http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/beyond/2008/summer/an-enduring-legacy.shtml
Click on the link to read about a very inspirational man, Randy Pausch who lost his fight to pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008.
I have his book, "The Last Lecture" in my list of recommended books.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
A Day Of Celebration!
Lauren & BillyOn Thursday my family and our good friends, The Reeds spent the evening at the lake.We were there to celebrate my birthday, baptism, friends & family.
We had a great BBQ for dinner and yogurt pies for desert~ blueberry (my favorite) and strawberry. I may be one of the few people that enjoys having birthdays and getting older, I turned 44 and enjoy every birthday!
I was baptised in 1994, but wanted to re-commit my life to Christ as well as be baptised by submersion, which I had not been. Our great friend Billy baptised me at the lake with both our families there, it was a very special time. Thank you Billy !
Elayne
Justin
My Baptism at the lake.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Mission Moment on DVD
This is the link to watch the DVD made for Team In Training. I was asked to come out and share my story for the "Mission Moment". Part of that is on the DVD, about in the middle. Enjoy, and see how a TNT team prepares for a half/full marathon.
http://click.lls-email.org/?ju=fe3f15757564067f761671&ls=fdf411777064067972167670&m=fefd15707d6001&l=fe9115787760017b71&s=fe0515717364067574177277&jb=ffcf14&t=
http://click.lls-email.org/?ju=fe3f15757564067f761671&ls=fdf411777064067972167670&m=fefd15707d6001&l=fe9115787760017b71&s=fe0515717364067574177277&jb=ffcf14&t=
Monday, July 14, 2008
OK, even though this was a whole lot of fun it probably was not the smartest thing to do given the condition of my rib and spine. I am pretty sore today and will skip the tube ride, at least for a while :)Friday, July 11, 2008
So Far, So Good
It has been over 24 hours since the Zometa and I am feeling ok. I have continued to take the Advil/Tylenol today and stayed home to take it easy. A little tired ,weak and my back hurts some, but overall, ok. I must have had a virus right after the last treatment or maybe this one was just easier. So, it looks like I will be able to continue with the Zometa to strengthen my bones. Click on the link below to see how Zometa works.
Thanks for the prayers~ God hears us when we pray!
Elayne
http://www.us.zometa.com:80/info/therapy/how_it_works.jsp?irmasrc=ZOMWB0084?source=etp&uuid=1178761764238303367
Thanks for the prayers~ God hears us when we pray!
Elayne
http://www.us.zometa.com:80/info/therapy/how_it_works.jsp?irmasrc=ZOMWB0084?source=etp&uuid=1178761764238303367
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The best Oncology Team!
Today I had my Zometa treatment again. So far so good, however I will not know till later if I have any negative side effects from it like last time. I am taking Advil/Tylenol every 4 hours just in case.
Matt was able to go with me to keep me company. He was able to meet my doctor and the nurses. They are such a great group of people with a sense of humor that I love and they truly care about and listen to their patients. Here are some pics of " my awesome team".
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Decision to try the Zometa again
Hi everyone!
Well, I have discussed trying the Zometa ( to strengthen the bones) with my doctor and we have all decided that I should try it again. Because Chris got sick a week after I was sick, it may have been a "bug" that just hit at the same time.
So... I will receive an IV infusion this Thursday. The nurse said they will be pro-active with me and start me on Advil/Tylenol rotation every 4 hours from the start. So, we'll see what happens.
Otherwise, I feel good, strong, just get tired and have to slow down now and then. I am continuing to run and feel really good, I am not having any problems with my heart. Actually, at this point my pace and distance are greatly improving. Trying to run 18-20 miles per week. That keeps me where my cardiologist wants me and works for me, for now :)
I am "trying" to get back to some "normal" things in my life again. I am continuing to study for my Personal Trainer Certification exam which is coming up very soon in August. This has been a difficult course to wrap my brain around while going through all this. I will be happy when it is done :)
I have started training a friend of mine and just getting back to working feels great and confirmed for me how much I love working with people with fitness and nutrition. In the next few weeks I should also be teaching a Water Tots class for some friends with little ones. I am appreciative and thankful that I am able to work again and be a part of things that I could not do just a little while ago.
This next month I will be working very hard studying for my exam, please keep this in prayer as every time I have a bad reaction to a medication or get "thrown off" it sets me back with studying and is really hard to keep catching up.
Also, for this Thursday that the Zometa treatment goes well and I have no negative side effects.
Thanks for your continued prayer support and encouragement!
Elayne
This is a story my brother Dana sent me about the attitude we choose each day ~
You have two choices
Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply:
'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs,
so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant.
Why? Because Jerry was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look
on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him
'I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today.
I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood.
I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose
to be victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining
or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life.'
'But it's not always that easy,' I protested.
'Yes it is,' Jerry said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk every situation is a choice.
You choose how you react to situations..
You choose how people will affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
It's your choice how you live your life.'
Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed
to do in the restaurant business.
He left the back door of his restaurant open And then in the morning, he was robbed by three armed men.
While Jerry trying to open the safe box, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments
of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied.
'Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices:
I could choose to live or could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared' I asked?
Jerry continued, 'The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression on the faces of the
doctors and nurses, I got really scared.
In their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man..
I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked.
Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,' said Jerry. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything.'
'Yes,' to bullets, I replied.
Over their laughter, I told them: 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
'Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.
The only thing that is truly yours - that no one can control or take from you is your attitude,
so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.
Well, I have discussed trying the Zometa ( to strengthen the bones) with my doctor and we have all decided that I should try it again. Because Chris got sick a week after I was sick, it may have been a "bug" that just hit at the same time.
So... I will receive an IV infusion this Thursday. The nurse said they will be pro-active with me and start me on Advil/Tylenol rotation every 4 hours from the start. So, we'll see what happens.
Otherwise, I feel good, strong, just get tired and have to slow down now and then. I am continuing to run and feel really good, I am not having any problems with my heart. Actually, at this point my pace and distance are greatly improving. Trying to run 18-20 miles per week. That keeps me where my cardiologist wants me and works for me, for now :)
I am "trying" to get back to some "normal" things in my life again. I am continuing to study for my Personal Trainer Certification exam which is coming up very soon in August. This has been a difficult course to wrap my brain around while going through all this. I will be happy when it is done :)
I have started training a friend of mine and just getting back to working feels great and confirmed for me how much I love working with people with fitness and nutrition. In the next few weeks I should also be teaching a Water Tots class for some friends with little ones. I am appreciative and thankful that I am able to work again and be a part of things that I could not do just a little while ago.
This next month I will be working very hard studying for my exam, please keep this in prayer as every time I have a bad reaction to a medication or get "thrown off" it sets me back with studying and is really hard to keep catching up.
Also, for this Thursday that the Zometa treatment goes well and I have no negative side effects.
Thanks for your continued prayer support and encouragement!
Elayne
This is a story my brother Dana sent me about the attitude we choose each day ~
You have two choices
Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply:
'If I were any better, I would be twins!'
Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs,
so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant.
Why? Because Jerry was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling him how to look
on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him
'I don't get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
Jerry replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today.
I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood.
I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose
to be victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining
or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life.'
'But it's not always that easy,' I protested.
'Yes it is,' Jerry said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk every situation is a choice.
You choose how you react to situations..
You choose how people will affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
It's your choice how you live your life.'
Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed
to do in the restaurant business.
He left the back door of his restaurant open And then in the morning, he was robbed by three armed men.
While Jerry trying to open the safe box, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.
Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments
of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident.
When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,' Jerry replied.
'Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices:
I could choose to live or could choose to die. I chose to live.'
'Weren't you scared' I asked?
Jerry continued, 'The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine.
But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression on the faces of the
doctors and nurses, I got really scared.
In their eyes, I read 'He's a dead man..
I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked.
Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,' said Jerry. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything.'
'Yes,' to bullets, I replied.
Over their laughter, I told them: 'I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'
'Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.
I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.
The only thing that is truly yours - that no one can control or take from you is your attitude,
so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Stress Test Results
Hi all~ saw the cardiologist yesterday and my stress test results were fine. No blockages or problems other than what we already know, that there is a slight decrease in the function of the heart.
He did raise the dosage of the beta-blocker and will do so two more times over the next few months. I will also have another Muga scan and echo cardiogram in a few months.
I did walk away feeling frustrated however. I felt that he was getting aggravated with my questions about raising the dosages and wanting to train for a half or full marathon. I guess he and I have different ideas of what is best for me.
I am doing what he wants me to do but will need to pray about discernment in this situation.
On another note~ if you remember I got really sick after the Zomta treatment a few weeks ago. Well, interesting Chris one week later had all the exact "flu like" symptoms. So... now I am not sure if it was the Zometa that made me sick or just a coincidence that I had a "bug" right after receiving the medication. Waiting to hear back from my oncologist about whether or not to have another Zometa treatment next week.
Please be in prayer about these continuing medical decisions ~ thanks!
He did raise the dosage of the beta-blocker and will do so two more times over the next few months. I will also have another Muga scan and echo cardiogram in a few months.
I did walk away feeling frustrated however. I felt that he was getting aggravated with my questions about raising the dosages and wanting to train for a half or full marathon. I guess he and I have different ideas of what is best for me.
I am doing what he wants me to do but will need to pray about discernment in this situation.
On another note~ if you remember I got really sick after the Zomta treatment a few weeks ago. Well, interesting Chris one week later had all the exact "flu like" symptoms. So... now I am not sure if it was the Zometa that made me sick or just a coincidence that I had a "bug" right after receiving the medication. Waiting to hear back from my oncologist about whether or not to have another Zometa treatment next week.
Please be in prayer about these continuing medical decisions ~ thanks!
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