I declared myself to be fully in "recovery days"! I even celebrated by having cheesecake with dinner. I said, "I LOVE recovery days!" The next day I had intestinal issues all day long. I kept thinking, "no this isn't right, I am in recovery time"! This is NOT FAIR! I should be able to eat what I want now! I should feel great on recovery days!
The day after that I was able to control my intestinal issues pretty well BUT then my allergies kicked in big time. Who knew? Many people have an allergic reaction to chemo! When I asked my oncologist about my runny nose and goopy eyes she said it was a normal reaction to chemo. The eye thing is annoying. I wake up with my eyes crusted shut and basically have itchy, teary eyes all day. I learned that many chemo patients experience clogged tear ducts so the watery eye tears just run down the face. It is hard to read or be on the computer when my eyes are doing this. It is also tough to go in public with a turban on and tears running down your face!
Another thing that happened the last few days is receiving word of the death of Madeline Sophie Reeder. Don and Madeline were married in 1964. Most recently they were living in England until their separation about 2005. Don moved back to the states and Madeline stayed in England returning once or twice a year for treatment with her US doctors. I greatly admire the relationship Don and Madeline maintained during their years apart. I never heard either of them say a nasty word about the other. They showed the utmost of respect for each other. Madeline was diagnosed with breast cancer immediately following their separation and it was decided that they would stay married on paper so that Madeline's health insurance would continue uninterrupted. Madeline would later be diagnosed with 2 other forms of cancer which ultimately took her life. I got the honor of meeting Madeline in the last few years and so enjoyed getting to know her. She was smart and witty, She was interesting and could talk about so many things. She was so strong through all of her health challenges. She was preceded in death by their only child, William.
So I have a new "job". I am attempting to detangle all of Don and Madeline's finances and investments. I am helping Don with all the paper work. This puzzle got more complicated because citizens of the UK can not mail packages abroad because of a Russian Hacking which take place on their postal system. Much of the paperwork that Madeline assembled for Don is sitting in England so we are relying on a friend of hers to scan us things as we ask for them. Sometimes we are not even sure what we need to ask for?? Plus, did you know that it is illegal to make copies of a UK death certificate? We learned that tidbit yesterday.
You know what though? This new "job" has been such a blessing for me. It gives me purpose and something to think about rather than myself and my health all the time. Plus yesterday I found Don an investment with some $ in it that Don didn't he know he had! Win!
Life. What a mixture of emotions.
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