Another Website with Lots of Good Info

I keep forgetting to mention that when I met with the gal from the local organization called Melanoma Know More, we talked about all the websites we look at (at which we look, I guess would be more grammatically correct. Sorry...). I had not been to this one, but she mentioned it, and I think it has a TON of great info.  It's the New England Melanoma Foundation.

http://mfne.org/

Speaking of New England... Tim Tebow was cut from the Patriots. I know, I know. He has not been performing. But, he's such a good guy. A stand up guy. Really, I hope another team picks him up. 

It's also Labor Day Weekend. The official "end" of Summer. Ah, the kids in Michigan and Wisconsin have to finally go back to school!  :) Weather here is supposed to cool off next week, which will be such a welcome change to those of us who teach in the un-air-conditioned high school of stress.   Oops, I slipped. I forgot; trying to be positive!

I do try to lift up my coworkers in small ways. I was not a good example yesterday; I was a complainer with the rest of 'em. JoJo made me a flamingo (love love love them!) by paper quilling this past week. I asked her to make a few more animals, which she was glad to do. We then glued them to cutout paper apples, and Raye delivered them to some of my colleagues with a message of, "Have a good week!" They loved them, and it was a quick, easy way to encourage them. We have to that this year, or we'll never make it to May!! :) 

I'm too old for working the concession stand....

Oh. My. Goodness.

Headed out to drop of JoJo at the game. The band reports at 5:30, game isn't until 7:30. We don't live in the district, the kids are open enrolled there because I teach there. So, it's really too far to drive home and then back for the game. So, Raye and I decided to stay and I was sure someone would need some help doing something.

What was I thinking?

They didn't have enough folks signed up to work the concession stand. Sure, I'll help. (I was thinking they would need me for, like, just a little bit...) Uh, no. The whole game. Like, I saw nothing. I heard the band (they sounded great!) but I saw no game, no band. I did, however, see about 900 hotdogs and 450 burgers. And yes, I put them on buns and wrapped them in foil. Raye got drinks out of the coolers and handed them to the customers. Her little arms are so sore today. It was 92 degrees, so I was very thankful to have my visor on. It worked as a sweat catcher in the booth. :) Yikes. I have newfound respect for the folks who do this every week.  It takes so much to make it happen. And yes, I'm signed up for 3 more games.

I think I'll see if I can pay someone to take my shifts. Seriously.

I feel like I've been through the ringer... someone under 40 needs to be doing this! ha ha

We did have to put sunscreen on- yes, people were looking at me like I was weird. Oh well, I guess I'd better get used to that. It's just what we do now.

I'm thinking nap today...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz   :)

It' Friday...

It is Friday. But, it was an in-service day. It was stressful; confusing; slightly unorganized; mildly annoying. Oh, wait. Sorry, I forgot. I'm being positive this year. 

Let me begin again.... We had an in-service today.

See, there. I can do it. I didn't have anything nice to say. So, I'm saying nothing.

In a nutshell, there are new requirements for teachers in our state. However, the details on the requirements are confusing, it's all new, and everyone is pretty much stressed out and freaking out. I saw 2 veteran teachers in tears today. How's that for your Friday of a long weekend?

My parents took the kids to the Y since the students did not have school. Everyone worked out and swam. No sunburn! My kids are so good at this.

The first football game of the season is tonight. That means that the first marching band performance is tonight. That's why we go. JoJo is in the band. I do feel badly for them- it's 92 degrees outside. A tad toasty in the big band uniform.  Report time isn't until 5:30- pre-game at 7:00. So, we shouldn't need sunscreen at the game. But, will still be wearing our hats.

Excited to see them. Go Rockets! Go Marching Rockets!

I'll be Your Plus One!

Today I was asked the most wonderful question. A dear friend with whom I teach asked me to be her "Plus One" to the Cancer Survivor's Day at The James (which is the cancer center at Ohio State University). She had cervical cancer about 10 years ago and had to undergo (in her 20's) a complete hysterectomy.  She said that she hadn't been to this event in a few years, but thought I'd like to go and wouldn't it be fun to go together??? Well, yeah!!

So, it's in early October and I'm just so flattered that she picked me to attend with her. There are apparently booths, food, speakers, and all kinds of things. Like a cancer survivor's fair. And, hey, anywhere with her is a fun place!

Back to School Blur

I did mention that I teach in a building that does NOT have air conditioning, right? :)  It is supposed to be even hotter this week...yippee.

I don't know if it's the heat or the change of routine, but my left leg was so swollen and sore after school started. Very odd. The left one is the one where I had the surgery- it was a very minor surgery. But, the incision site is so sore right now. I cannot figure it out. And it's not swollen today or much yesterday. Maybe here at home I can move more freely or sit when I feel like it, but at school it is very uncomfortable.

Hubby goes for his post-surgery follow up on Tuesday. His incision is almost unable to be noticed. I cannot believe it, and I'm sure that Dr. P will not be able to either. I told Hubby that I was feeling like that wasn't fair (because I have a huge, raised, bright red scar on my thigh- resembles an earthworm under the skin...not cool) that his scar is basically not even a scar. He replied that it wasn't his fault, and could I please not be mad at him? He told me I'm not allowed to lift up his shirt sleeve any more... grrrrrrr...  :)

In reality, I'm thankful that all is well. I'm just jealous that I don't heal as nicely as he does!

My mother in law even offered to pay for plastic surgery to revise the scar. She said that it just "shouldn't look like that." Hmmmm, I guess it does look kind of bad. But, I told her "no thanks" it's my reminder to take care of myself...

Back to School Monday...

OK, so technically we aren't back to school. Today and tomorrow are work days. That means I have to go, and the kids get to go to grandma and grandpa's!

Good to see all my friends today, although we could've done without the training. Yawn...Teachers are the worst at sitting still and being quiet. Kind of ironic, huh? :)

One of the elementary teachers, who lost her sister to melanoma some years back, asked me how I was feeling. I don't know why, but it just felt so good to have her ask me that.  My response was, "Great; really great!" Because I do really feel good. Thanks, Carla!

Got the ok for Raye to keep sunscreen and hat at school for recess/PE class. That makes me feel good, wasn't sure how much of a hassle that was going to be. I hope she is a trend setter over there. She wants to start a melanoma club (God bless her, I told her no one would want to actually be in the melanoma club...ha ha. She rolled her eyes at me, of course, saying maybe it should be called a sun safety club...). Love that they are on board with this.  JoJo is already planning where to stash her sunscreen and hat (marching band is the last class of the day, so she'll be in the sun). My hope is that we stay the course and truly continue to make this our lifestyle- even if we go years with clear results.

Of course, loved showing off my new ring. :)   :)

I even had sunscreen in my bag and a football coach and my friend the art teacher both took it and applied at the end of the day as they were headed outside for practice and a run. While they teased me saying, "Thanks, mom!" they know I've got their back. At least in the sunscreen area.

Maybe that can be my new name- Sunscreen Stege-mama.... 

www.trustthebum.com

Amazing Birthday Today!

It was an amazing day today at the Western and Southern Tennis Tournament. It was the men's finals...so we actually got to see Nadal warming up! Super exciting!

We were very busy handing out sunscreen for the Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation www.andycaress.org.  We got to meet his family- what a really neat group of people. We were honored to be able to work with them today, and hope to be able to do so again in the future.  Visit the site and learn about Andy's story and see what a great guy he was.

I handed some sunscreen to a group of young ladies with Lake College Tennis t-shirts on. One of the gals took it, then recognized the name on the logo on our shirts and the sunscreen packet. She is from Colorado, and Andy had been her tennis coach there. She is playing tennis at college in Illinois. It was an amazing moment for me- such a small world. Here is this young girl who actually knew Andy-- and she is here in Cincinnati watching world class tennis. And we meet. I made sure that she went to the booth to talk with Andy's family, they were so happy to meet her. 

Hubby said that he was able to use his recent surgery as an example several times when men said they didn't want the sunscreen, but handed it to their wives. One said he was 45 and didn't  need it; Hubby responded by saying that he didn't think he did either at 47, and pulled up his sleeve to show his scar from surgery, saying that he just had a run in with melanoma.

One group with 2 teen girls stopped and the mom and dad took sunscreen. The mom told the girls to get some, they didn't want to. I told the girls that they didn't want to end up like me, I have a big scar from melanoma. The one girl asked if my scar was on my leg- to which I replied, "yes...". She went on to say that she thought her parents knew me...we talked further and yes, we do know each other. She knew my story. Then both teens took some sunscreen  :)

This family does so much for melanoma awareness and research. I am so glad that we were able to connect with them.  I am also so thankful that I got to spend the day doing something so important, with my family by my side.

Not everyone wanted the sunscreen. But, many did and many kept saying what a great idea it was and thanked us for having it.  The booth had big gallon size bottles of sunscreen, and hundreds of folks stopped there to put on sunscreen on their way in to the match.  It's interesting to watch people and to see their reactions to the offer of sunscreen. Many couldn't believe it was free.

I cannot wait to do this again next year. Thanks, Caress family, for letting us be a small part of what you do. It truly was amazing!

Another Beautiful Friday

Very busy day for us today- hiked yesterday with grandpa to a waterfall that was a bit piddly...need more rain here!

Aren't they cute?

 

 

 

It really is a big waterfall area- would be quite impressive after a heavy rain. A steep hike down to the creek bed and this is out in the middle of nowhere. Glad that my dad went with us to navigate!

 

Hiked today at the Cincinnati Nature Center with a teacher friend and his 2 young boys. I won't complain about the hike, I didn't have a 25 pound toddler in a backpack on my back like he did (but he's also 10+ years younger than me!). We saw a deer near the trail today- and saw lots of places that would be good photo spots. I'm always looking for Christmas card material.

 

Speaking of which, don't you think this would be a good one? 

 

My leg; his arm. Mela-couple!

 



 







But here is the best of all. Hubby has given me my birthday presents early this year. He typically has not been able to ever keep anything until the birthday or Christmas... this year it's a melanoma themed day. We are headed to the Western and Southern Open in Mason, Ohio to be part of the sunscreen squad. All 4 of us will be wearing our Keep Calm and Get Your SPF On t-shirts and will be handing out sunscreen to the folks at the tournament. It's through the Andy Caress Foundation- http://www.andycaress.org/

 

So glad to be spending part of my day doing something worthwhile! And, so glad that we are doing this as a family. Thanks, peeps!

 

I digress...as usual. Anyhoo, hubby gave me melanoma awareness jewelry for my birthday. In his defense, he bought a new vehicle a couple of weeks ago (he hasn't owned a new vehicle in over 15 years...he was due), which he affectionately calls his "cancer truck."  :)

 

So, my bracelet (which I love, love love) comes from www.silveradojewelry.net

Love this, and see my Reebok step? I really do try to exercise!

 

 

My beautiful black diamond ring...this I love and I cannot tell you how beautiful it is. I wanted a black diamond ring for my middle finger, right hand. I'm a chunky chick, it's hard to find a size 10 ring.  And, it's hard to find one with black diamonds. We did a lot of searching and found this one, which I cannot tell you how much I love! I went to school today and was showing everyone who had eyes.  To them, it's just a birthday gift. To me, it's a melanoma reminder; which for me means to be mindful, thankful, vigilant, and aware. It also serves as a reminder of the melanoma connection to my hubby. Love you babe. Thank you...

Am I Crazy?

Out and about today. See a friend who knows, and was shocked by, my story. When she asks how my summer's been, I tell her about Hubby's diagnosis. She (like everyone else) cannot believe it.

I then ask her if she has gone to get her skin checked (she is a tanning bed tanner and outdoor pool tanner) and tell her about the free monthly skin checks that Melanoma Know More coordinates.

She is not interested. She doesn't want to go, she knows they will find something. Thinks the free screenings are just so they can get you in and find things to take off. She will wait until "it needs to be fixed" and went on to say that she isn't "much for the preventative stuff." I told her that once melanoma reached a stage where you would physically feel something that would make you think you had something wrong that needed to be fixed, it was often too late to fix; early detection is key.

I knew at that moment that it didn't matter what else I said. My words were falling on ears that did not want to hear. Therefore, I dropped it.

Wow.

Where oh were did my summer go????

It's Wednesday. One week until the official start of school....where did the time go? We have been so busy this summer that it's flown by. Yikes.

Off to the beauty parlor today for haircuts all around and a little color for the greying mama. JoJo wants to donate to Locks of Love, and has been growing out her hair longer than normal for a while. She needs 10" and I'm not sure she has it yet. We'll see. I don't want her to not be able to have a ponytail once it's cut...she likes to just get up and pull it up and go in the mornings. She is not a high maintenance gal.

Hubby's pathology came back clear (Whoo Hoo!) yesterday, so we are thankful for that. His arm is so already healed up. It has only been a week...lucky him. His hand therapist (from 3 wrist surgeries) had melanoma on her calf, he was telling her yesterday that I was feeling funny about comparing our scars. She told him some medical mumbo-jumbo about location, weight bearing limbs, distance from heart, etc. He told her that was all fine and dandy, but it wouldn't make me feel any better about it. I guess a picture of our scars won't make it onto the Christmas card this year, as he isn't going to have much of one! :)

He is feeling pretty good- nerve pain at times. That is a shooting, burning kind of thing that is not too much fun. Takes your breath away. Ouch.

Weather is wonderful here- unbelievable for August...in the 70's for the next few days. Throw open the windows! Of course, back up in the mid 80's next week when we return to school (no A/C in our building, don't ya know...). :)

Ah, Monday...

It's the official last Monday of summer around here. Boo... We are cleaning out/up the basement which is a catch-all mess. Hubby told Raye that if we cleaned it out, we could go get a ping pong table. Gee, thanks, hon. So, we are cleaning, pitching, making a pile for Goodwill, and finding fun things we forgot we had!

This morning I got my stitches out (along with the hairs that were sewn into my head!), which was not a big deal. The pathology was clear, so that is good.

Hubby is healing up well. This is good. But, it's also making me feel badly as I had such a hard time with mine. He predicted that this would happen. Clearly, he knows me too well. And, he loves me anyway. :) He heals up pretty quickly usually.

Hubby's arm on surgery day                                        My leg on surgery day







Busy week ahead- meeting tomorrow with the Melanoma Know More folks to look at their school curriculum. Hoping to find some things I can use this year. We have a little something planned every day, so I know it will fly by...



This photo makes me laugh...our constant companion this summer...what a great dog we have. She is the best!!

Super Quick Update

Surgery went well today- we are home now and hubby is icing the arm. Funny thing- we had the same nurse! She remembered us (because I got so freaked out and barfy when I saw my incision!) from our April visit. She is super nice- glad to see her again!

Pathology will be back early next week, so now we focus on praying for clear results there. And we focus on healing.

Hubby is feeling good. He looked so cute in the gown. The wait was lengthy, they were behind schedule. We are dinner out on the way home, and even ordered dessert...lots to be thankful for tonight. Love you so much, honey.

Another interesting thing from today is that I contacted a tshirt vendor today that we use at school. He is a graduate of our district, about my age. I told him my idea of the no-tanning pledge, and ran some ideas by him about putting together a t-shirt for this campaign ( I had an idea about the top 10 reasons that Rockets don't tan). He has had 3 bouts with melanoma in the last 10 years; the first one required 3 surgeries to rid the area of the melanoma. I had no idea.

That is far too many folks that we are connected to. It's touched so many lives.

Again, feeling very fortunate today that ours was caught early. Feeling very close to my hubby, as we are doing this together. We will keep fighting together, and we will do our best to educate and raise awareness.  I read so many stories about others who have a more difficult fight, a longer fight, or who were overcome during the fight.

I do not believe in luck; but I do know I'm fortunate. Perhaps I am meant to use my voice (and it's a loud one!) to raise awareness with our students.

Surgery Day

It's finally here- surgery day for hubby. We leave in about an hour to head downtown to hurry up and wait. :) We know the routine, we've done it before. We know it's going to be ok and have no doubts that the results will come back clear. OK, let's be honest here. There are doubts...because we are human. But, it's still scary. It's still makes you nervous. My tummy is already flippity-flopping.

JoJo is at band camp, and Raye was just picked up by grandma and grandpa. They will both be staying the night with them tonight. (Thanks, mom and dad.)Mom and dad came by here on their way back from their derm appointment. The doctor they see is the one I used to see before switching to our current derm. I switched because it became too difficult to get appointments with Dr. M. So, mom and dad tell him I had/have (which is it- is it gone? Do I say had? Do I say have?)melanoma, and he of course, says he remembers me. He then goes on to say he hasn't seen me for 3-4 years (dad and I think he said that to relieve himself of any responsibility, lol). Of course, I've been seeing my new gal (longest we've ever had to wait for an appointment is 4 weeks; was 6 months at the old place!) regularly, and she caught this. Mom and dad go often, and have for years. Neither had to have anything removed today, which is a first!


I say that as I sit here with stitches in my forehead from a punch biopsy on Monday morning.

 

Photo by Raye...

 

I've never had a punch biopsy before. And, the poor gal assisting did not hold my hair up well enough from my forehead. I get home, and remove the Band-Aid (because I have to see it!) and there are 3 hairs from my head stitched into the hole in my head. I try to pull them out- duh, they are not going anywhere. So, I cut them. Crazy... I go back next week to have them out. Do I bring up the hair in my head at that point??? Supposed to keep it covered- yeah, nothing like a huge Band-Aid sticking out on your noggin'. We looked everywhere today for tiny band-aids. They don't make the super tiny rectangle ones anymore (we used to have them in the 70's). So, now I'm just cutting them down .

 

 

OK, enough babbling. Off to the hospital we go. This time, I'll be in the waiting room. Yikes...

 



Melanoma Reminder

We were having dinner at our favorite local hangout this evening, after a day at the Columbus Zoo (more on that later!), when in walked the family of the man living in our school district who as stage 4 melanoma. We attended a benefit earlier this summer on his behalf.

We attended the same high school, although he is several years older than me. I knew his younger sister. I reached out to his mother a few weeks ago by phone, just checking in to see how things were going for them. The cancer had spread to his lungs and his brain. He was undergoing some treatment to try to shrink the tumors. At last check, there was no evidence of disease below his neck. The tumors in the brain were still there, but had not gotten larger.

This man is just a few years older than me. He has 2 sons. He was an awesome high school athlete- if I remember correctly, he was varsity football, basketball, and baseball. To see him struggling to live life is very hard. 

He and his family are on board with helping to educate our high school students and raise awareness. His mother had also passed my name along to another mom in the community who had a similar melanoma to mine. She is also interested in helping. This man's father also had a melanoma removed about 15 years ago.

We have to get the word out. We have to do something. Awareness; prevention; support.

***I really need to come up with a slogan that will work with our community. Our school mascot is a Rocket. Hmmm... Rockets blast melanoma? Rocketing melanoma? I don't know- I'll come up with something.  And, there is a former student of mine who has a photography business. Wondering if I could get him to volunteer his services to photograph the Rocket faces and scars of melanoma (or even cancer of any kind)? Right now I can count 6 folks in our district that have or have had melanoma. I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of.

I definitely want to get the no tanning pledge for the prom and homecoming. I am sure we could get prizes donated for some drawings for those who sign the pledge and adhere to it.

So many ideas run around in my little head all the time.

OK, I had to throw in a photo from the zoo. Look, I have on my long sleeve SPF50 shirt and my big hat. I work hard to keep those legs pale!

Ignorance is Bliss...

It can be so frustrating at times with melanoma.  It's amazing what people say (or don't say) and how alone you can feel. Another reason why hubby and I are so glad we have each other in this small battle of ours. It truly does help to have that person (kind of like Meredith and Christine are each other's "person" on Grey's Anatomy). This is a learning journey for us as well, and I know it will make us more in tune to what others go through in the future.

 

We don't even feel like it's "real" melanoma after hearing and reading about so many others who are in a much tougher fight than we had. Tonight I showed hubby a link to Addison's Army https://www.facebook.com/Addisons.Army. This little girl is fighting with all she has. She is so young. It breaks my heart.

I try to stress to our girls that we are fortunate- ours was found early. We have been having lots of conversations about them, their habits, the importance of sun protection. It's so nice to have hubby's support and involvement in these conversations. We also talk about others who are fighting for their lives. I think it's important that they realize not everyone who has melanoma has the same story. We even pray together for those people who are fighting.

JoJo has band camp next week from 8-5. She will be taking sunscreen and a big hat. She is totally ok with it. Raye asked for (and I purchased today) a Columbia hat. We were at Dick's Sporting Goods to get JoJo a pair of the UV sleeves. Raye picked out this crazy hat with a flap on the back. She is a hoot. I'll post a picture of her wearing it- she loves it. And, if she loves it, she will wear it. JoJo wore the sleeves today while we played a little tennis. She was concerned that they would make her arms hot, but was pleasantly surprised that they did not. Whew...that is an easy solution for her to cover her arms.

Reds game- notice JoJo has a bandage over her upper cheek from the excision. Hers was not melanoma. Very thankful.

We also ran across some pictures today from our trip to Sand Key, FL in 2012. We were all sunburned. Boy, it was hard to look at. Both kids made comments stating that was the way "we used to live, we don't do that anymore." Gosh, how ignorant we all were back then. As hubby says, we lived like it wasn't going to happen to us.

We had lunch this week with two gals with whom I used to teach. We try to get together at least once in the summer. They were so gracious to me- asking if I needed more shade, was I sure I was ok, should they move another umbrella over? Very sweet.

We have been asked by others what we are doing to get this melanoma? Seriously, someone said that to me...Some people just don't understand how we both could have gotten it so close together. I'm sure there are some who won't even believe it's true.  He cannot wait to get it "cut out" and get on with the healing process.

I have done so much reading this summer. I'm reading some good books this week, too. One is by Joyce Meyer and it's about simplifying your life- I cannot recall the exact title. I need to do this- step back, relax, and stop sweating the small stuff. The other is by Joel Osteen called Every Day A Friday. A friend suggested reading it to prepare to go back to school where the environment is less than stellar. I really need to be a positive force in the building- for myself and my colleagues. The start of school marks the end of our summer, and the beginning of a new year. So, kind of like New Year's resolutions, we teachers get a new start every August. Time to set new goals and plan for the year. Add to that my new Master's program at Miami University- I'll be a busy gal!

Heading to the Columbus Zoo tomorrow, of course I'll take tons of photos. There is also a waterfall near Columbus that I hope we have time to stop at and hike to. This summer I have wanted to hike our area trails and was surprised to find so many waterfalls in Ohio. Who knew? So, as the year goes on, I'd like to see as many of those as we can.

Falls at Sharon Woods

 

I also want to walk that 5k race in August. (Oh crap, it's already August!)I'd like to do 1 per month if I can. There is a big one in September for Ovarian Cancer awareness that some of us from school are planning to do. My art teacher friend just signed up for the Columbus Half Marathon in October....that is a little too ambitious for me! But, she will do great!

Taking this journey one day at a time, while learning from past mistakes and looking forward to many healthy years to come.



Woodland Mound Park- it's a Charley Harper cardinal!

 

 

 

My scar today- over 3 months after surgery. The original site was no larger than those other moles that remain.