http://www.margriet.tv/gezondheid/viva-la-donna-verwendag
The video describes 10 women and getting a sauna and a body treatment then a exercise routine for some. The women who is getting wiped down said that last time she was bathed she was in the hospital, but here is a better place, i.e. the spa. you can see the whole day and what it entails. sorry but it is in dutch.
Yesterday I was barraged with many questions from upcoming docs, in there 2nd year of study. Are Docs different in America? What do you do different now, since you have cancer? How has your life changed? Are you angry, scared, or wanting to go back to work? These questions seem simple compared to explaining to my 3 year old that I don’t have eye brows because of my medicine. When the hair falls out or gets thin, which is in my case, the medicine is working.
At this meeting of the minds yesterday, I talked for 3 hours straight, was given a ergonomic comfy chair and loved every minute of getting my brain picked. I keep a journal and have for years, but now my focus is on getting my 3 year old the advice she is going to need to survive her crazy world, with or with out me. I drew many references from these journals to best answer the questions.
I have a lot of offline work to do today while the questions are still fresh. The problem is that I talked so much I have a sore throat and a temperature. Serves me right for shaking every ones hands, by my rules I don’t do that much anymore, and now I remember why. There were 16 students who were asking the question and the first few were very emotional. Then I got into the rhythm of it all, and then things got better. Once I realized these young docs will soon be practicing medicine and I am their first “face” of cancer. Survivor specialist is how my shrink introduced me, I had to chuckle.
In typical dutch fashion I got a huge buquet of flowers, to thank me for my time and effort. See below
Everyone knows the Disney story of Bambi who lost his mother to hunters. The version I have has a few beautiful words of how the mother nurtured and let Bambi know all the different names of the flora and fauna. The ugly hunters as depicted in the book, shoot Bambi’s mother to death. I tried to explain that my sickness is like the hunters sooner or later I will also be dead. The story goes on to explain that the father continues to nurture an explain the sounds of the forest and the smell of plants and that no one is safe from the hunter. In this version Bambi is also feels pain when hit with a bullet but recovers. I explain that some people have my sickness and make it through just like Bambi. The rest of the story explains that everyone is happy to see Bambi again, and that he gets on with taking care of the woodland creatures Globo and his love Falina.
isbn 84030508880-9
It’s true, the dutch set aside the 29Th of May as a day of salons, hair dressers, massage therapist and many other free gift givers from shampoo to face creams, lipstick to full make overs. This foundation Viva la Donna organizes and information day where the institutes get info over how to work/handle women with cancer.
During these info days women get skin care tips and relaxation methods that specifically deal with their focus group. Making use of such experts as national skin therapist, national foot reflexologists, onocologist care providers and others.
The website has a place where you can also ask questions about the institutes involved and upcoming events.
Wow! I MISSED this years events but I am sure to be involved next year, God willing.
Will I also be marked on the calendar or remembered for over 20 years. The weekend or around the date that I die? I still to this day remember where I was when my loving brother died. Just like people remember the Kenedy assasination. I was still just 18 and very impressionable.
On a small extra tomb stone reads “Always in our hearts and minds”. I will never forget, I won’t allow myself.
I will remember you, will you remember me….
I still shed a tear.
I know it is just an overnight, but I truly like when my hubby is on the pillow next to me. We are very hands on an often at dinner out we would hold hands. It was also difficult for 3yrold to understand that her Papa was in a hotel without us! How dare he! But luckily the night went fast with our babysitter entertaining her with her new boyfriends cats. Getting up today was also a bit monumental. I usually have the luxury of getting up after the bathroom run. But this time it was hurried and panic. We made it the first time, but the number 2 was a disaster, and needed to start over with new clothes.
I asked our new aupair to stay the night but of course our 7 am wake up was not on her radar screen. This over night-er worked out better than planned. I had time to make pancakes and settle the little one into morning cartoons until it was time for preschool. I am really proud of myself. This is only after 4 weeks of radiation treatment and I had trouble tying my own shoe yesterday night. It just makes me appreciate my Loveofmylife.
I can’t do it alone, miss you!
Yep, met the new aupair. Wonderful Midwestern drawl with a head on her shoulders. Let’s see how she will do this weekend with just Jane and I. I think will hit the zoo if the weather is good. Artis in Amsterdam is a old fashion zoo with plenty of animals, and not many habitats.
I’m confident this young women can do the job of aupair for the summer without threatening my other nanny. In fact the other nanny pushed a few hours on her so that the nanny could study for her final exam next Monday. Brilliant! Everyone is getting their 30 hours a week, and I am finally getting full coverage on the weekends instead of being exhausted trying to hold my own.
The decision to go to Zwolle and take summer aupair with us has some challenges. We will need to open up the house and set those two in motion at the park near by and I will get to cracking on how to pack up a house so that it can be sold. First personal things need to be removed, pictures, paintings, and lifelong momentos of an 83 year old woman.
Other news is that we have a 10 percent chance of moving ourselves. We will know in November if we need to move by next spring. So no wonder I can’t sleep. We might as well combine the two homes together and look for something with a first floor living arrangement, or a lift. This might be needed later as my body gives out on me. The house we have now has sentimental value but is not practical if I can’t get up and down the steps. Therefore I am actually looking forward to a move. I welcome packing up once and not unpacking until everything is settled. That is the tricky part.
Pressures were getting too great and mountains were being made out of molehills. I am no fan of mice and one was happily living in our dishwasher until a few days ago my neighbor acquired a very happy cat. We have not seen the rodent or seen remnants of the rodent. I have decided that it was a good time to get away knowing the cat was doing a good job and our poison pellets were useless.
Some days feel like Alice in Wonderland, but just Me in Cancerland. I spent a week for the first time with my baby girl and the summer nanny, LoveofMyLife had a busy schedule and would only see 3yrold for an hour or two the whole week. Meetings in and out and disappointments of not reading a book for bed would be too much for the little one. I dropped everything to make it easy for us to go to the beach house even bailing on a physical therapy appointment scheduled late in the day. So as soon as Summer Nanny arrived, we went rolling suitcase and backpack onto the trains and buses only to have the longest taxi ride when the bus company decided to strike. We could have gotten to a town closer but the reality was we were still stuck because the tourist buses don’t start running until school lets out in a few weeks. oops!
Finally making it to our destination, there was still many things to accomplish before sundown. Making beds, grocery shopping, and getting the bath and kitchen wiped down. I can’t take risks of high bacteria areas. No cancer patient can. Even after good news was given that the 5FU was definitely working my tumor markers were 185 out of the danger zone of 200 plus.
My new acquisition of an electric bike, I had pedalled until the battery wore out. I gratefully knew I was only 2 kilometers from our beach house on a flat surface. We had just stopped for pizza and even though my bike’s batteries were dead, my own mental and physical batteries had been recharged. The days went by quickly, but I realized I am not good with out my hubby after about 3 days is my max away from him. So this experiment of being away for 5 days was a little hard to swallow.
When the weekend did finally roll around, I was practically jumping out of my skin when the car pulled into the driveway. I ran out of the house without a coat and shoes to greet him in the middle of the night.
The next morning was a big deal day. There was a birthday party for a woman who LoveofMyLife knew from when she was a civil servant and now she is the head of the labor party. We gave her an outside garden gift of a large cylinder vase with sand from our beach and candles in it for on her patio table. She commented that she still has our house warming gift in a predominant place in her garden. Wow what a sharp women to remember who gave you what, I barely remember if I don’t write it down immediately to be able to write thank you cards. This gal has a sharp mind from 4 years ago when she was just a parliamentarian. Now we are rubbing noses with the minister of Education, Justice, Interior, and other distinguished journalist and policy makers. I some how felt like I was taking a break from my Cancerland life and plopped into another world entirely.
The motto for many cancer patients including myself is to live strong. I thought it was going to be an average day, but the last few have been filled with Joy. We met a nice boy and his father in the playground.
We also had surprised our student/aupair with a Sunday trip into the center city where the shops are still open. We bought her a new bathing suit and headed out to the local indoor pool. I was not the only person with this cool idea of swimming. But at the end the day was simply joyful for everyone. We grabbed a burger for 3yrold, and we all shared potato war, which as peanut sauce used in sate and unions and mayo. IT SOUNDS GROSS. but the combo is quite delicious. My little one was so tired that she fell asleep on the walk home in my student/aupairs arms. It was truly a magical memory.
Loveofmylife was living strong in his own way. Early wake up to organize the Mother visit before going to a event which rivals anything a politician in America must do. He had an Indian Head dress on, he claims there will be pictures to follow. Gave a speech not as inspiring as Randy Pausch on youtube.com but still inspiring. And last but not least plant a tree in dedication of 50 years of a portion of his district. Which America would have call urban sprawl got to have a party dedicated to the well being of citizens.
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