Funkyjimmer's Blog

Thursday, August 31, 2006

HARD TO KEEP UP WITH EVENTS

It seems life goes by in a flash! When I don't post more often it seems like a lifetime has passed since the last post.

Recently I ordered an Oreck Vacuum cleaner. Got an upright, a canister vacuum and a cordless iron. They came Monday and I've put the vacuums together and used the upright already. I don't plan to use the iron on any clothes! I like the upright really well. Not only does it do a great job, it didn't tire me out nor did my arms hurt when I finished doing the whole house.

We've had a week of visiting the doctor with Karon. She has had a really rough week or so. She was at the doctor's office Tuesday and Wednesday getting "hydrated" with IVs. Her throat had gotten so she could not swallow anything and her stomach couldn't tolerate anything on it. She's lost another 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. She basically hasn't eaten anything nor has she been able to drink much since last Thursday or Friday. She has just felt terrible this whole time. She has really lost a lot of weight. Can't keep most of her clothes on!

We both were fearful that it was a cancerous tumor in her throat/stomach that was preventing food and liquid from going down and staying down. But the doctor assured us it is just a side effect of the chemo. (He said he's going to have to reduce the dosage.) So he's doing things to relieve her until the side effects improve. She is scheduled to have another Chemo treatment next Wednesday. We'll have to see if that can happen. Her feet and hands hurt so terribly bad.

Hopefully she'll be able to get some kind of nourishment down soon. She hasn't been able to take her medicines either because of not being able to get anything down her throat. She's been able to work except when she's had to be at the doctor's office getting IVs.

My variety of activities continue. I've been able to get in some great Scripture study in preparation for teaching subjects at church this fall. It's odd but I've gotten more study and preparation done for the fall/winter this August than the previous years when I took a study leave from preaching at church to prepare for the fall. The Sunday teachings are to coordinate with our fall Capital Campaign and I've been trying to think through all that. I've got a pretty good "handle" on what we're going to study between September 17th and December 31st. The next step is to put "meat" on the skeleton outlines I have constructed.

More soon I hope. Regards to all who may read this,

Jim

posted by jim 8:18 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

NEW CAR STEREO SYSTEM

I have had my 1996 Toyota Camry a year and a half. I bought it for a reasonable price but put some money into it to get it in excellent running order. I keep it serviced regularly and so far have had no trouble at all with the car.

When I bought the car it had an AM/FM radio, cassette tape player and, I thought, a CD player. But I could never figure out how to get the CD player to operate. Several people told me, ”Oh, you don’t have a CD player in that car.” For awhile I believed them. But no one could explain why I had all the “buttons and knobs” to operate a CD player and what looked like a place to insert a CD. That fact always puzzled me and finally I decided to put to issue to rest one way or another.

I took it to a great place in our town—about the only reliable place that will work on car sound systems. They have been in business over 30 years. They had expertly repaired the cassette tape player on my Honda for a reasonable price. They are extremely good people. They confirmed: yes, I have a CD player in my Toyota. They tried unsuccessfully to repair it. They got it working but were honest enough to tell me they couldn’t repair it to be reliable.

So I invested in a new system for just a little more money than it would have cost to repair the old CD. And this firm didn’t charge me to try to repair my old CD player.

I like having the radio/CD/cassette player combination. I listen about equally to CDs and cassette tapes. I know some of you would tell me, “Jim, cassette tapes are a thing of the past.” But they are still making them and I have a bunch. Of course the radio is a “must”. And the system even came with a remote. Can you imagine: a remote for a car stereo? My Honda has a six-CD automatic changer/cassette tape/AM/FM radio combination. But I’m content with a single CD player in my Camry. It is a great system and I am glad I invested in it. (And I like the silver look, too.)

Now if I can just get used to how it all works! I’m learning by trial and error, which is the best way I learn. I have a manual but I don’t like reading manuals and trying to figure out what they are trying to tell me. The Christian young man with whom I worked at the audio electronics firm walked me through everything and marked some things in my book. And he said he’s available anytime to answer any questions or give me a “refresher” course. The problem is that their shop isn’t very close to where I live or work.

But I’m enjoying it.

Jim

posted by jim 10:09 AM 0 comments

Thursday, August 17, 2006

MARKING TIME

Time seems to be marked for me by the visits Karon and I make to her oncologist. Three weeks have passed. That’s also how long since I’ve Posted in this Journal.

It seems like each time we go to the Oncologist things seem to be a little worse. Or at least we don’t hear the reports we hope to receive.

It seems that this Chemo drug is no more effective that the previous drug. The tumor marker count had only gone done 2 or 3 points. Of course she’s only had this drug one time before yesterday. The doctor says to continue on the same treatment for a bit longer. He thought about ordering another CT and bone scan but decided to wait until after the next treatment.

The chest x-rays did show that there are now tumors in the lungs, as suspected from the CT scan. At the previous appointment the doctor said there was something in the lung but he thought it was just because she had had the infection that put her in the hospital last month. He said he just wanted a chest X-ray to confirm that it wasn’t anything. The X-ray confirmed that it was “something”. There is one large tumor in the left lung and a smaller one in the right lung. We already knew that there was a tumor in the liver. The last CT scan also showed it had increased in size.

So we continue the process -- take the drugs, trust God for the future, and continue to be grateful for each day and each blessing

Some good news is that our oldest daughter has new job as director at a day care. She is excited about it and started this last Monday. Another bit of good news is that our youngest daughter and her husband are going to make us grandparents again in February. Don't know the "brand" yet!!

The third good news is that our middle daughter, who lives in the Atlanta area, got promoted to a new position and will be working day time hours. She had usually worked from 1:30 to 10:30 p.m. She is very excited and hopes that the shift in hours will allow her a more normal life for both church and social purposes.

Guess that’s enough for this time. I’ll try to Post soon. I am excited about my new car stereo system in my 1996 Camry that has the combined AM/FM radio, cassette and CD player.

There are good things happening at church, too.

Jim

posted by jim 4:14 PM 0 comments