It's a Poopy Day

Update #2

My friend Marcia, has been going through treatment for Ovarian Cancer. You can read one of the posts about it here.

While the journey has not been easy, Marcia has kept her perspective about her and has also kept her sense of humor.

After surgery in September to remove the cancerous tumors, she was having to manage a colostomy bag - albeit a temporary one, but in the moment that doesn't matter. Of all the medical issues she has had to deal with, this challenged her the most. But she got through it. And November 5 was a red letter day because the colostomy was reversed.

And in a conversation I had with Marcia on Friday, she was proud to report that, "Yes, she had already had a poopy day!" In fact, she had done the poopy dance.

Now, I ask ya', can that comment do anything but make ya' smile?

Even better are the test markers. At her caringbridge website she reports,

"At present the only marker to diagnose Ovarian Cancer is the blood test called CA125. For women who don't have cancer the average number is 35. Last Tuesday my number was 42!! The doc's will keep going with the chemo for 4 or 5 more cycles but I think the numbers tell an awesome story. (note: Marcia'a had been up over 4000 at one time.)

Words cannot express how grateful we are for your love and concern. Keep the positive energy flowing and the prayers ascending, and do the same for all you know who are dealing with this dreaded disease."

I am so proud of my friend, Marcia. She has been a mentor all my life and with this chapter in our lives, she continues to show the way.

Thanks, Marcia!

Where Does the Time Go?

I have not had time to write this past week because I was busy getting ready for a preview for the fall Certified Networker class in Archbold and also my friend, Marcia Housel and her husband, Gary, came to visit. Marcia will undergo surgery Monday, September 8 for her ovarian cancer. Some of you remember that I drove out to their house this summer to spend a week.

As she was leaving this morning, she said, "Why can't you live 500 miles closer?" Well, I don't, but that doesn't mean that I must only visit once per year. I'm thinking that I might just turn the yellow Mini east around the first of November to go back out to visit. She will have recovered from this major surgery, although she'll still be getting chemo at that point.

One thing we did while she was here was to shop.

Now this is really funny, because neither of us are shoppers. But I went to see a line of clothing that my friend Sharon Slusarski now represents at the local Macy's. I wanted to see what it looked like so I could refer people to her. We did that, but Marcia mentioned in passing that she might need a suit.

We found a beautiful suit, that needed only alternations in the slacks. It was on sale too, so even better. Then we scoured the store for other tops that she might pair with the trousers when she didn't want to wear the jacket. I just kept picking up top after top and then we retired to the dressing room as a team. I'd put the top over her head (still bald and beautiful) and while she was "arranging it," I'd hang up the previous piece.

She ended up with three other tops including we loved that was something that she would have never tried on without me insisting!

The other fond memory of this visit, was the "re-painting" of the butterfly on the side of her head. We originally did it with henna when I visited her, but of course over time it wears off. Unfortunately, this time it didn't take and we think it might be because the henna was old or we didn't do the second step, which was the dabbing on of a lemon juice/sugar concoction. Marcia's daughter Nancy, will have to do the honors when she visits her mom tomorrow before surgery. Heck, we should have just gotten a real tattoo for her!

So for all you out there who don't know Marcia, just send her good vibes anyway.

That will make me happy.