My vote

I am a Mormon and I am voting for Mitt Romney. 

I want to explain myself though.  I am not voting for Mitt Romney just because I am a Mormon.  There have been Mormons who have held office that I would not and didn't vote for.  Here is why I am voting for Mitt Romney and yes, being a Mormon is part of it, but probably not in the way you might think.

First, Mitt is a former stake president.  This leadership position is not one that you are elected to or ask for.  It is one that you are called by God to perform.  This means that the person who calls the stake president has been prompted to call him by the Holy Ghost.  It also means that he is honest, that he is a leader, that he believes in many moral principles that I believe in.  He has worked with rich people and poor people and has counseled them in many situations and for many reasons.  Because he is a very actively participating Mormon, he is also charitable and knows how to work hard.  I guarantee that he has done such things as paint, cut down trees, etc. as part of church service projects.  He has seen the poorest of the poor and we all know that he has seen the richest of the rich.  Because he is a very active church member, there are so many qualities that I know he possesses.

Second, Mitt is a successful business man.  This country is in a terrible spot.  We have trillions of dollars in deficits and we must bite the bullet and dig our way out.  He is going to be responsible for some terribly hard decisions, but he has the backbone to do so.  There is a story of a veteran's hospital and Mitt's visit there and his response to the needs of the hospital.  I first heard it on a Glen Beck radio show, but I found it here.  I won't repeat it.  You can read it yourself.  Many people love Reagan, but don't realize that this nation didn't love him during his reign as President.  Did you realize that when the air traffic controllers went on strike and stayed that way?  Did you know that he used his power as President to bust their union?  He was not popular when he did that, I can assure you on that.  But Reagan made those hard decisions and the country was better for it.  I feel that Romney would do the same.

Third, Mitt is a person who can negotiate.  He has told us about it in every interview and every debate.  In his state, he was governor and he was able to pass all sorts of legislation because he worked on both sides of the aisle.  Because he is honest (see number 1), he doesn't say what he is going to do, what his plan is or he seems very wishy-washy on the subject.  There is a reason.  How can he say what he is going to do, if he is going to negotiate with both parties?  He knows full well that he has to be able to work with both sides and will have to give in to others demands to get his way on others.

Fourth, Mitt has issues with speaking.  He is great at sound bites, but they are not the sound bites that he would want people to pick up on.  Now why is that a reason to vote for him?  It is purely personal.  I am just the same way.  I say things that I think are perfectly clear and self explanatory and find them being interpreted in ways that I never thought they could be.  Thus I can truly relate.  Also, some silver-tongued people are all talk with no substance or their words have completely different substance behind them.  I remember a family that I knew as a youth who were so sweet and said the nicest things, but I never trusted them.  They were too slick and polished.  Romney tries to be transparent, but gets in trouble when he does so.  I have no doubt that his "binders of women" was purely his way of letting others know that he wanted the best working for him, but wanted them to be women also.

This is but a small part of my thought processes, but it is getting late and I am starting to not make much sense.  So I am off to bed.  Night, night!  And thanks for listening (reading) my opinions.

So many readers! WOW!

Today, on a whim, I thought I would check my blog which has been seriously neglected this year and see what had been happening.  To my surprise, it has received over 11,000 lifetime hits.  How did that happen?  It makes no sense to me.

I have spent the last few months settling my sister's financial affairs and I am starting to get back in the habit of creating.  Perhaps I will start posting soon, but in the meantime, I am surprised and amazed that so many people have checked my blog out. Thanks to all of you!

If you wonder what I have been doing in my spare time, you might want to check my Pinterest account.  It is http://pinterest.com/mommysgreat/.

Jeanine goes home

Jeanine has fought her last battle with her renal cell carcinoma and lost. She passed away this morning, July 10, 2012 at 5:08 a.m. More details will follow.

Jeanine again

A few days ago, Jeanine went back to the radiation oncologist and he suggested that it was time to radiate the other tumor that he had told her about. She wanted some more time to recupe from the previous radiation, so she will go back a week from Monday and make a decision at that point.

Jeanine, my sister, Mardy, and I talked to the PA for her original oncologist today and the PA confirmed what the oncologist had already said. There is nothing more that he can do for her. Jeanine cannot have any more chemo. The PA suggested a call to a hospice. Jeanine had hoped that when/if the biliary tubes were unblocked, she could go back to her normal (for her) lifestyle. The PA inferred that it was time to quit fighting, but said that they would support her if she decided to continue to do so. The PA also said that in most cases radiation is allowed in the hospice environment when it is done to provide pain relief. Jeanine now has a big decision to make and she is the only one who can make it. The PA also told Jeanine that her bilirubin levels have risen again... It is now at 30.

Jeanine continues to live at home. Mardy and I, along with a good friend, take turns staying with her. In a couple of weeks my brother, Dave, and his wife, Laura, will move in with her for an indefinite period of time. She mostly sleeps/daydreams her days away, but every once in a while, she'll get a burst of energy and do a little cleaning or bookkeeping. She is still very aware of her surroundings and even if her eyes are closed, she knows what is going on most of the time. She enjoys visiting both on the phone and in person, but tires out quickly.

Jeanine

Last Thursday, Jeanine met with her Radiation Oncologist. He told her that as they had done the work-up on her liver, they had found that there were actually 2 tumors that could be affecting her biliary tubes. They were radiating the top one, but there is a lower one to the side that also could be causing the problem. He said that they could not radiate both at one time, it would be too hard on her liver. He told her that after her radiation was done and she has had time to recupe a little, they will check and see if radiating the other tumor is an option or is necessary.

On Friday, Jeanine went to see her Oncologist and he told her what he had told me. She is seriously ill. He told us of things to watch for. He also said that if her bilirubin goes down somewhat, she should plan on checking to see if the clinical trial would still take her. She had a blood test on Thursday and he had those results. Her bilirubin was 22. It was 7.5 when she was in the hospital 3 weeks ago. Her test a week later showed that it was 17. The normal is 1.

He also told her that her potassium levels were rising. He prescribed a medicine that she was told to drink. She got most of it down before she threw it up. When she called him back, he told her to limit her ingestion of fruit instead.

Jeanine has finished her radiation schedule as of today. She had her 5 days of radiation. We were told that it is called surgical radiation because of its pinpoint accuracy. With the exception of some extra pain and severe tiredness, she had no serious side effects.

Today the radiation tech called me into a room and told me that he wanted Jeanine to see the PA. The PA and the tech said that she is much more yellow than she was. It was no surprise to her. She had told me this morning that this was the case. The PA will talk to the radiation oncologist tomorrow and decide if she needs to see him ASAP or if she should see him next Tuesday at her regular appointment. The PA did say that the radiation takes a little time to "cook", so there is still hope that it will help.

Jeanine's next step

After Jeanine came home from the hospital, we went back to see her Oncologist. He inferred that there was one last thing that could be done to unblock her biliary tubes. He told her she needed to go to a Radiation Oncologist. While Jeanine was otherwise busy, I talked to the oncologist myself and told him that Jeanine was living by herself at home. He suggested strongly that she is in a very precarious situation until she can get the biliary tubes unblocked. He said that someone needed to be with her most of the time.

This was my cue to move in with her. I did so on Wednesday. This cannot be a long term solution, but until we find out how her radiation is working, I will be with her at her home. I am not there 24/7 but pretty close to it.

The radiation oncologist met with Jeanine on Wednesday and told her that he can do pinpoint radiation on the specific tumor blocking her tubes (or are they ducts?). He also told her that there is a "fair chance" that it will work. You see, renal cell carcinoma is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation even if it is in the liver. He estimated that the chances were 50/50. That has made for a very nervous woman.

Jeanine is still a very vibrant yellow and the whites of her eyes are a nice yellow also. She gets very tired, manages to not throw up if she takes her anti-nausea medicine, has a lot of pain, and eats like a bird, but at least she is eating, she didn't in the hospital.

Jeanine's radiation begins Tuesday and she will do 5 weekdays of high-dose radiation. The doctor expects few side effects. The ones he mentioned were extreme tiredness and nausea. They said that it won't burn her skin or anything else but the tumor. The procedure that they are doing with her was developed for brain tumors and is very precise. She would welcome your prayers.

Jeanine comes home

Thursday Jeanine came home from the hospital after a roller coaster day. For the first time during her stay, her oncologist came in to see her. We know that he had been in communication with the other doctors because they had mentioned it and yet, Jeanine took great comfort when he came in. He is extremely intelligent and wants to try everything he can to help her. We are told that he remembers each patient and their treatment history. He also remembers the various treatments that are available without needing to look them up.

He gave her some options. First he told her that they might be able to implant radiation pellets in the liver that would deliver a powerful punch to the cancer, they could use radiation to decrease the tumor in the liver, they could go ahead and do the drains, then deliver targeted therapy to the liver. The decision was made and Jeanine was sent to the intervention radiologist to have a drain installed. It was a horrible experience for her. He could not get the drains to go in. According to the radiologist and his assistant, he tried it from many angles and pushed and shoved. When I imagine it, I imagine her insides looking like swiss cheese when he was done (though with much smaller holes.) They said she would be very, very sore and she definitely is.

After she recouped somewhat from the procedure, she was allowed to return home. She was so, so grateful to get back to familiar surroundings and to the relative quiet of home so she could get some rest.

Now the interesting part, there is no doubt that she is very, very sore in her abdominal area because of the fruitless procedure she went through yesterday. Yet, she has not thrown up once since she returned home. She is eating more, though still not much. She is more alert. She even thinks she might be a little less yellow. I am not sure that is true, but I do know that she is not acting as sick as she was. During the entire time she was at the hospital, the only things done that were different than what she does at home are..

1. They gave her some saline intravenously.
2. They did an unsuccessful procedure on her liver.

Whatever the reason, we are glad for the respite.

She has an appointment with her oncologist on Monday to find out the best course of action to follow at this point.