{{{Calli}}}

I'm about to take a shower (Annabel is enjoying her daily Sesame Street time), and after I get out I'm going to try to call VCOB. Mom doesn't have voicemail on her cell phone, but if I can't get through to VCOB, I might call the hospital and see if I can get connected to Dad's room. If I can explain the travel issues to one of them, I'll feel better. I know ExArmy!Brother told them to keep West Coast travel times in mind, and that our family will have a harder time getting a quick flight from Seattle than he will from the Bay Area--he has more airports to choose from, and his wife and son aren't going, so he can do a red-eye if need be and only has to find one available seat. But I'd still rather talk to one of them myself. At least that'll make the "what if I'm late to the funeral?" voice shut up.

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Best wishes Susan.

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Um, well, there's a really good chance they can push it into remission for a couple of years. Then she's expected to go down hill very quickly. Still, that's a couple more years (says the person not going through chemo hell).

Sometimes, prognosis improves once treatment is complete. My friend's mother was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer, this winter. She was expected to only have 6 months, with treatment. She opted for the treatment, and I honestly could not understand why, because treatment is so rough. She had to have some treatment to get it under control, before she could even have surgery. Those six months have passed, and her prognosis is actually much better, and she feels well. She was completely right to gamble on it.

I hope that your mom's treatment is effective, and that her other conditions can be brought under control, as well. It's so very hard. How is your dad holding up?

I'm about to take a shower (Annabel is enjoying her daily Sesame Street time), and after I get out I'm going to try to call VCOB. Mom doesn't have voicemail on her cell phone, but if I can't get through to VCOB, I might call the hospital and see if I can get connected to Dad's room. If I can explain the travel issues to one of them, I'll feel better. I know ExArmy!Brother told them to keep West Coast travel times in mind, and that our family will have a harder time getting a quick flight from Seattle than he will from the Bay Area--he has more airports to choose from, and his wife and son aren't going, so he can do a red-eye if need be and only has to find one available seat. But I'd still rather talk to one of them myself. At least that'll make the "what if I'm late to the funeral?" voice shut up.

Susan, maybe you can ask that they not finalize the arrangements until you've booked your flight and informed them of your flight time? That's generally what we've done in our family, when we had people who needed to fly here, to get here from elsewhere.

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Happy, Happy Birthday, DebetEsse!

It is my best friend's birthday today too, as well as my beloved kittenish (well, I guessed on hers but I'm within a few days and this is a date I can actually remember) so Aug. 16 is a very good day to be born.

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Susan, this is a very difficult time for you right now and I think however you choose to get through it is the right way whether that means going to a game or not. You have a cell phone, so it's not like you need ever be unreachable. The only thing that you do need to do is what feels right to you and what makes the most sense to you getting through a painful time. Try to quiet some of the voices if you can.

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(((((((((((((((((((Susan)))))))))))))))) (((((((((((((((((((Calli))))))))))))))))

Happy B-Day, DebetEsse!

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Well, that certainly makes up for having both the Giffords.

Thanks!

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I hope that your mom's treatment is effective, and that her other conditions can be brought under control, as well.

Thank you.

How is your dad holding up?

He's doing better, now that Mom's in the hosptial. For a while there he was her primary care giver, with me relieving him most weekends. That's just not doable long-term for a 79 year old man with a heart condition. I'm glad he's finally accepted the need for professional care until Mom's able to take care of most of her own needs. It took some convincing.

Susan, I'm glad you've thought of some solid actions you can take to get the controllable issues dealt with. I hope you can make it to the game, if you can do so in a way that leaves your mind as easy as possible, given the givens.

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TASK FOR DAVID

I need photos of Ginger Rogers - around 1936-is - that have her hair parted on the side and pin-curly on the bottom. Like how her hair is in "Swing Time". I found the hairstyle I want for the Five Star Wedding of Snoot.

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I'm glad he's finally accepted the need for professional care until Mom's able to take care of most of her own needs. It took some convincing.

I'm glad for this too. It seems like the hardest decision to make.

Well, that certainly makes up for having both the Giffords.

Yep, Majerle is 10 today. I'm always glad when people have met her. Such a sweetie, even if she is deathly afraid of new people. Today she wanted to snuggle this morning instead of letting me get up and go to work. The alarm went off and she moved from lying next to me to climbing up and perching on my back. If she'd had thumbs she might have skewered a flag in my back and claimed this human for herself.

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Awwww.

I've been not posting so much lately, so I'm just giving

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to everybody who's having stuff, especially family stuff, to deal with

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