January 3rd - February 20th - What helps me cope?

The Health Summary

During the past seven weeks, I've generally felt great. My breathing is a little better, and other than back pain following my fulvestrant injection, I've been able to do anything I've wanted. A small lump has appeared in the area where I've had multiple biopsies. I've got an appointment tomorrow to see if I need to be concerned.

Coping

I'm often ask how I cope with this. The short answer is that sometimes I cope better than others. These are some of the things I know work for me:

• minimizing stress
• getting enough sleep 
• riding my bike
• a clean house (this is one I struggle with)
• a fire in the fireplace
• blue skies
• online friends and family
• writing
• our coffee group
• acceptance of my situation
• and, of course, vacation!!!

Last week, we had the pleasure of visiting my sister, Karen, in Mt. Dora, Florida. Following her retirement, she relocated from Miami to Mt. Dora and had been asking us to visit her in her new home. We loaded up the car, bikes and dog and headed 900 miles south on the heels of a bad ice storm/snow combination here in Cincinnati.

We stayed for eight nights. The Super Bowl fell in the middle of our visit. My brother, Tom, and sister-in-law, Linda, came to Karen's so we could cheer for the Bengals in their first appearance in the Super Bowl in 31 years. Although we didn't win, it was a great game.

Mt. Dora is a beautiful small town in central Florida in Lake County. Nearby Lake Dora is part of a chain of seven lakes that eventually connect to the Atlantic Ocean. When Karen asked what we would like to do, I told her that anything with bikes or boats would be top of my list.

We researched bike trails in the area and rode on five separate days. On our last day, we rode the Wildlife Wilderness Trail that is closed to cars weekdays. We came face to face with numerous alligators and a wide diversity of birds that had migrated to the area for the winter. We also took a ride in a float plane for an overview of the Harris chain of lakes. All of us had difficulty getting our old, arthritic bodies into the plane.

Karen showed us some of the local sites, including a trip to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees. We tried to see a rocket launch (a small rocket that failed at stage separation). We drove to New Smyrna Beach where Mom and Dick used to stay each November and up to Daytona. Bill and I took a side trip to Clearwater to take his daughter, Julie, and her friend to lunch. 

Karen loves to capture sunsets over Lake Dora, so we scheduled a sunset cruise on a pontoon boat the one night that was cloudy. Twice we had dinner at a restaurant called "Pisces Rising" on the lake's shore. On those nights, the sunsets and the food did not disappoint.

I put together a few collages to give you a taste of our wonderful week. Karen is already trying to schedule a visit for next year, since she is convinced I'll "still be around." I hope she is right.