Since there have been so many inquiries about my absence...

[HeiressofBickworth]

oh, what? No inquiries? Anyone the least bit curious? How about a round of mehh.

Ok, since you have asked so nicely, I'll tell you.

I've been busy fighting cancer. Stage 4 lymphoma to be a little more specific. Started when I had pains down one leg. I don't fault the doctors -- they followed to most common and logical evidence and treated me for sciatica. Then I did the proverbial, I've fallen and I can't get up thing and wound up in the ER where they gave me pain medicine that shut my brain down to the extent that one doctor told my daughter that I was in the final stages of Alzheimers and she should just make me comfortable and let me go. Fortunately for me, she was a terrific advocate and calmer heads prevailed. In walked the savior! An oncologist who gave the diagnosis and the treatment plan which was to start the very next day. Leg problem was that a tumor ate away at my hip breaking the joint and that was why I couldn't walk. So, hospitalized for a month, six radiation treatments, chemo every 21 days, seven weeks in the third level of hell called a rehab facility (oh, the tales I could tell about that joint!) Anyway, I'm home, still can't walk very well and now they are talking about a hip replacement. Anyway, what kept me from communicating with all you nice folks was that I had such neuropathy in my hands (I was warned the chemo drugs would do that) that I couldn't feel the keyboard in order to send messages. That's better now although I'm having to correct typos in this post. Oh, the good news: cancer has been in remission since the second chemo treatment (there were a total of six).

So, anything been going on lately? Just kidding. Through everything, I managed to read DU several times a day on my phone. While I was in rehab it kept me from climbing the walls.