Last Saturday, as most of you know, Waldo Canyon caught on fire. That fire broke out between my town of Woodland Park and Colorado Springs and it was not far off the highway leading between the two, so they had to close the pass so the firefighters could use it for staging area, etc. The only way from Woodland to the Springs was the back way through Teller County and it took 2.5 hours to get to my medical care, so I was so worried that my small intestine would obstruct while we were so isolated. Thank God that didn’t happen.
But this fire was the scariest thing ever! Early last week, that thing met up with tinderbox conditions, record temperatures, and 65 MPH winds, so it jumped two ridges and into a major neighborhood where 347 families lost their homes. Thankfully, there have only been two fatalities, which is two too many, but they were still in their home when the officials were able to get in there. Up our way, the fire line was probably only about three miles away, so we were placed on standby to evacuate. All the motels were full, the campgrounds were full, because people had been being evacuated for days by this time. But thankfully, they were able to hold that line, take us off standby, bring the Woodland Park evacuees home, and today they opened the highway again. So life is slowly getting back to normal that way, but it has been so devastatingly emotional even though we didn’t suffer any loss unlike so many others. I watched the flames engulfing those homes and it was like watching the Atlanta Burning scene in Gone With the Wind. I just sat there and cried … just so much destruction and devastation. Although 80% of the homes in that neighborhood were saved, the 20% that were lost looked like a bomb was dropped on the whole area. Those homes are just vaporized … a pile of ash (not even rubble) … just nothing left … and they only had about an hour to evacuate before the fire was on them. It was just that fast. My heart so goes out to them and, if anyone else has a heart for them, there is a legit website selling some awesome wild fire tee shirts, 100% of which of the proceeds go to the fire victims. There are some way cool, 100% cotton shirts, both men and women sizes, at www.wildfiretees.com.
Right in the middle of all this was my visit with Kris Kraft, energy healer, last Tuesday. Being that the pass was closed, and he flew into the Springs, we had to get him 3 hours up here and 3 hours back. Our daughter, Erika, was already in town, so she volunteered to meet him and bring him to us. And if that wasn’t big enough, she stayed at here until he was done and took him right back down with her when she went. Huge blessing and kudos to the kiddo!
He said the session was successful and that we were able to release a lot. He says he has brought in a “new future” for me and I will sure take one of those! I don’t much like what I’m seeing in my crystal ball these days the way things are! The chemo side effects were still lingering a little, but they had diminished quite a bit by the time he got here. I have felt just a little bit better every day since. Was it his work or is it just getting more distance between me and my last chemo? Too early to tell at this point, but soon.
And then, as if all this wasn’t enough, my husband and I hit a speed bump that knocked the breath out of me. I don’t know how we will find our way through this, but hopefully with God’s help, we can. Yup, those hits just keep on coming … I just can’t seem to even breathe for a minute without getting the crap beaten out of me. Anyway, enough about that.
I saw my oncologist Friday and he cut me loose for another two weeks. He feels that, by that time, we should have a clearer picture of if this Tamoxifen is going to be something I need to continue or not. While I am getting even more fluid, and it is now in my legs because my abdomen just can’t hold any more, he says it will not harm me and that he was impressed that I have not obstructed. He said he really thought I would worsen quickly (second time he has thought that and was incorrect … yup, I love to prove drs wrong sometimes), and was really surprised that I had not and that I should be OK for a couple more weeks without any additional treatment. That is a good thing for a couple of reasons. First of all, that will give me more than a month off from the cytotoxins. Secondly, it gives Kris’ work more time to do its thing without the poisons conflicting with it. Of course, if I go in there in a couple of weeks, and am doing a lot better, he will claim it is the Tamoxifen. This has happened once before. I started Tamoxifen right before I saw Kurt Peterson for the first time and, right after Kurt, I damn near went into remission. The onco says it was the Tamoxifen … I have always thought it was Kurt’s work. So now I am right back in the same position. Taking Tamoxifen and just got treated by a renowned energy healer. But I don’t care which is responsible … God of course … but whether it is the Tamoxifen or Kris really makes no difference to me as long as I get better.
I seem to have been a little more active yesterday and today, despite my sausage-like torso and legs/feet. I am one thick girl right now! I am weighing in at 145 when my “without fluid” weight a month ago was only 113. Sure wish it was real weight instead of fluid. We discussed draining that fluid, but my dr and I both agree that would be too hard on my body. So he suggested that I leave off the TPN for a few days … even though I am not eating … to try to balance out this fluid issue because it is directly attributable to the TPN. It’s been almost 48 hours now, but I don’t feel any smaller. Oh well … tomorrow’s another day.
In case you have noticed my lack of photos or graphics in the last few months of posts, I just ain’t posin’ for many pictures these days. Hopefully before too much longer, I will have the energy to do all of the tasks I need to do to transform myself into something vaguely resembling a human female, and then I might take some more pics. Until then, you just get to read.
