Good News

I had my bone scan on Monday. I always get a CD of any scans I have. I came home, put the CD in and read my scan. My reading was exactly the same as that of the radiologist. Degenerative arthritis of both feet, both knees (right > left), both elbows, both shoulders, and cervical spine. My lower spine is fine as our my hips. I walk a lot plus I have very strong bones so that's probably why those areas are fine. My left finger, which I broke in April, is still not healed so lots of uptake there. But no evidence of cancer in the bones. This is great news, as those who are on the cancer journey can attest. I still have pain in my left arm but as long as it's not mets I can deal with it. My next set of scans will be a MRI of liver in January, then CT of liver and lungs in July.

I need to get busy packing for our trip to Colombia on 7 October. We can only each take 1 small suitcase because we'll be driving from Bogota to Ibague, and cars there just aren't that big. I have a few small suitcases but they are cloth so I will probably go buy one that is hard plastic. You don't want cloth suitcases when flying out of Colombia since it's very easy for others to make a small slit and hide cocaine. Then workers at the Miami or whatever airport you fly into it remove it. But the dogs can still smell it and so of course you could end up being charged with smuggling.

I still have to find a dress to wear to the blacktie affair we're going to in Ibague. I'm not one to shop, it's a form of penance to me. I'll take my dgtr-in-law with me as I trust her taste and opinion. I don't trust mine at all.

I still need to make it to the mall to look at cell phones and find a new carrier. It won't be today. It will probably be next week.

Cell Phones

I got my 1st cell phone about 14 years ago. It was a very basic phone and the plan was a government plan, $10/month. I decided to get a cell phone because I frequently drove through a 40 mile stretch of a national forest in northern Wisconsin. I hit a deer one night, fortunately no real damage but I knew I might not be so lucky next time. I hardly ever used the phone for the first 8 years or so. It was strictly for travel. I had 60 minutes daytime use, 60 minutes night use. Eventually both the phone and plan were discontinued. I got a new phone and a new plan. Naturally there were no $10 plans left. I currently have a Samsung phone and Sprint PCS. It's about $29/month but after taxes and misc charges it's about $35/month. This month there was an extra charge of $30 for downloaded ring tones. I spent 24 minutes on the phone with Sprint to request that these charges be dropped. I have no extra ring tones and no downloads show up in my history. I have no clue where these charges came from. Well, the customer service representative refused to delete the charges.

So tomorrow, or more likely on Tuesday, I'm going to a Sprint store, show them the phone, and see if they can do something. If not, I'm cancelling Sprint. I have to decide what company to go with. One of my sons has ATT and likes it. My other son and his wife have Team Mobile and like it. They all have plans with a ridiculous number of minutes so they pay more than I can afford. I don't need a lot of minutes. The problem is there are so few plans that are cheap. I don't need a phone with all the bells and whistles either. If anyone knows of a cheap plan let me know.

Tomorrow I go for a bone scan. I have bone pain in my left upper arm. It's been present about 2 months. The plain films were normal. My oncologist feels a bone scan needs to be done since early metastasis usually doesn't show up on a plain film but will on a bone scan. I am not unduly worried. If I have bone mets then I'll just deal with it.

Today I've been just plain tired and ache all over. The weather was quite humid. Since developing severe pulmonary problems I find I simply cannot tolerate humidity. And of course autumn, my favorite season, is the one that most triggers my allergies. But I'm alive and that is always a good thing to be. And in 2 weeks I leave for Colombia, can't wait. I love it there.

The Smack Group

Well, it seems the anonymous crowd at smackblog(http://scrapsmack.blogspot.com/) are curious as to whether I have a blog. Well, I have two but to date hadn't yet posted. So I guess it's time to start.

So, I am retired as if you couldn't figure that out from the blog title. I worked as a R.N. for 40 great years. I had to retire due to poor health. I had planned to work another 10 years. I was sad about retiring but then my son and his wife had a beautiful baby boy 6 days before my retirement date so now I am a SAHG: stay at home grandmother. He'll go to a Spanish speaking daycare part time when he's older. For his first year he's with me when he's not with Mami and Papi. In 2 weeks the 4 of us head to Colombia to visit family there. This will be the baby's 2nd trip, he first visited at a month. My son is Colombian and is reunited with both birthparents there. His wife is Colombian, all her family is there. Vive Colombia.

If there's anything you anonymous smackers need to know just ask. I might answer, I might not.

Today's quote: "Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all." Archbishop Romero