Story
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March 19 — the day before treatment began
Entering the Twilight Zone and radiation/chemotherapy for lung cancer. Continue reading
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The unedited daily journal that lasted one week
Day 1: It’s an easy day today. Two 15-minutes appointments. One is for a massage and the the other is Helmet of Salvation day. I aim to do this and not have them take it off because I fear being pinned down on the table. My thought for the day is how people of faith Continue reading
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Welcome to the Borg
Star date 03162023 Forgive me for the long stretch of imagination in this post, but somehow I feel this year I have been inducted into a “collective.” In the year 2023, I became a member of an elite group and wear a foreign access device under my skin. I am connected to people with cancer. People Continue reading
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Two weeks of preparation and contemplation or my soul belongs to Jesus
My radiation/chemo treatment was scheduled to begin two weeks after the first appointment with Dr. Reynolds. I panicked, thinking that the cancer would surely spread in that time. My need to begin attacking these foreign invaders was intense. Dr. Reynolds reassured me that it takes time to schedule and create a plan for my treatment. Continue reading
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The woman in the (not iron) mask
I think I can, I think I can — I can do anything for 15 minutes. Nothing could have prepared me for the hijacking of my body the way cancer did. How long had those mutating cells been slowly taking over my lung? Had I been feeling healthy for a year, or two, or three, Continue reading
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Everything you need to know about lung cancer, but were afraid to ask
Two weeks. That’s 14 days x 24 hours before my next doctor’s appointment. Actually, not with Dr. Rocket, but once again with “Irrational” radiology. In case you haven’t figured it out, the words in quote markets in the middle of a sentence could be something I made up. Just saying. Waiting to see what’s happening Continue reading
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My oh my, why an MRI?
Well, this was it — the beginning of what would be several months of “dis-ease.” It began with that phone call from Dr. Russell. I never met Dr. Russell. He was the doctor that my primary care physician called right after the first suspicious x-ray. He called Feb. 23, and said “there was nothing he Continue reading
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PET Scan day
Another day, entering the unknown. The weather was awful, so we left for Bismarck early. My desire to get these exams over and done outweighed my impatience at sitting in hospital and clinic chairs for hours at a time, staring at the walls, watching solemn faces entering and exiting. Although arriving early to appointments, we Continue reading
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Identifying a tumor
We will soon know what’s inside my chest. My friend Shelley met us at the hospital at 7 a.m. on a bitter below-zero Wednesday, Feb. 22. The sun had not yet met the horizon, and the city was beginning to wake up. The hospital light looked dim in the surrounding dark, one of the only Continue reading
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What would a CT scan reveal before the biopsy and PET?
Without opening my eyes, my first conscious thought was, “I have lung cancer.” Somehow, my life began to blur and my mind moved to going over every detail of the past two months. At this point the word cancer didn’t seem etched in stone, but I knew something was not right. I didn’t have any Continue reading
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The truth comes out in February 2023
The continuing story of my journey to better health. Continue reading
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The Jesus Revolution Movie and me
“That movie wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be.” “Really, what were you expecting?” “I thought it was going to be funny.” Funny, as in haha, make fun of Christianity funny? I suppose considering our differing opinions about church, religion and spirituality, it wasn’t a surprise. Every night, unhindered by the Continue reading
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January 2023 – a new year
Of all my grandchildren — five from my children and two step-grandchildren, the boys outnumber the girls. However, my two oldest granddaughters are amazing. Another item to note is they were born in within six months of each other in 2011. It was a year of baby showers and furnishing baby bedrooms. I was there Continue reading
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What was that cough?
The year began like every other year. Winter in North Dakota. A few nice days providing a taste of spring. A new found love of exercise, memories of my mom and the upcoming birth of a grand daughter. The end of December became the beginning of an unexpected journey. As with most stories it begins Continue reading
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Backing up to begin the story of 2023
The year I became my mother This post is the beginning of the year 2023 with roots in 2022. Some of you may have read this post as I planned on using it for my Christmas letter. Be warned, it’s rather long. Christmas 2022, I became my mother. It wasn’t planned. I’m not sure it Continue reading
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Where do I begin?
Every story has to begin somewhere. I’m struggling with how to document the year 2023. It has been a year unlike any. And, why not? We are getting older, the world is getting weirder, nothing remains the same, even me. This year has been a year of change for our family in some life-altaring ways. Continue reading
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Uncle Ed’s Birthday Board
We weren’t expecting any more guests. The room was full, the cake was on the table and yes, my spouse was surprised. But, then a knock at the door. Who? I opened the door and there stood a figure clad in a head-to-toe white suit. Not a polyester suit, but a something more along the Continue reading
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It’s time children
Aunt Alice’s Aunt Katie’s potato bread recipe… YUMMMY. Continue reading
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Chocolate Chip Cookies – my first attempt
Cookies are cookies even with pancake flour. Continue reading
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In the beginning…
There was nothing outstanding about the birth of a child in the 1950s. It was the tail end of the baby boomer generation. It was a Good Friday though. In itself, Good Friday was not a good day for birthing or Jesus. However, in the context of the whole story, it was a good day Continue reading
About Me
I love to write. My background is graphic arts and journalism. My roots are German-Russian from McIntosh County, North Dakota.
My time is spent reading, writing, gardening, cooking, blogging, fiber arts – you name it, we try it.
INDYchildrendotme 