Okay, it's been a lot of fun with the don't you just hate it thread (and please feel free to keep it going - I still enjoy it immensely) but it is admittedly negative. Today's Friday, time to get into the Island spirit (I know it's a different forum but I can smell the roasting pig over here)for the weekend.
so don't you just love it when someone says something insightful and empathic about our cancer experience even though they don't have cancer nor are they a caregiver ? I do and to start the ball rolling, here is one email comment to me from a friend:

[quote]How about your internal reflective process? I can scarcely imagine the range of emotions, and rational and irrational thoughts, you must be experiencing. It's like a sh**ty roller coaster ride - it has it moments of thrills, but not as many as it needs to have, and all in all, you just wish you could get off and sit on a bench somewhere and enjoy the day
[/quote]
I hope we all have had a least one positive moment to share.

Peace and Love
Charm

I can't think of a specific quote but the friends and family who have gotten closer too is priceless. I talk to my cousins more who live in MA and FL more and my uncle in CO. It really warms my heart.

I loved all the support I received from my school last year. They even brought a card over on mother's day with $70 in it to help buy ice cream and things like that so i could eat. It meant so much to me during that difficult. I really do love me school. I have a Teacher Assistant this year and she always ask if my mouth is feeling okay. It was actually kind of strange. She noticed I was eating on one side and asked if that was because I had pain on the other side. Such a wonderful assistant and really concerned.

I have found that a simple "How are you now?" from my new patients that I tell my story to, is very sincere and touches me greatly.

Jerry

I love that I found these forums and the friendships I have made. I found this site in January and have been on here almost everyday since!!!

I have a great support group on here, at church and one of the best is Little Sisters school kids in Chicago that kept encouraging me thru Lil sis and her emails. That was fantastic to me to have so many young ones cheering me on.

don't you just love it when an old school friend you haven't seen in 15 years bumps into you and says: "you haven't changed and look really well!"
This happened to Martin, yesterday he saw a girl (well woman now I suppose) he went to school with. Martin pointed out the scar and told her what had happened, and she was genuinely surprised and said "well you certainly look well now!" Oh and they were born on the same day.
He was so shuffed he told me as soon as i walked through the door. He's been smiling since then.

I don't have a quote but I love the good I have seen in people. Steve and I had a 2500km road trip to make to get him to a good hospital and to have us near family. My work rallied around and raised enough money to fund our entire trip. Fuel, accommodation and food plus some extra. They figured we had enough to worry about so they wanted to help in some way to take the pressure off us. I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity and caring they showed us (most of whom had never met Steve as I worked for a very large company with 700 + employee's in my building alone).

It's a tradition at my job that on halloween the supervisors cook breakfast for everyone. Last haloween, knowing that I could not eat solid food, one of the supervisors brought me a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream. Yum.

Wendy...that is so awesome!! It's great to work people so kind....you must be very well liked:)

Suzanne, it was amazing. They even raised enough money to buy both Steve and I really beautiful watches as a going away gift and in total I think they raised $1500 cash for us to travel on. An amazing group of people, the best I've ever worked with. Miss them all every day still.

I have to add to this. I was abot to use a teachable moment the other day at school. I was reading a math to test to soem of my special ed. student, they are 8th graders, and one of them asked me where i was from. They said that I had a cool accent. It made me laugh a little. I told those girls that there is a good reason why I have an accent, and I told them that if they wanted to know they could ask me after class. Both of the girls came up to me and asked me. I told them that I had part of my tongue cut off in April due to cancer. They seemed amazed because they had never heard of tongue cancer, but wanted to know more about it. I loved that they thought i had a cool accent. It brightened my day.

Don't you just LOVE it when... you get excellent service.

Yesterday I was at a pharmacy looking for a particular dry mouth product which is not available at all pharmacies. They didn't have any of it in stock and the pharmacist ducked behind the counter and tapped into her computer and in 2 seconds she said "we can have that in for you on Monday, and if you are unable to come back into the store we can deliver it to your home at no extra cost".

How good is that, and the product only costs $8 !!!

Karen

...you meet people IN PERSON that you have gotten to know on this website? Go to an OCF event and meet your OCF buddies!

Anita

Anita,

It is truly a wonderful feeling. Meeting you and Chuck yesterday was very special. Susan and Harry are old friends already and it's going to be great to have you at the David Nasto Memorial walk in Sept. I'm hoping that ChristineB, Ray, Suzanne and and Susan2992 as well as some others will be there, too. Suemarie has been there both years also.

Alex and I have been diagnosed since early March so the outpouring of concern and support is still overwhelming. So I have a list of people who do things I love
Work for giving me whatever time I need.
My own boss who reiterates on a daily basis the need to look after Alex as a priority and don't worry about work - all under control.
People from the managing director to the coffee cart guy who ask after Alex and listen to the answer.
My assistant who just makes decisions for me and tells me what she has done when I finally show up.
My reports who ring or text weekly to say they are fine and nothing to worry about instead of ringing daily with demands and requests.
My colleagues who tell me I look like I need a hug and do.
Our friends in Melbourne who send text messages - not requiring answers -just "thinking of you" type messages.
My parents who immediately recognised a looming financial crisis and dropped money into my account without a word (took me awhile to realise where it came from).
My work mate who leaves notes on my desk to tell me she has left some corned beef/spaghetti/chicken/lasgne in the fridge for me which turns out to be a whole plated dinner that just needs reheating.
My old school friends who invite me to everything knowing full well I can't go but still invite me anyway.
The concern of the oncology ward staff, the community professionals and the doctors is just amazing. How do they do it for everyone, dozens of times a day, week in week out?

Glad to see newer members like Klo checking out these old threads. Newcomers may not remember Pete D, who is now having a terrible time of it (you can go to Friends forum and get the caringbridge link posted by Christine if you want to cheer him up). What I love is the spirit and sense of humor expressed by Pete that still shines thru the cancer. Here is a poem his daughter shared on their Caringbridge journal that he used to recite over and over to her as a child

[quote]As I arose one morning when all sweet things are born,
a robin perched upon my sill to signal the coming morn.

The bird was fragile, young and gay - so sweetly did it sing,
that thoughts of joy and happiness into my heart did bring.

And as it sang its cheery song, I slowly crept up out of bed.
I gently closed the window and crushed his *frakking head.

[/quote]

Of course I am biased as Pete was also a BSG fan as his daughter explained:
[quote]
*as a child it was "goshdarn", he updated it recently after three seasons of Battlestar Galactica to Frak. [/quote]

charm

I think that my group of friends at Schnauzer Love Rescue saved my life. My husband is not the type to realize that I needed a specialist to get me out of ICU after 11 days. A couple of members of our group researched and found the Best Pulmonary Doctor. They then explained to him how to demand they call him in to see me. The hospital agreed and within an hour of his visit I began to improve and haven't stopped yet.
If they had not done that I am not sure I would be alive today!

....you read such positive posts on the forum!!!!!


Anita, cant wait til the fall to finally get to meet you and your husband at Susan L's walk. There is another walk the following week in Bethlehem most of the same people will be attending too

Christine,

I am looking forward to meeting you in person. I haven't posted here very much lately, but I do read what others are writing. I will write an update soon.

Anita

Ive missed your posts but, I know you are very busy right now. Hope everything is ok with both you and Clark.

I love all the support I get here at the OCF forum! I also love getting to know everyone at a deeper level than most of my friends. It is so open and honest here, no masks that I have found and better yet no need to put one on!

WendyS.

As the Holiday season approaches, bringing with it unique challenges to OCF members, I'm bumping this thread back up. It was fun and sad to reread the prior entries here. (miss Pete D)
It was so annoying this morning to log onto the forum and see a poster from Nigeria touting a cure for flesh eating antibiotic resistant Staph infections.
I loved it when I hit the notify button and the reply was that a moderator had already been told. Even better, as I returned back to "active posts", DavidCPA had already deleted the post.
I love that OCF forum is free of spam, bogus cures, and herbal pitches. All the red letter people (admins) are so good here.
Charm

I'm fast!! Maybe a tad too fast as I inadvertently deleted BooBoo thinking I was deleting the Nigerian scammer! Doesn't appear that there is anyway I can contact her and say "I messed up and please re register." I hope she comes back.

OK I found her and sent her an e mail so I hope she forgives me and comes back.

My bad.

Ok David..slowly step away from the delete button and say three times..."I will never delete a perfectly good poster again!"

I think I beat Charm to the notify button this am...really p****sed me off to read the post from Nigeria..jeez..I get enough of that crap in my spam box.

Thanks for the delete on that one David.

Deb

oh you don't even want to get me started with them sonsabeeches! i was one of those folks who got scammed...long story but it was an ad on the internet selling a 1971 old 98 ls that belonged to my son, this was in 2003 just when they started their stupid scams and we weren't aware of yet...and everybody told me it was legit when i questioned friends and family...but i felt something...even the bank had no clue til it was all said and done, I swear if I could get my hands on that $%^^& he would never pee again!

I just love the support I have received from our community. I was able to play Mrs. Santa Claus Saturday night and tell stories to children waiting to see Santa. (I'm the town librarian.) One of the volunteers told me she thought that I was only 50! (I'm 65.) It made my day! I am also blessed to have a group of ladies who will conduct a "tea" for me in January. They will come to my house, cook and make tea and set everything up. The group does this for women that they feel need some encouragement. They were going to do this last year, but I wasn't eating much then. What a group of great people!

"& he would never pee again!"

That's funny!!!