Riding The Wave – Multiple Myeloma

  Oh, the adventures we’ve enjoyed since the years I’ve blogged about our journey in Myelomaville. Some wonderful and some not so much. Typical to life in general, to be honest. Though with Myeloma, we can get immersed in everything through that lens, rightly or wrongly. No judgment here! And in these difficult times of Covid […]

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  “The simplicity of it is, we’ve been living our life. Apparently so have many others. It’s a positive.” – Lori Puente, Myeloma Caregiver  I was noticing a few things in my stats and so like following bread crumbs, it took me to old haunts. Blogs. Websites. I began to wonder, “Oh yeah, how are […]

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  “Has anyone seen my brain? It ran off flailing and screaming about being overwhelmed this morning. I’d really like it back.” – Unknown   This week I’m dog sitting nearby at someone’s home (not my usual, they usually stay at my house). Anyway, it’s a good quiet time for me to ponder all the […]

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“Hidden Agenda: an often duplicitously undisclosed plan or motive.” A recent “report” by a group called ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review) has issued a 179 page “DRAFT” of a report attempting to evaluate Multiple Myeloma, it’s treatment protocols, drug cost comparisons and QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year see: Wikipedia Definition). 0

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“You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”  – C.S. Lewis I use to ponder this as a pre-teen, in my confusions rolling around in my head trying to understand a Sunday School lesson, or a conversation with another pre-teen about God. I had come to this conclusion and actually […]

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“The journey not the arrival matters.” –  T.S. Eliot Dave and I went on a road trip to Monterey, CA. So for weeks we were trying to get away to just DRIVE in the new/used “CaliCar” we recently got. Top down, destination known or unknown, just hit the road jack! Weekend after weekend was obligated to […]

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“Preaching for life changes requires far less information and more application. Less explanation and more inspiration.” — Andy Stanley MIA: Missing in Action AWOL: Absent With Out Leave APB: All Points Bulletin I didn’t intend in any way shape or form to be absent from you for so long! I have much to catch up on […]

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“Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.” – Paul Kagame The two things that helped me through this ordeal (and other challenges in my life) is flexibility and adjusting my point of view. Karen touched on this in her insightful comment on my last […]

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“Superman’s not brave. You can’t be brave if you’re indestructible. It’s every day people, like you and me, that are brave knowing we could easily be defeated but still continue forward.” – Unknown In my last post regarding Dave’s exercise update I mentioned that our trainer is encouraging Dave to revitalize and renew his love for […]

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“I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing.”  – Marsha Doble I thought you might like an update on Dave’s progress. As the week wore on heading to his first day, his confidence began to wane. My little humorous quips were met with distress and annoyance. I toned […]

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“The greatest discovery of the 20th Century is that our attitude of mind determines our quality of life, not circumstances.” – William James My interview is up over at CureTalk.   0

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“…I figured I had been dealt a terrible hand and I had two choices: fight, or roll over and die. It was a pretty simple decision.” – Nick  Nick and Dave were diagnosed a few months apart and both of us independently through our research and even different thought processes decided to treat in Arkansas. […]

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“Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone.” – Deborah Tannen Several recent conversations and postings with caregivers and […]

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“Every day is a new chance to choose. Choose to change your perspective. Choose to flip the switch in your mind. Turn on the light and stop fretting about with insecurity and doubt. Choose to do your work and be free of distraction. Choose to see the best in someone, or choose to bring out the […]

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“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.”  – Plato For those of you who made a wish for Dave on my behalf, thank you! 2

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“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”  – Mark Twain (Neat, I found a quote on this from Mark Twain after my escapades in Tahoe with him!) As caregivers, and I’m sure as patients, when we hear cancer and, for us, […]

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“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” – Bernard Meltzer When we moved to California from Bangor, Maine I was in the 2nd grade. The weather here was conducive to wonderful long hot summers with loads of lakes and rivers to […]

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“But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes My 1st cousin, once removed… meaning she and my father were first cousins and their fathers were brothers. The Hudson Boys, there were six of them. Uncle Herman, Jean’s father, was my father’s favorite Uncle. Her mother Corine, was about as […]

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“An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which the person faces and uses his experience.” – James Baldwin Indeed. All that I am comes from all that I have been, places I’ve visited and lived, people I have met along my life’s journey. Early on in my life, I was the […]

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“Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force – that thoughts rule the world.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson This was running around FaceBook and I just love it. These are really a great list of things to work on! Get busy! 0

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