6.19.2006
Wonderful news! Mom is cancer-free! The path report came back on Saturday (somebody must have been working over the weekend) and it showed that her lymph nodes were clear. The doctor said there was no need for further treatment. To say that I am thrilled would be an understatement. I need Mom around for many more years.
She is going home from the hospital today. I am taking care of EK and working from home today (and probably most of this week), but I plan to get over there sometime this evening to see them. I am glad that the next time I go to the hospital, it will most likely be strictly as an employee.
She is going home from the hospital today. I am taking care of EK and working from home today (and probably most of this week), but I plan to get over there sometime this evening to see them. I am glad that the next time I go to the hospital, it will most likely be strictly as an employee.
6.16.2006
Another quick update... Mom had a pretty good night last night. This morning she has been disconnected from the IV and the morphine PCA and will receive pain meds by mouth from this point on. She also has taken her first walk down the hall. She's making some good progress. We still haven't gotten the path report back, though... so that's a big hurdle left to clear.
I'm writing this from my boss's boss's office here in the hospital. I am getting ready to head back up to the 11th floor shortly. Dad spent the night at home, I was here, and he got back around 8:30 this morning. I am staying at least until the doctor comes, but I'm not sure what I'm doing the rest of the day. If there is more news and I get a chance to get back online, I'll post it here.
I'm writing this from my boss's boss's office here in the hospital. I am getting ready to head back up to the 11th floor shortly. Dad spent the night at home, I was here, and he got back around 8:30 this morning. I am staying at least until the doctor comes, but I'm not sure what I'm doing the rest of the day. If there is more news and I get a chance to get back online, I'll post it here.
6.14.2006
Real quick, 'cause I am beat.
Mom's doing well. They had to do the traditional full incision instead of the laparoscopy, which means a longer stay and longer recovery time (by weeks)... but it was what was best for her situation once he got in there and checked things out a little. When we heard this by phone while the surgery was still in progress, I thought, "Man, why is all the news not what we want to hear?"
But then, when the doctor came to talk to us afterwards, he said that on visual inspection he didn't find anything else (i.e. no cancer just hanging out in the pelvic cavity) and that the outside of her uterus looked healthy. I'm taking this as a very good sign regarding spread. We won't get the results until Friday or Tuesday, but we are feeling cautiously optimistic that Mom is cancer-free at this point. It's a good feeling.
Mom's doing well. They had to do the traditional full incision instead of the laparoscopy, which means a longer stay and longer recovery time (by weeks)... but it was what was best for her situation once he got in there and checked things out a little. When we heard this by phone while the surgery was still in progress, I thought, "Man, why is all the news not what we want to hear?"
But then, when the doctor came to talk to us afterwards, he said that on visual inspection he didn't find anything else (i.e. no cancer just hanging out in the pelvic cavity) and that the outside of her uterus looked healthy. I'm taking this as a very good sign regarding spread. We won't get the results until Friday or Tuesday, but we are feeling cautiously optimistic that Mom is cancer-free at this point. It's a good feeling.
6.13.2006
Well, it's the day before Mom's surgery... less than 24 hours to go now. I guess we are as ready as we can be, more or less. I still have things I need to do around the house, but that's no different from normal, anyway. Mom has to be there at 7:45 in the morning, and I plan on spending all day there. Dad is going to spend the night tomorrow night at the hospital. I am not totally sure what I am doing on Thursday; it will depend on how she is doing. Then I think I am going to spend Thursday night at the hospital so that Dad can get a good night's sleep at home. Friday I will be off work and will be home with EK.
The 10 days of amoxicillin that I finished up on Saturday did not clear out the sinus infection. I feel like my brain is slowly leaking out through my nose. It's lovely. I'm sure my co-workers are loving the nose-blowing noises coming from my office. If my doc agrees, I'm supposed to be getting another script for a stronger antibiotic today. I'm not thrilled about all this antibiotic action, but I need to be well right now. I'm just trying to get plenty of probiotics in, too... through yogurt, kefir, and these acidophilus pearls I got at the co-op.
The laptop arrived last night at about the usual UPS delivery time, which is fortunate since we were home and a signature was required. Um, this laptop is ginormous. I am a little embarrassed by how big it is. I do not generally go in for big flashy stuff but I feel like I now own the Cadillac Escalade of laptops. Oh well, at the rate technology moves, I guess it will be old and obsolete in a few months and then maybe I won't feel so strange with it.
There are lots of new features to play with and I've just scratched the surface. I'm liking the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I couldn't get the wireless router set up last night because something is all jacked up with the ethernet connection on the cable modem. To make a long story short, on two different laptops, I can get online with the USB connection, but the ethernet is dead. I have tried a different patch cable, too, and that made no difference. Is it possible that when the PC got fried it somehow fried the ethernet port on the modem but left the rest of it intact? That's sure what it seems like. The ethernet connection was plugged in at the time and the USB cable was still in its box in the basement. After at least an hour and a half on the phone last night with the Cox people, a repair person is coming to the house Friday morning. I hope they will just replace the modem.
I copied our pictures off of the external USB drive last night. I feel better that they now exist in two places. The USB drive is nifty, although I noticed that the power plug is a little fussy... i.e. if you barely jostle it you will lose the connection. Hm. Next step is to finally pay for a copy of Eudora and get our email back up and running. Then I'll finish moving files and stuff. It may be a while before I get everything just the way I want it... although this might be a good activity to do while hanging out at the hospital.
OK, so, onto a different topic. I don't think I've mentioned here that we have a garden this year! Yes, an honest-to-goodness garden dug into our backyard! Dad started a bunch of plants from seed for his container garden (a.k.a. the science project) and ended up with more than he could use. So, he came over and helped Chris till up a 20x10 plot. We have tomatoes, cukes, squash, bell pepper, and then we planted bean seeds... 2 rows of Kentucky Wonder. I looked out there this morning and I need to get out and do some hoeing... there is some kind of grass or weed that is making it's way all over like a ground cover. This year is going to be a steep learning curve for me. It's amazing that I grew up with a father who knows tons about vegetable gardening, and yet I know next to nothing. I guess as a teenager I didn't think it was worth my attention. Anyway, I hope I am able to give it the time it needs and that I will learn a lot. I could see expanding it and trying to grow a greater variety of stuff next year.
Well, I don't have much else to report right now. I'll try to post tomorrow with any news.
The 10 days of amoxicillin that I finished up on Saturday did not clear out the sinus infection. I feel like my brain is slowly leaking out through my nose. It's lovely. I'm sure my co-workers are loving the nose-blowing noises coming from my office. If my doc agrees, I'm supposed to be getting another script for a stronger antibiotic today. I'm not thrilled about all this antibiotic action, but I need to be well right now. I'm just trying to get plenty of probiotics in, too... through yogurt, kefir, and these acidophilus pearls I got at the co-op.
The laptop arrived last night at about the usual UPS delivery time, which is fortunate since we were home and a signature was required. Um, this laptop is ginormous. I am a little embarrassed by how big it is. I do not generally go in for big flashy stuff but I feel like I now own the Cadillac Escalade of laptops. Oh well, at the rate technology moves, I guess it will be old and obsolete in a few months and then maybe I won't feel so strange with it.
There are lots of new features to play with and I've just scratched the surface. I'm liking the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I couldn't get the wireless router set up last night because something is all jacked up with the ethernet connection on the cable modem. To make a long story short, on two different laptops, I can get online with the USB connection, but the ethernet is dead. I have tried a different patch cable, too, and that made no difference. Is it possible that when the PC got fried it somehow fried the ethernet port on the modem but left the rest of it intact? That's sure what it seems like. The ethernet connection was plugged in at the time and the USB cable was still in its box in the basement. After at least an hour and a half on the phone last night with the Cox people, a repair person is coming to the house Friday morning. I hope they will just replace the modem.
I copied our pictures off of the external USB drive last night. I feel better that they now exist in two places. The USB drive is nifty, although I noticed that the power plug is a little fussy... i.e. if you barely jostle it you will lose the connection. Hm. Next step is to finally pay for a copy of Eudora and get our email back up and running. Then I'll finish moving files and stuff. It may be a while before I get everything just the way I want it... although this might be a good activity to do while hanging out at the hospital.
OK, so, onto a different topic. I don't think I've mentioned here that we have a garden this year! Yes, an honest-to-goodness garden dug into our backyard! Dad started a bunch of plants from seed for his container garden (a.k.a. the science project) and ended up with more than he could use. So, he came over and helped Chris till up a 20x10 plot. We have tomatoes, cukes, squash, bell pepper, and then we planted bean seeds... 2 rows of Kentucky Wonder. I looked out there this morning and I need to get out and do some hoeing... there is some kind of grass or weed that is making it's way all over like a ground cover. This year is going to be a steep learning curve for me. It's amazing that I grew up with a father who knows tons about vegetable gardening, and yet I know next to nothing. I guess as a teenager I didn't think it was worth my attention. Anyway, I hope I am able to give it the time it needs and that I will learn a lot. I could see expanding it and trying to grow a greater variety of stuff next year.
Well, I don't have much else to report right now. I'll try to post tomorrow with any news.
6.09.2006
Woo-hoo! Our new laptop has shipped! I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands. I picked up the hunk of junk and the 80GB drive yesterday. The repair guy, George, showed me the contents of the 80GB drive and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was so nice to see those familiar folders and files. I guess this shows how the computer geek side of me has stagnated, but I'm still mucho impressed that we got an external USB hard drive out of the deal. Softens the blow a little bit of having to buy a new printer, possibly a UPS, probably some new software, the list just goes on and on...
I was just looking through the blog archives and realized that this time last year we were worrying over Hannah's medical condition. I haven't updated on her lately, but that's because everything is fine. I am so glad she is still with us and that the anemia seems to have resolved on its own. I still think it was the phenobarb. No pet of mine is ever getting near that stuff again.
It's a gorgeous morning here. I didn't run this morning, but am planning to go to the Xtreme Training class at the gym tonight and also lift weights. Tomorrow morning is 13 miles. I hope it's a good run. I have been extremely tired this week, but I did get a little more sleep last night, so maybe that will help me.
I was just looking through the blog archives and realized that this time last year we were worrying over Hannah's medical condition. I haven't updated on her lately, but that's because everything is fine. I am so glad she is still with us and that the anemia seems to have resolved on its own. I still think it was the phenobarb. No pet of mine is ever getting near that stuff again.
It's a gorgeous morning here. I didn't run this morning, but am planning to go to the Xtreme Training class at the gym tonight and also lift weights. Tomorrow morning is 13 miles. I hope it's a good run. I have been extremely tired this week, but I did get a little more sleep last night, so maybe that will help me.
6.08.2006
Busy times here. Mom's oncologist appointment today went well. I feel like she is in good hands. Her hysterectomy is scheduled for Wednesday of next week at 9:45. We're figuring out childcare arrangements and making other preparations.
We dropped the dead computer at the repair place today - turns out both the power supply and the motherboard are fried. The dead motherboard means the system is not worth repairing (apparently the motherboard is not replaceable due to old age; i.e. the part isn't available). However, the repair dude came up with a very cool solution. A couple years ago I installed a second hard drive at 80GB. The original hard drive is about 30GB. So... he moved everything on the 30GB drive onto the 80GB drive (which didn't have much on it) and then, by putting an enclosure around the drive, turned it into an external USB drive. Pretty cool. So that's how we'll transfer the data to the new laptop, and then when that's done we'll have a spare 80GB external drive... bringing our total storage capacity to 200GB. I feel like we managed to squeeze a last little bit of life out of the old PC. I'm going to pick it up on my way home from work.
Dell is saying the new one will be shipped on the 13th. I'm not sure why since it says that they finished everything but boxing it on the 5th. Maybe it will be a happy surprise and it will get here early.
We dropped the dead computer at the repair place today - turns out both the power supply and the motherboard are fried. The dead motherboard means the system is not worth repairing (apparently the motherboard is not replaceable due to old age; i.e. the part isn't available). However, the repair dude came up with a very cool solution. A couple years ago I installed a second hard drive at 80GB. The original hard drive is about 30GB. So... he moved everything on the 30GB drive onto the 80GB drive (which didn't have much on it) and then, by putting an enclosure around the drive, turned it into an external USB drive. Pretty cool. So that's how we'll transfer the data to the new laptop, and then when that's done we'll have a spare 80GB external drive... bringing our total storage capacity to 200GB. I feel like we managed to squeeze a last little bit of life out of the old PC. I'm going to pick it up on my way home from work.
Dell is saying the new one will be shipped on the 13th. I'm not sure why since it says that they finished everything but boxing it on the 5th. Maybe it will be a happy surprise and it will get here early.
6.05.2006
Well, well, well... the latest in the string of exciting evens at the Shaver household is that the computer died on Friday afternoon. It happened during a thunderstorm... the power didn't go out but the circuit breaker tripped for the outlet that all the computer stuff is plugged into. I suspect it got the power supply, and I am hoping that the motherboard and drives, etc. are all OK. We shall see. We are going to look into getting it repaired, but in the meantime, I just placed an order for a shiny new laptop from Dell. The desktop is 5-6 years old and we'd been planning to replace it fairly soon anyway. We will still probably be 2 weeks without a computer at home by the time the new one arrives. I am not sure how I am going to manage this, but I suppose I will survive somehow. ;)
I had a pretty lousy 10K race on Saturday, but made up for it somewhat with a 14 mile bike ride yesterday followed by a GREAT 4 mile run. I rode the bike to work today, too. I think I'm getting more confident and more knowledgeable, and thus, faster.
I had a pretty lousy 10K race on Saturday, but made up for it somewhat with a 14 mile bike ride yesterday followed by a GREAT 4 mile run. I rode the bike to work today, too. I think I'm getting more confident and more knowledgeable, and thus, faster.
6.02.2006
I turned 30 on Sunday. It seems a little weird to me, like there is additional pressure to "grow up," though how I would go about that I'm not sure. But I have mostly only noticed some positive aspects of being in a new decade. One is that I finally get to move up in my age group for road races. The 25-29 age group is not so bad, but at some smaller races, it's 20-29. I know I got a lot more sleep and had a lot more free time at 20 than I did at 29. I did not have a child waking me up in the middle of the night, heck, for that matter I wasn't working full time and really had very few responsibilities. I'm just sayin', is all. :) I think my lifestyle is much more similar to the 30-34 crowd in terms of the time it affords me for training. Plus, I am older than one of the local female "superstars" so I am leaving her behind for a while age-group wise. We'll see how this pans out on Sunday, which will be my first race (a 10K) as a 30 year old. I managed to snag second-place in my age group in the 5Ks I ran my last 2 Saturdays as a 29 year old, but this race on Saturday is probably going to draw a lot more competition.
Anyway, the best thing about turning 30 has to be what I got with various birthday funds... a road bike. It's a Specialized Allez Triple. This past week has been like the beginning of an intense love affair. I worked on Monday, and used the holiday as an opportunity for a first ride to work under "test" conditions. I haven't really been on a bike in 5-6 years, so there has definitely been a learning curve. I commuted again on Wednesday, and gazed lovingly at the bike throughout the day as it leaned against the wall in my office. I was much more comfortable on it by Wednesday evening. I haven't ridden since, but I am hoping to get out for a longer ride this weekend.
I am having a little trouble juggling the running and biking, but I'm hoping it's just an adjustment period and things will settle down. Wednesday morning I actually biked the 5.5 miles in, and then 15 minutes later went for a 4 mile run. I spent the first mile talking (out loud) to myself: "Come on legs, we're running. Running. We're off the bike, this is running. Not biking. Let's go!" Then, after riding home on Wednesday, my legs were like lead for what was supposed to be an 8 mile run Thursday morning. I hope this gets easier. This is the last week that I am running any road races for a while. That has caused me to restrict my activity on Thursdays and Fridays, so once I am not racing maybe I can spread things out a little bit more.
Anyway, there is definitely a thrill in biking that is not there in running. It might be the danger factor - the question of, "Can I ride on this road/make this turn at a light/go down this hill without getting hit by a car or flying off the bike?" There is also a strong satisfaction in knowing that I am getting from point A to point B entirely under my own power (and that it takes half the time it would if I ran, plus I can carry stuff!). I have yet to really enjoy the scenery, although I did take note of the sunrise the other morning, but I think that will be a bigger factor as I get more confident on the bike.
Triathlon and (maybe) duathlon are on my list of things to do before I die. I'm pretty sure this fall is going to be my marathon debut, though. I will start serious training for that in July. This is a great time for it and I don't want to let my newfound bike love get in the way. But the tri and duathlon will probably follow sometime in the next 3-5 years, maybe sooner, maybe later within that range.
Anyway, the best thing about turning 30 has to be what I got with various birthday funds... a road bike. It's a Specialized Allez Triple. This past week has been like the beginning of an intense love affair. I worked on Monday, and used the holiday as an opportunity for a first ride to work under "test" conditions. I haven't really been on a bike in 5-6 years, so there has definitely been a learning curve. I commuted again on Wednesday, and gazed lovingly at the bike throughout the day as it leaned against the wall in my office. I was much more comfortable on it by Wednesday evening. I haven't ridden since, but I am hoping to get out for a longer ride this weekend.
I am having a little trouble juggling the running and biking, but I'm hoping it's just an adjustment period and things will settle down. Wednesday morning I actually biked the 5.5 miles in, and then 15 minutes later went for a 4 mile run. I spent the first mile talking (out loud) to myself: "Come on legs, we're running. Running. We're off the bike, this is running. Not biking. Let's go!" Then, after riding home on Wednesday, my legs were like lead for what was supposed to be an 8 mile run Thursday morning. I hope this gets easier. This is the last week that I am running any road races for a while. That has caused me to restrict my activity on Thursdays and Fridays, so once I am not racing maybe I can spread things out a little bit more.
Anyway, there is definitely a thrill in biking that is not there in running. It might be the danger factor - the question of, "Can I ride on this road/make this turn at a light/go down this hill without getting hit by a car or flying off the bike?" There is also a strong satisfaction in knowing that I am getting from point A to point B entirely under my own power (and that it takes half the time it would if I ran, plus I can carry stuff!). I have yet to really enjoy the scenery, although I did take note of the sunrise the other morning, but I think that will be a bigger factor as I get more confident on the bike.
Triathlon and (maybe) duathlon are on my list of things to do before I die. I'm pretty sure this fall is going to be my marathon debut, though. I will start serious training for that in July. This is a great time for it and I don't want to let my newfound bike love get in the way. But the tri and duathlon will probably follow sometime in the next 3-5 years, maybe sooner, maybe later within that range.
