A Lilly Journey

 I've decided to take action against the extra weight that has been weighing me down (ha! ha!) for quite some time now.  I tried to get my insurance to approve Zepbound, but they denied coverage because I was one tenth of a point too low on my BMI.  So I decided to do self-pay from Lilly Direct.  The starter dose is $299.  I am hoping to start it today.  Fingers crossed!

#Zepbound

#NewWidow

#Movingforward

A New Year

 Here it is, the opportunity for a fresh start. Or should I say restart?  At this point, I have had MANY fresh starts. The only problem is that we often carry our same emotional baggage over the restart line.

I want to return to social activities. I've sort of ignored them the last 7 months. I want to be more physically active.  I was a runner for decades, and now it's all I can do to get myself to go for walks.  And of course, my weight is up, and that issue really needs addressed.

Most of all, I hope this year doesn't throw all the things at me that 2025 did.  I just want to be happy, in peace, and about 20 pounds lighter.  Is that asking too much?

Made It

 I made it through Christmas.  I was expecting that I would get through it OK because I had successfully hidden from the holiday up until that point.  I wasn't prepared to receive a holly jolly type of Merry Christmas text from a relative.  Seriously, she knew it was my first widowed Christmas.  Is a bit of sensitivity too much to ask for?  Anyway, it's behind me now. I am glad for that. 

So This Is Christmas

 I thought I had a pretty good grip on this Holly Jolly Merry Christmas issue. Apparently, I do not.  

In Case You Were Wondering

 I just realized that I hadn't updated anything since the PET scan.  Yes, it did turn out to be cancer.  I'm generally not what I would call a lucky person BUT everything to do with this cancer was really a stroke of luck.

1. It was discovered early, less than 2 centimeters.
2. If it wasn't for getting hit in the eye with a pickleball, it might not have been discovered for many years.
3. The CT of my brain showed the cancer hadn't metastasized to my brain.
4. The lymph nodes were clear.
5. The surgeon got clean margins.
6. It turned out that a lobectomy wasn't required; the cancer was easily removed with a lung resection.
7. It was a rare, slow-growing cancer. 
8. The cancer was a neuroendocrine cancer, specifically a typical carcinoid tumor.
9. The surgery is considered curative, although I was referred to an oncologist to basically put his stamp of approval on the fact that no other treatment is required.
10. My sister was able to come and stay for 3 weeks to help me with post-surgery recovery and care of my dogs.

Yes, I had cancer,  and I was very lucky. I doubt those 2 words have rarely appeared in the same sentence.

PET Scan Result.

 I had a PET scan yesterday.  I pretty much knew that there would be bad news (that's all I seem to get lately), and unfortunately, I was right.  The nodule in my upper right lobe shows to be malignant.  I have an appointment with a cardiothoracic surgeon on Monday.  

Surprisingly, there were some good things I learned.  The lymph nodes were clear, and there was no sign of metastasis.  So I guess if you have to have cancer, this is a best-case scenario.  I was worried that this nodule wasn't a primary spot, so at least that was good news.

Give Me A Break!

 A couple posts ago, I talked about all the crap that life has thrown at me (and MH) this year.  I was hoping it was done, They say things come in threes, but this year it has been at least in the double digits.  So, last week, I was playing pickleball and somehow took a ball right in the eye.  Long story short, when I sought medical care for the eye and the horrible morning I was having with vertigo, medical tests that normally would never have been done had some unwelcomed surprises.  They found a nodule in my right lung and moderate stenosis in 2 arteries.  Now, I am waiting for the CT that my doctor ordered to be scheduled.  She is also looking for a good medication to bring my LDL down and possibly eat away at that stenosis.  The fact that I can't take a statin makes that a more difficult task.

While I wait for the phone call to schedule the CT, I'll play pickleball this morning.  I'm wearing my new safety glasses.