girl to do!

Anyway not much else to report.

Barby i miss you..the offfice is soooo blah without you :(

C U Soon.

XOXOX
Mich

PS. I will blog again on monday after my pre-op appt.