Sunday Stroke Survival:No Turkey Neck

Not me!I googled it.

Here I go again. I'm looking at the bright side of battling cancer.

One of the definite signs of aging is getting a turkey neck. Gravity is not your friend as you age. Everything sags. Your skin loosens as a result and the lower collagen starts to tell your age. Your boobs sag towards your belly button, your upper arms begin flapping, your bottom develops a flattened downward angle, and the skin on your jaw and neck forms puddles of loose skin.

I had noticed the former begin to show in my own mirror. My looks were changing. I doubt my own grandchildren would recognize me because I didn't recognize myself. I looked so old. When did that happen?

But getting back to my turkey neck, when I had my thyroid surgery a few months ago, my turkey neck disappeared! They had to cut out my previous scar out and it pull my neck skin tighter. Bonus of having cancer.

The surgery wasn't plastic surgery but the results were the same. My incision is just below the upper picture and right at the bottom picture cuts off. In effect I had plastic surgery without the insurance exclusion. Of course, unlike plastic surgery, there is a scar.

Thyroid cancer tends to metastasize to the lymphatic system, breast, lungs, and brain first. Well, with the lockdown most of us has suffered through, I need my hair cut anyhow. Wohoo, another breast reduction surgery and I'll lose weight without having to diet. Same thing with Chemo. I'll become svelte, exotic gypsy again. My hair will come back with even more thicker and wavy. Maybe, I'll even lose all of my leg and under arm hairs permanently. Wouldn't that be a joyous thing. No more struggling to shave them. Even more "plastic surgery" with removal of lymphatic nodes under my arms, neck, and jaw lines. I'll be one foxy looking chick after all this. Of course, I'll have new battle scars to show off too because it isn't plastic surgery.

I'm not being flippant. Maybe a little. I know this cancer is serious because it killed my mother. I took care of her and watched as she died. But I've already died once less than a year ago. I'm not afraid to die. Living with the aftermath of strokes has taught me surviving isn't all its cracked up to be. That's not to say, I want to die and won't fight to stay alive...I have and will continue to fight.

You know what they say, prepare for the worst and pray for the best. That's all I'm saying in this post. From previous experiences in battling this disease, I know a positive attitude and laughter is essential in winning the battle. Didn't my own husband live on another ten years after his prognosis of terminal/anytime? It's all about the way you want to live your life and how you want the memories to leave your loved ones. So many happy memories tips the balance in the sense of loss they will feel and grieve with smiles. He taught me that.

I lead by example because someone else showed me the way first through the years.

Nothing is impossible.

Monday Mailbox~ A Survivalist with Disabilities

I had a couple of interesting emails this week. They both concerned my book Are You a Survivalist or a Prepper? The gist of the emails were this...How am I a survivalist/prepper if I'm disabled too? This book just got its first 5-star review on Amazon! I'm excited.

Interesting question, but I am still both just slower at it now. I guess the easiest answer is that I started the ball rolling before my stroke. I had all the building blocks in place. If I hadn't I would have to hire a handyman or specialists to do the conversions for me.

But now for the longer answer. Being proactive for any eventuality is a lifestyle. I learned and practiced this lifestyle since I became responsible for my children. The world of responsibility changes once you have another mouth or five to feed, clothe, or be responsible for instead of just your own. You start thinking in terms of future instead of the pleasures of the moment. You are the custodians of the future.

Growing up with parents and grandparent, who survived war shortages and the Great Depression doesn't hurt either. Like all elder relatives they have an impact on your life and how you grow up. By the time I was born most of that strife was history, but not forgotten history. It missed me by that <holding thumb an index finger a half inch apart> much. I was too young to remember the hardships.

I never forgot the stories. I knew history had a way of repeating itself in various forms. The World Wars were dubbed the war that would end all wars was not true. Did wars end, no, but we don't feel the impact as a society as we once did.Years spent hiding under a desk in mock atomic blast drills are still in my memory. Not that a desk would stop annihilation from a nuclear bomb, but it might protect us from some falling debris. Money would never be as tight as the Great Depression, or will it? Where are we now? Very close.

So when I became the parent, I wanted my children to know a life of ease, but not forget the past. While I passed on the stories from their grands and great-grand, I began implementing my own strategy of what I would do if it happened again. My Momma always told me never to forget there would be an again. I started researching ways to put food up for long storage, making friends with people who knew these things, and studied hard because now the future was in my hands. I've devote my whole adult life to this concept of again.

Not that the errors of the past have repeated themselves in my life, but maybe in my adult children or grandchildren's lives. They will be armed for that eventuality. My stores are not for some future calamity, but comfort for daily living the smart way. But if there were ever a crisis on a global scale, we would survived.

Now that I've covered the background information into my current mindset let's get on to my present condition. My stores that I have been collecting and rotating for years has come in pretty handy in the past nine months to the day of my stroke.  Imagine you have a grocery store, albeit small, in your home. How often do you need to go shopping? How much do you really have to cook from scratch or chop vegetables? Especially, if you have them pre-chopped and frozen or dehydrated already? My stores are my life line. It saves me money and it's practical. Yes, my stores will eventually run low and I'll have to replace them.

That's why I still coupon and weekly grocery shop. Granted I'm not hitting ten stores to get the best price even free anymore, but still I'm replenishing what we are using. My garden died last year, but I had enough in stores to handle that. In my book, I talked about putting up my stores with twenty mouths to feed for six months to a year, how much do you think two mouths would have depleted the supplies? That's right, not much. My storeroom still looks like this and that's with my children pulling for their families too. By the way, this is two shelves out of ten.

But Jo, you are a hemiplegic. No, I can't shop by myself anymore, but my children are beside me learning as I go. Then they are  leading by example for their children by practicing the same preparedness behavior.  I don't object to spending good money for something I need or want, but I'll squeeze a penny until it screams for mercy. If I need a new computer, I'll buy a new computer as good or better than I want for a great price. I have valuable knowledge to impart on the future generations.

After my stroke I bought one of those slice-o-matic things that you see on TV. I couldn't justify the price before when I had a knife and skills to use it. But now, it's about convenience. I can pop vegetables in it and slice away to my heart's content for my dehydrator.  Perfect uniformed slices every time and with one hand. So I can continue taking advantage of BOGO (buy one get one free) sales.

While I finally had to fork out the cash for a new stove, my solar oven and twig stove are dismantled for future use. Yes, it is an added drain on electricity from my solar panels but that's why I didn't totally go off of my regular electricity server. I'd planned for total off-the-grid living for our property. It may be a few years for that move. At least until I can get one of my children's family to move out there with us. That doesn't stop my son-in-law from building the trailer homes for the property though.

My stroke was a bump in the road. Eventually, I'll figure out a way to do all the things before or regain the use of limbs that don't work like gardening on a large scale instead of in raised pots. Until then, I'll keep plugging away at my new book, have the knowledge I do, and do what I can.

Are you prepared?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Sunday Stroke Survival ~ One-handed Gift Wrapping.

I love Christmas! All the lights, the smell of a fresh Fir tree, the smell of orange marmalade cooking and waiting to be jarred (okay so I have help this year doing this). It's my favorite time of year. Besides Easter, 4th of July and Thanksgiving it's the only time during the year when three generations of family can all get together under one roof. Sadly until now, I've knitted, needle worked, crocheted, quilted, cut and sewed Christmas presents for all my loved ones.

One year it was silk embroidered blouses and monogrammed handkerchiefs. Another year was hand stitched quilts. Sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves galore for another year....think it's no small feat? Try making fifty sets for  Christmas. Add the crocheted or knitted Christening gowns and I've been a busy lady. I lost count how many quilts I've made for family.

 The wrappings were a work of art also with pleated wrapping papers, ribbon poinsettias, or cut work ribbon and gift cards. So now it leaves me wondering how to do these extra special touches one-handed.

It's bad enough that Christmas is store bought which breaks a tradition, but no fancy wrappings from Jo/Aunt Jo/Grandma? Say it isn't so.

Okay, so I can tie my own shoes so long as it is off my foot. It took me several months of trial and error to accomplish that feat. Christmas presents tied with a bow like shoes and stick on bows just hasn't been done in years! I'll have to think of something special soon because I have everyone's Christmas stashed in one corner in my office and bedroom closet...Shhh! don't tell anyone.

Why have something plain when extra touches makes it look so grand? Maybe because it's beyond me right now might be a handy excuse. I've been making a lot of excuses lately. Probably more than I've made in my entire life and over all it's been because of my stroke.

The darn stroke has changed everything in my life! It's not forgotten only lying dormant along with the use of my right side in a damaged brain. I want to yell at my right side to wake up already and move. I dream of the movement I want to accomplish only to wake up and nothing has changed. If hard work equals results, where is it? That's my fifteen minutes on the pity pot. I'm done.

On a brighter front, I hit 25,000 words on my nonfiction, Don't Get Your Panties in a Wad. So there is progress on the book, if not my body. My little sister says it is the book I was born to write after she read part of it. It doesn't hurt it was her idea in the first place. Probably next Sunday I'll post the "hair" excerpt so stay tuned. I'm still looking at a ton of editing for cohesiveness not to mention grammar. The outline for this book will help with that.

What do you notice different about the cover. Yep, I finally changed the author name. Everything is as it should be except for finishing the rough, oh so rough, draft. It has taken me five months. My typing is almost 30 WPM. Yeah and yippee for me!

So what are your challenges this week?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.