Patience and Waiting

I believe that the waiting from Monday with Dr. Kim when no information was given until Thursday with Dr.Esquival not knowing if He would explain things was the hardest time so far. There are people that live everyday waiting and not knowing on a much grander scale . My heart goes out to them.

Learning to rest on the Lord in the waiting times is something I'm learning slowly. Yet it was and is often in those times the Lord and my relationship grows more personal and real.

Another area I've discovered to be tough is family reactions -- I might be comforted by God and have peace but it affects each person and each person allows things to affect them differently. It is hard to trust God to care for each family member and meet them where they are and bring them to the next step in their relationship to Him. Yet his love and care for me lets me know He is there for them as well. My prayer is they will receive what He wants to give them.

EAT AND WALK

Those were the surgeon's words of what to do next "Eat anything and everything (protein) and walk walk walk.

Dr. Jesus Esquival met with us yesterday. He explained the physical and medical background of what is going on in my body as he and science understand it. Due to the failure to release the pathology blocks , he was unable to say conclusively what is actually going on with me. From what he had, he believes it is the low level which is good. From what I understand it would not require continued treatment after the next surgery or a rush to surgery. He said there are 3 options: do nothing; surgery with hot chemo; chemo and radiation. From what he sees the third is not a necessary option in my case.

Meanwhile what can I do -- Eat and Walk Eat and Walk Eat and Walk.

I did lose weight with this last surgery and if I have more surgery as Dr. Esquival recommends I will lose more so Eat and Walk Eat and Walk. :)

This Week- Daughter's birthday- and Dr. Reports

Saturday is my Sister's Birthday. Sunday is my Daughter's Birthday which we are looking forward to the family dinner. Monday is a visit to the surgeon for the medical records. Wednesday is a visit to the dermatologist and Thursday is the visit to the Appendix specialist. There are only 2 doctors that deal with this and they are in Maryland. I will be going to the one at St. Agnes hospital and then getting a second opinion from the one at Mercy hospital.

Big Foot, Flowers, Notes, Care, Dinners, Prayers

The love we have received has been overwhelming. Thank YOu Thank YOu Thank YOu. The notes have made us smile, laugh, cry, rest, etc. The flowers are gorgeous and no two alike!

I must share a lovely stuffed giraffe I received called Big Foot. It is so soft and it works perfect for rubbing instead of itching the rash from the allergic reaction. When I use it it know I am being rubbed with the love and care with which it was sent .

Several times I've asked people to feel how soft this giraffe is and they seem to hold back. Duh! It took me a bit to realize they are afraid of getting the "itch". It is not contagious to anyone else. It just lives within me.

For you Sci- Fi Fans- The Alien invades my body

While in the hospital, an alien in the form of an allergic reaction invaded my body.

Let me back up a minute and let your know that I was spoiled by family, friends etc. My sister spent night one with me and explained through out the night what the doctor had said and helped me stay comfortable. Two nights my dear friend Dorothy a nurse stayed with me and what a gift that was as we visited John every 15 mins. carrying "the Pole" with us. it was Dorothy that noticed the rash but it was not important to the staff of the hospital.

It seems that when I was released from the hospital- the alien really took over my body and began to grow. A visit to the surgeon- led to an emergency visit to my dermatologist who said " this is very unique - ( see I am and so are you uniquely made by God) I'm not sure what it is from but it is inside and is very serious. He put me on 2 medications and designed a special cream just for me adding a touch of cool mint. What love . Yes the beast is coming under control.

Surgery Over- One in a million

My husband came into the recovery room and I remember looking at him and saying "It's cancer!?" With tears he said yes. I heard him say to someone it was the first thing she said.

Yes, I am one in a million. I have a rare cancer of the appendix. I could have told you I was rare and one in a million but then you knnow that better than I do. Actually God says in the Psalms that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. There are no two alike. Our DNA's are all different!

But I am living proof.

The presentation to the family was very direct and devastating and I slept through it all.

As the Lord would have it my sister's dear friend has been battling with appendix cancer for 4 years and so Martha (my youngest sister could ask questions) The result is My cancer is contained ! great news ! Although the cancer is incurable , it is not untreatable.
This surgery removed my appendix, cyst, and part of the colon. I must tell you that the pain from the colonoscopy is gone and I feel like anyone else that has had an appendectomy.

I will face a future surgery for the cysts in the lower cavity . It is to be a complete hysterectomy with a portion of the small colon removed. The plan is to use a technic found in Maryland of inserting Hot Chemo at the time of surgery and removing it.

Surgery Arrives

October 23rd- The night before my daughter had her 16th birthday dinner without me as I prepped for today. There was much laughter but to her loss too much talk about the surgery.

When I arrived at the hospital with my husband we were ushered into our "suite". I was so sure we would not go on time I told my older daughter to come after work and my younger daughter went to school.

While in pre op I was in a chair and the nurse said she would be lowering the head of the chair. I said fine . I don't know if you can picture this but as the head reclined for some reason-- I held my feet straight out in front of me . Pat was in the room with my husband as she works in the hospital and she said Aunt Becky did you know there is a foot rest under your feet. Laughter followed , joking with the nurse too. Quite the cartoon.

Later after the surgery -- as I read verses in Isaiah about resting in the Lord. The Lord reminded me of this cartoon and seemed to say I'm here to support you all the time and way through this rest on me-- You don't need to support yourself-- I Am your support. and there was that "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh"

God's Preparation

As I prepared for the surgery on October 23, 2008; my daily Bible reading, verses that arrived on cards for my 16 yr.old's birthday, discussions, circumstance etc. also prepared my for the possiblility that this may not be just a routine surgery. I am not God nor am I a prophet, but I believed with peace that the outcome of this surgery would be cancer.

I shared with my husband only a bit to possible prepare him. I shared with my youngest daughter that there is such confusion about God . That just because a person does good does not mean that tough things won't happen. God's promise is that He is with us and will be with us through whatever we face.

I thought the rings were the illustration for my older daughter.

To prepare them further would have been a lie for I did not know- I only had that peace and preparation from the Lord.

Lord of the rings

On Sunday October 19, 2008 My "Lord of the Rings experience took place. I was told I needed to get off my wedding rings . I have not been able to remove my rings for years and new that this Christmas I was going to ask to have them cut off and reset for a gift. I was planning to move the date due to the surgery and trying to figure out where to fit it in with work.

While fixing lunch after church on Sunday, with my lovely older daughter present- my engagement ring came off my finger and within minutes my wedding band with some added effort came off. My Lord said to me I care about every detail of you and I am with you. I found it a great reminder as this adventure unfolds.

October Colonoscopy

I had a colonoscopy on Friday October 10, 2008. It revealed what appeared to be a lipoma ( fatty tumor in where the large and small intestine meet near the appendix. I was in agony after this procedure and went to the emergency per the advice of my primary care dr. to be checked out. The Emergency room Dr. was superb and kept me over night after running catscan , blood test , etc. It was decided by the surgeon Dr.Kim that after utrasound as well that the situation was not life threatening and that I would get all the preop work done and have surgery on the following Thursday, October 23. A visit to the gynecologist on the Friday before revealed maybe a small cyst on the ovary but nothing to be operated on.

VIEW THE YOUTUbe and give your thoughts

Today is the day to present the LATI project that I chose. I learned so muech by doing this project called Mom, I Hate To Read for 5th-8th graders who hate to read. The first part was to provide a brochure with tips for parents/guardians . The 2nd part was to provide reader'[s advisory for librarians. I found this amazing as I learned about lexiles a measure of reading level for books that allows those with difficulty in reading to find books with appropriate material on their reading level.
The third part of my project was a YouTube video for the actual middle school age. After having a forum with a group of Middle School students I learned that funny ( meaning random and bloopers) along with being recommended by friends, having a lot of hits on the youtube site, having a catchy first slide was what made for a good video.
I found a middle school young man, Ian who worked with me to produce Come Here. http://www.youtube.com and then search by Come Here/rats. This video reflects too much input from adults - some feedback has been wrong music; a bit long; first slide doesn't grab you. However saying all that for a first try it was GOOD and Cute And Enjoyable to Watch.
take time and watch it.

It was suggested that a contest be run among the middle school SRC volunteers to see who could produce the best video. This is something for the future.

Also, I like the thought of incorporating videos on the library web patch and have them change on a regular basis. I think once the non-readers were caught they would go back again and again to see what was there. Key KEEP Them Funny and Random and include some bloopers.

35 Resources

35 resources and chose 10 core resources completed Yeah! I could have used more time to work on them and perfected them but my project calls. I did notice when I printed out that the search tools and the one other reference area did not print even though they showed on the screen.

2 references I discovered through this exercise were American's Women History. I found the best way to find it once it is LATI is not available to me is my googling. What I found in this resource were unexpected treasures that are valuable to customers doing biographical , historical reports. It is set up well , easy to use. Don't let the first page turn you off -- it is wonderful. I shared it with a co worker who copied the info and had us share it with all the librarians.

The other reference was Ben's guide to US Government. http://bensguide.gpo.gov It is a government provided website where you choose the grade level.- I chose 9-12 as Maryland requires high school students to pass a government test to graduate. In many cases if the child does not pass it is up to them to learn the material. I found it to be all here in a great format for studying.

I am trying to come up with a system to keep the web resources I've discovered at my fingertips for future reference when needed.

Google vs. Medline

I chose the topic essential tremors since my father has them and a customer just came to the desk with the same condition. I found that in 2 seconds, google brought up info on the topic and Medline was one of the listed items. Once in Medline, I found it to be equally as quick to find information. I believe I got equal information from each.

I would start with Medline first because it gave more official sites. there were more.gov and .org sites than in the top ten of Google. For basic information Google would be O.K. but for more official info I would choose Medline.

Search Tools- google

The Google tutorial has been a great help to quick search. I am already trying to use different options that it offers. I need a good deal more practice in order to feel comfortable with it. I did show a customer the book and scholar section for the paper the daughter was doing.

I'm looking forward to using the math converter for some measuring units I need converted.

Daniel Pink's book

I completed the book Whole New Mind. I found it thought provoking but question the premise that what was accomplished in the past was left brained and it is now time to think outside the box and be right brained. I would think that Bill Gates, etc. think outside the box and used their right brain to take all that their left brain could do to make the companies and millions that they have. Grant it it opened the door for left brained thinkers but after the tutorial about google it would seem that the computer world lives room for much right brain thinking. Saying all this, I would like to think that right brain thinkers would begin to be valued more in school systems. I would love to see more art, music, storying, and less test directed schooling. It makes for a well rounded person and produces less robot thinking and fitting the mold thinking.
The book did challenge me to think about right brain ideas to keep work in the USA and in light of the library.

Just recently The news reported that the GRID may be taking over for the internet. Could this be the next direction of the left thinker combined with the right brain thinker?

Great Books- LATI project.- Reference books

Yesterday I attended Great Books. I was in 2 Young Adult book groups and one Juvenile book group. It is always enjoyable to hear the variety of opinions and thoughts on the books. The speaker was Bruce Coville who touched on the reluctant reader which just happens to be my LATI project topic. I read some great young adult books that were for older young adults not young teens. Anything But Ordinary was one of the books about high school seniors going to college and coming of age. Another book that was very funny was I Love You Beth Cooper. It was about a high school valedictorian who instead of giving his prepared speech declared his love for Beth Cooper- high school cheerleader etc.

On my own for the branch I work in I read the teen book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas It is another Holocaust approach and story. It reads quick but is tragic.

I'm trying to pace myself on the reference books, but am behind at the present time. My goal is to catch up this next week.

e-book download

Sunday Night late, I was successful in downloading an e-book. I have wanted to see how this worked but just not taken the time. The first attempt put the bookby agatha christie on my card but I was unable to read it and have been unable to read it. The second attempt was successful! Another Yea! It is on my home computer and I started reading it last evening. I did not find it easy to use. I am not sure where to put the book since many people share the computer at my home. Once Adobe digital was downloaded, does it stay on my computer ? This is my next discovery. Reading a book on the computer screen is not enjoyable for me. Over time I guess this could change.

RSS Feed- YEA!-- Y oung Adult Books -graphic

I just added the blogs of my team to blogger line as a RSS feed. I didn't find lisa's yet but the rest are there. Just like my colleague technical things tend to malfunction so any success is a YEA!

Also, after reading Pat's blog about young adult books , I thought it might be interesting to note that Great Books is coming in April. For this day od book discussions, I chose 2 Young adult groups and 1 Juvenile group of books to critique. In the Y category, I read the graphic novel LATIK, It was great! It was sad if you like dogs but very well written. I am just starting to enjoy graphic novels. I am not a reader of the Japanese Manga but there are other graphic novels that are great! I really enjoyed and so did many of my colleagues THE ARRIVAL. Let me know what you think of them.

LATI - week4 - Evaluating a Resource

I've begun working on the 35 subject resource forms. The world almanac 2008 in itself was a great resource to peruse in be reminded of the wealth of information contain in it. I realized several questions from students could have been aided by using the 2008 World Almanac. Another subject resource I evaluated was First Facts in America. Again, I saw the potential for school assignments as a fact resource. Although time is a premium, I'm finding doing this and working gives me a great evaluation opportunity.

LATI week 3 - Excellent cutomer Service

I was able to get into the course from my home computer and listen to some excellent tips and reminders for customer service. I' m working on the listening careful to what the customer is really saying not assuming I know. It made me realize how much I do this. I was able to listen to the state libraries tutorials . Again some very practical advice.

LATI week 2 - setting up the blog and using MD 23 things

I had set my blog up when I did 23 things this past summer. I reviewed T-1, T-2, and T-8. I did not see this assignment right away for whatever reason. I believe the review of 23 things will be good. It will have reinforce them in my mind.

LATI Week 1-Exploring LATI site

After receiving the rubber bracelet with learn it and live it on it. I went to the LATI site and explored. I discovered it was set up in a way that did not fit my learning style. This will be a challenge. I discovered it is full of assignments and information. Definitely a learn it in order to live it situation.

Learning & why it resonates with me-LATI

"The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live."

Being older and starting a new career is what drew me to this quote on learning. I first laughed when I read it from the perspective of aging. As I thought further I realized that learning is growth- growing in knowledge--growing in understanding--growing in compassion--growing in wisdom--growing in love, etc. It is never just standing still on facts-- learning goes far beyond just knowing. Learning is something that takes place our whole life--even when it involves learning something over again. Without growth there is no learning only knowledge. To learn is to act upon what one knows.