Christmas 2014: Just Me

There are just some years that you cannot forget, whether for good reasons or bad, they are just drilled into your mind. 2014 is one of those years.

I traveled to see children, grandchildren and my brother, spent time at car shows with wonderful friends, worked on my house, enjoyed great music with close friends, enjoyed visits with my sister, traveled the back roads of Wisconsin with Rex and then faced the diagnosis of cancer.

Many thanks to Dr. Isawi (FHN Freeport) and Dr. Al-Niaimi (UW Madison) for their success in making me "cancer free". I am certainly on a road to recovery.

It is the care and concern of loved ones, plus the generosity of friends that carried me through.

Although my children live away, their frequent calls and text messages allowed them to be with me in spirit. They searched medical websites and consulted me on the information they found on the internet, they gave me encouragement and hope, they traveled the road with me.

Rex drove to appointments, sat in waiting rooms, held my hand through two surgeries and made sure I was safe and secure when I returned home. When crying seemed to be a logical option, he made me laugh.

During my recovery friends arrived with meals, cards were received and visitors welcomed.

Girlfriends from my Class of '68 brought food, sent cards,
called from Italy to check on me and kept me in their prayers.
Shirley, Janet, Cindi, Diane and Lucia