Thoughts on Mother's Day, Cancer Scare, back pain

Today was Mother's day and a very enjoyable one--was able to talk to all my children plus my mom on the phone. Church services were very touching as outstanding talks were given by Craig Blackburn and Rick Turley. In the past I have not always enjoyed this day of the year because I guess my expectations exceeded the reality. As I listened to the stories at church every year about exemplary mothers, I always would feel depressed and like a failure for not being the kind of mother who had raised 10 wonderful children as a widow on a shoestring budget, etc., etc. Anyway, now that my children are gone and some of the small details of my past imperfections are forgotten (unless with humor I am reminded of such by my children!), I can look at our four kids and feel like I must have done a few things right because each of them have become outstanding responsible adults.

The past few months there has been a little cloud hanging over me as I worried on and off about the cause of occasional blood in my urine. Having been more concerned about Frank's diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer, I had for the most part, ignored my own painless symptom as I continuously researched natural treatment for him so that he wouldn't have to endure chemotherapy/radiation. I had gone to doctors a few times and eventually a CT scan of my kidneys and bladder was ordered, then an ultrasound of the same region because of 'something' they thought they saw on the CT scan. Finally, two weeks ago I was able to get into see a Urologist to learn the results of the tests done. I was told I had two problems, an 8mm kidney stone which will need to be blasted and a 'mass' in my bladder(!!) Great. The doctor scheduled me to come back the 9th (yesterday) for a cystoscopy (a fiber optic cable with a light inserted into my bladder) to determine the type of abnormal tissue and what needed to be done. I went in and was able to watch on a monitor screen as he look all around inside and never found anything abnormal and said I had a very normal healthy bladder! What I didn't tell him was that the day I found out I had a mass in there, I immediately started taking the 'atomic bomb'--what I call the handful of anti-cancer supplements that Frank has been taking successfully the past two months (see my earlier blog for his regimen). I call them our "afternoon delight" as they need to be taken on an empty stomach with a hot liquid for absorbability purposes, either hot chocolate or hot apple cider. Anyway we were both thrilled and very relieved at the good news. I'll keep on taking them but perhaps not as many of the curcumin now (12 grams).

Three or 4 days after I saw the urologist for the first time, I was working in the yard, raking leaves from our back area where my fruit trees are and also pulling up sucker roots that come from the white poplar tree and are trying to take over the back yard. Anyway, as I pulled on an extra stubborn root, I felt a severe pain travel from my lower back down my left leg to my foot and was unable to put weight on it--excruciating. Frank took me to the ER and they did a CT scan. They didn't find any mis-alignment but said it was spinal stenosis which is a narrowing of the openings from the spine that the nerves pass through which causes damage to and inflammation of the nerves. I was pretty much flat in bed or a recliner for about a week, got up only with the help of Frank's strong arm or a walker loaned by a friend. Kristal came down from SLC to stay and help several days. With the help of her great leg massages, painkillers and heating pads to my back, the pain and inflammation gradually subsided and I am able to be up and about--carefully. However, Kandra's move from Ohio to Las Vegas this week will have to take place without me :( Jared is graduating Law School at OSU (Hurray for him!) and will work for a judge there. Frank left this morning to go St George, the first leg of the trip where he will leave from LV with Kristal and Jason on Southwest Airlines; they will also go help pack, clean, drive vehicles, etc. Jason's architecture classes ended last week so he volunteered to take my place, bless his heart.