I can't believe I haven't made an entry in two months! A lot has happened since my last entry in November. I'll try to think back. First of all, we were all able to gather as a family in my home for Thanksgiving this year, something we were not able to do last year. Everybody pitched in and it was a great day. Jeff looked at my plate and said "mom, why did you take so much food?" I told hime "because I can." We all had a great time. I have inserted a picture of Julie, Grace, and Robert making our family holiday treat -- dumplings! Robert is now our official "dumpling stirrer." How proud that little grandson of mine felt being able to help prepare our Thanksgiving dinner! God bless him and everybody else who helped me that day!
Okay, it's now the beginning of December and I've decided I'm ready to drive again! However, in order to do that it was imperative for me to get a vehicle that was more reliable. I had $5,000.00 to spend on a car. I searched over the internet on autotrader.com and was more than a little discouraged at the prices of used vehicles. This was on a Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening I sent out a prayer request to my sister, Julie, and my friend, Ranae, telling them about how much I felt I needed a car. Monday I did nothing about it. Tuesday morning I was showing Mike how expensive cars are when lo and behold a car in my price ranged popped up! This car was in my price range, had relatively low mileage on it, and it even was the same kind of car, a Malibu, as the one that met its final resting place in the mountains of Colorado when I was returning from Las Vegas in July, 2006. It's almost the same color, but it's two years newer. So I emailed the salesman who responded immediately. He drove out here with the car, my brother came over to check it out mechanically, and I made the decision to buy it. The salesman mentioned that I was very "lucky" as this car had just been marked down after close of business the night before from $8000.00 to $4995.00. I then explained to him how I don't believe in luck and the prayer request that had been issued just 2 nights prior. The salesman and I drove back to the dealership (I was behind the wheel of the car) and I got a chance to witness to him about my illness, my progress, etc. He was shocked. I have inserted a picture of me getting into my new wheels for the first time BY MYSELF to meet two dear friends for breakfast. I can't even begin to explain how good that felt! Seventeen months to be chauffered around for someone like me who is kind of independent is not easy! God is good!
Fast forward to December 17th. Now I've decided I want to work part time again doing transcription from home. So I went out to the message board from the school I had graduated and asked if they knew of anybody who was interested in hiring a part time transcriptionist whose skills were very rusty! Within an hour I had a private message from another graduate of the school I went to with a lead for a transcription company in southern California. Now this was ideal because it wasn't medical transcription, but regular transcription. As I stated before, my medical transcription skills are very rusty. I sent my resume to the manager of the transcription and I heard back from her within 15 minutes! Amazing! So, now I have a part time job to supplement my disability income. It is working out very well! I'll be able to save some money, travel a little bit more, and purchase a few things. We have been so strapped financially since I became ill -- this is HUGE for me! What a morale booster, too. For someone who has been employed for 40 years to be forced to basically just sit around is not easy.
December 24th -- all of the Dorans were here to celebrate Christmas Eve, again in our home. What a terrific feeling once again to do one of the things I love to do -- family celebrations in my home! Once again, everybody brought something to eat which gave me more time to focus on cleaning and decorating my home for Christmas.
Mike and I didn't have a Christmas tree last year. I was too weak and it was too much work. Boy, did it ever look pretty this year sitting there all lit up in my living room. I actually didn't take it down until a week and a half ago. We just enjoyed looking at it so much.
December 29th -- All of the Allens are here again for Christmas. Another beautiful moment in time. We laughed, we talked, we cooked, we thanked God for all he has done for all of us. I also had a picture of my nephew, Aaron, located in a prominent position in the tree. Aaron is proudly serving our country in the Marine Corps and was not able to be with us in body this year. We missed him terribly but he was here -- in our hearts. Of course my sister Julie -- you may not know it but she can be a rascal sometimes -- kept taking pictures on her cell phone and sending them to Aaron while we were all talking to him on the phone. Aaron said that we were cruel, but Julie just kept snapping away, smiling all the while.
I guess that's just about it for now. I wish I would have at least kept notes because so much has happened over the last two months -- all good!
I am going for a CT scan on February 22nd, so if you're reading this journal, please start to send the prayers up. I have been on chemotherapy continuously since mid December 2006 and it would be so wonderful to be able to take a break, or better yet be able to stop poisoning my body forever! I told Mike the other day, I feel so good that I can't even imagine how much energy I would have if I weren't taking chemo. So all of you prayer warriors, hopefully this time it's in God's timing for my healing. Thank you so much for your continued prayers on my behalf.
I'll try to post more regularly in the future.
