Greetings my friends,

I hope this post finds you at peace and in good health.

I am working at both finding and keeping both of those, myself. It is the focus of much of my time; staying calm and peaceful and in the moment and staying healthy.

I can report that I’ve made it through a solid 1/3 of the school year without catching a major cold…knock on wood. I take lots of supplements and at the first sign of a cold I double down on those. I felt like I was dodging the germs until the classic teacher move: catching something right at the start of break. Somehow our bodies know we have down time and have time to be sick. But I fought that one off, too! Kept taking all kinds of immune support capsules and tinctures, diffused essential oils, got extra sleep and I fought that right off in a couple of days.

Now I’m just working to balance my sodium and fluid levels every day. Life with heart failure is a slog! I feel sluggish much of the time and work to fight that feeling off. I’m using this break to get back into a good workout routine and hoping that makes me feel better overall.

Monday I went to see Dr. Standish and to potentially have my second Vitamin C infusion. As usual, she just made me feel better, just by her presence. She is healing and magical that way. She has me on heart supplements and has suggested some powerful immune support capsules to further my battle against the germs thrown at me by the 6 and 7 year olds. So far I have only gone in for one infusion, a couple of weeks ago. It left me feeling odd, grumpy, out of balance. I’m quite sure it has something to do with balancing my fluids and sodium. I was happy to have a chance to talk to her before getting another infusion. She decided infusions were not for me and has prescribed an oral dose of curcumin instead. The curcumin is a strong anti inflammatory and has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer. I’m all for that! I was relieved to skip the infusion, I think it’s the right decision for me. Just as she was convinced I would get through the cancer, she is saying the same thing about my heart. My other doctors say that for most people, they are on the heart meds for the rest of their lives and that hearts don’t really completely heal from this. Well, I’ll not forget that, but I’m also not going to give up on the idea that I could be the exception to the rule.

I was not able to blog about my surprise trip to KC this month, for obvious reasons…it was a surprise! It was my mom’s birthday and I think it might have been right after the scan results I decided I needed to go to KC and see her, then it was just obvious that needed to be for her birthday. The surprise was a huge success! And in Gilroy style, it was doubled.

The plan was that both Kathy and I would surprise her; no Mickey or Mike, just the two of us. Well, the Gilroy’s don’t travel that way, I should have known and really could have predicted. When I got off the airport shuttle, it was Kathy, Mickey, Amy, Joe and Lucy! We all had a little time to spare and then off to Minskey’s to surprise Jane. She didn’t know any of us would be there. In fact, she thought she was just going to dinner with Jennifer and Matt and Kai. Jennifer got her into the back room at Minskey’s with a ruse about a friend of hers and it was filled with us! My three aunts were there as were many of my cousins, my brother, Paul and his two kids, Erica and Vince. Mom saw them and then Kathy and Mickey and said out loud, “Oh, I wish Janet could be here!” Then, my cousin Linda, sitting on my lap to cover me up popped up and mom and I had a good hug and cry, as you might imagine! It was a great whirlwind weekend and I am so glad I went. I had not seen Amy and Lucy since my diagnosis. Hadn’t seen anyone since my clear scan. My Aunt Rose Evelyn, who has been sick for  months is feeling better and was there. I got to see many of my fabulous KC cousins…I love them! It was fabulous! I’m trying to get to KC twice a year now, accomplished that for 2015! 

So, here we are just days before Christmas. We are gearing up to repeat our traditions; the market on Christmas Eve day, followed by the giant Oliver gathering at the Huget’s. The kids plan to stay the night and spend Christmas Day here at home, with us. It is surreal to look back and remember my life just one year ago. So, I’ll try to focus my energy on now, this year and celebrate knowing the darkest day of the year is passed and days are getting longer and lighter already.

Wishing you all light and peace this winter and holiday season.

Love to you all

Janet