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It's
hard to believe this year is almost over! Just last week, on
December 3rd it was a full year since we left Alaska to head down the frozen Alaska Highway to
our new home in Oregon.
Things have happened very fast since we arrived, and a week’s
delay in getting into our home on our arrival was frustrating. Then,
when we did get in, we were faced with such a mess it was daunting.
We
spent the next two months in southern California with my aging and ill
mother, working with my aunt Sami and brother Everett to make her as
comfortable as possible, allow her to stay at home, and work to improve
her condition. In spite of
all our best efforts she died March 10, 2004, and although we should
have been prepared for it, somehow we were not.
We all miss her a lot. In another two weeks we came home to
resume unpacking. A
full two years before moving we’d weighed our options regarding
retirement; Jim’s health precluded continuing with what he was doing,
but we knew that between us we would not have enough money to live, and
felt that we were most knowledgeable and best suited for real estate
investment to supplement our meager retirement pay.
We’d done some of this successfully in Fairbanks, and knew it
was something we could do, but the real estate market there was not
really conducive to our plans. In
2003, when we came to Oregon for cancer treatment, we spent a great deal
of time between office visits traveling the state looking for the best
location for us. The place we began, Central Oregon, fit that bill
perfectly, along with being the most suited to our other needs and
tastes. It’s experiencing rapid growth, and there are very good
opportunities to develop a successful business that’ll make properties
available to people who don’t fit into the normal “realtor-client,
bank finance” situation. Thus, we determined it was the place to
begin. Accordingly,
in May of this year, we bought an investment house.
It needed more work than what we’d planned to focus on, but the
price was right and it presented itself, so it became our first
investment. I have to say
it has been quite a learning experience. We located a highly recommended contractor to undertake the
remodeling of the house, and thought we were all set, but he had to back
out at the last moment (after we waited more than a month for him to be
able to begin work). After
interviewing several replacements, and finding them all wanting, Jim
determined to do the contracting, and much of the work, himself.
He’s qualified for the work, but we found that since he was not
knowledgeable about suppliers, sub-contractors, etc., it created delays.
However, we overcame these obstacles, and beginning the second week of July he went to work in earnest, working seven days a week, all day and mostly until 9pm or later every night. He found reliable people to do the sub-contracted work, but the project kept “growing,” and the time it took to finish it was much greater than we’d thought and hoped it would be. Jim’s biggest surprise was that he really enjoyed the work and the process. He also lost 22 lbs. in the process.
The
house was not finished until shortly after the first of October.
The busy summer season was already over, and we were concerned
that it might take a long time for the house to sell.
I’m happy to report that it appears to be sold now (you can
never count the money until it is in your hands).
We are through the negotiating process, final offer accepted, and
the house inspection is scheduled.
While it cost more to renovate than we thought, or planned for,
prices are up and we’re getting more for it than we’d thought, also.
Any and all prayers that this continues to be a smooth process
that comes to a successful conclusion will be appreciated!
So, other than one trip to Happy Camp to prospect for gold, just
before beginning work on this house, that was how Jim spent his entire
summer. I
spent mine differently. On our return from Happy Camp I had a very minor surgery that
was not supposed to be anything… a matter of a few days or a week to
recover. However, due to my
cancer treatment last year, my blood vessels are still not working
properly, and I was put on enforced bed rest that had to go on and on
for almost four months! Thinking
back on it, it’s a wonder I didn’t lose my mind.
But, with the help of my wonderful, helpful and loving husband,
with my cat Missy However,
the Lord has been so good to us! Just
as I was preparing to go into a major “funk” about the whole matter,
I woke up one morning to discover that I felt better.
Outside I was still very weak and frail, and I didn’t know what
the difference was due to. This
went on for almost two weeks until I happened to read back through a
journal entry made last April, writing about the incessant tiredness
that accompanies cancer, and which is magnified as a result of
treatment. It dawned on me
then; that was it! The
tiredness inside was gone. It
had been with me for years. Now,
miraculously, it was suddenly gone. I
had not been to see my oncologist since before I had appointments with
the Last
month, November, I went back to the oncologist for a checkup, and he did
another x-ray, finding that there not only was no growth, there was a
significant lessening in size and density of the ghost image we’d seen
in May. We compared the two
views, and there was no doubt. It
was wonderful news, some of the best news in a long while . Early
this year I also began attempting to get help for some new medication my
oncologist felt it was important for me to take, called Iressa.
It is a new cancer drug (not chemo) that somehow confuses live
cancer cells so they cannot recognize what to feed upon, so they die.
He felt that it would be of great benefit, if it worked, and if I
could take it. There are some people it does not work for, and there are
some who cannot take it, as it has its own side effects.
Almost 50% of those who take it get serious diarrhea, and just a
few percent less get a terrible rash (sort of like eczema, or psoriasis,
I guess) and are unable to continue. However,
all of that was irrelevant at the time, because I could not afford it.
This There
is a foundation for patient assistance, which will pay for this
medication if you qualify. So,
I began the application process. However, a number of problems
developed, and it was delayed and delayed, and delayed.
The last time I talked to them was the week prior to
Thanksgiving. I did not
hear back from them, but one day the following week a Fedex truck backed
up to the house and delivered a large envelope.
It was Iressa, and it arrived the day before Thanksgiving, a
wonderful gift to be additionally thankful for. So
far I’ve not had any problems in taking it that we’ve not been able
to handle. I did break out
in a rash immediately, but we were able to clear it up in a couple of
days. So, we’re hoping
I’ll be able to take this. There
are five refills on this prescription, and I don’t know what happens
after that, but in 2006 Medicare is supposed to begin covering it, and I
won’t have to worry about it. I
continue to have some problems, but we are taking them one day at a
time. The fact that problems continue to arise, is my biggest problem.
It has been a long haul, and I want my health back. However,
moping about it is not going to help, so I guess I’d better do
whatever I can to help get it back, and let the Lord do the rest! Yesterday
we had our first big snow (15 inches), and we decorated our Christmas We hope all of you are well and happy, and that all of your loved ones are, too.
Merry
Christmas!
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However,
with Nicole, our daughter and family arriving in less than a week, and
having to get unpacked as well as making sure none of us caught some
dread disease, we didn’t have time to think about it, we just dove in
and cleaned it up. We had a great visit with them, and they were
both very helpful for the time they were here. It's nice to see kids
become responsible adults.
as
a companion (since Jim was gone all summer), and with “the kids” as
Jim calls our large population of birds who come to feed near our back
windows, I got through it quite well. I did become frail and weak, of
course, and that was depressing.
other doctor about my minor surgery.
pill, to be taken one a day, costs $60 per pill… that adds up to $1800
per month.
tree.
