Three Little Birds   

by:  Bob Marley

“Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin’: “Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right!”

Rise up this mornin’,
Smiled with the risin’ sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin’ sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin’, (“This is my message to you-ou-ou:”)

Here’s a picture of My Three Little Birds wishing you a belated Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  P.S.  Sal plays this song for the kids on their way to school in the morning.  We might be raising some Rastas!

 

As I was trying to think of a title for this post, a bunch of things popped into my head:  The Heat is On; A Spiritual Reflection; Out of the Closet; Don’t Worry, Be Happy; She’s a Brick……House; All Things Must Pass; and A Patient’s Perspective.  Give me a second and I’ll explain.  But, before I go on, I wanted to wish my oldest daughter, Jameson, a Happy 6th Birthday!  Jameson’s birthday is March 26.  We partied like kindergarten rock stars last weekend!

 

 

 

The Heat is On:  So much has happened since I last wrote.  I’m sorry that it’s been so long, but life has been bonkers!  In a good way, though.  Life is for the living so keep on truckin’!  I had my ovaries removed on March 15.  Sal and I stayed in Hotel Slumsylvania again for convenience sake thinking that I would have to be at the hospital for 5:30am.  As it turns out, I didn’t need to be there until 9:15am, so we slummed it for nothing!  We had a date night on Thursday evening.  I was a cheap date being that I was using a colon prep and could only have clear liquids for 24 hours prior to the procedure!  We walked up to Penn’s campus and saw Oz-The Great and Powerful in 3D.  It was a good movie and it was nice to be out, just the 2 of us.  So, getting back to our shit hole of a hotel – on the morning of the procedure, I heard Sal scream a profanity from the bathroom followed by, “You’re  not going to believe this.  Oh my God, Barb, you had to see this to believe it.”  Not surprisingly, a very long water bug crawled up out of the sink drain while Sal was shaving.  That place is such a dump.  I can’t believe that we’ve stayed there twice.

I started radiation on Wednesday, March 20, and will continue until the end of May.  It’s longer than we originally anticipated but it’s because of the type of radiation that I’m receiving.  I’m receiving tomotherapy which is a newer type of radiation therapy.  I receive very intense radiation at the beginning of treatments and less intense, more specific radiation towards the end of treatment.  Because of my age, Dr. Peters, my radiation oncologist, was concerned about radiating my heart, specifically the left anterior descending artery.  He did 4 simulations and liked me on the tomotherapy the best.  I texted some of college roommates to let them know what radiation sounds like.  During my last four years of college, myself and 4 other girls, stayed in a house on South 42nd Street in West Philadelphia.  Sal and I drove through the campus a month or so ago and we still can’t believe that my parents let me go there!  Anyway, as you can imagine, our college house was no Ritz Carlton!  My bedrooms (yes, I had 2 bedrooms because they were so small) were up on the third floor of the house.  At one point, it was literally raining into my bedroom.  Knowing what I know now, our house probably needed a new roof 10 years before we moved into it!  Also, there were squirrels in the walls of the house.  We were able to hear them running through the walls, especially at night.  I know – classy place!  Anyway, for 5 minutes every day, Monday through Friday, I feel like I’m back on S. 42nd St.  Radiation sounds like squirrels running through the walls of my old West Philly house.  Good times!

So, part of tomotherapy is getting a CAT Scan prior to every treatment.  They do this to make sure that everything is aligned perfectly.  The CAT Scan takes about 4 minutes and the radiation, itself, takes exactly 4.7 minutes.  During radiation I usually pray.  I always say a Hail Mary, a Memorare, and a prayer to St. Peregrine.  I pray to Mary all of the time.  Here’s my reasoning.  Let’s face it – it doesn’t matter how old we are, our mothers always tell us what to do.  I would imagine that the same holds true for Jesus.  I figure that if I pray to Mary and her mother, Ann, Jesus is getting nagged from his mother and his grandmother!  Side note:  all of this holds true unless you’re a Greek or an Italian male.  Then, your mother thinks you’re perfect.  Oh, you know it’s true!  So, I’m hoping that Jesus is neither Greek or Italian.  Sorry, Nicole A.!!  Jesus is most likely Irish!!

 

 

A Spiritual Reflection:  The weirdest thing happened on our way home from Philadelphia last Friday.  I had my procedure done on March 15 – The Ides of March and my Dad’s 8 year death anniversary.  I feel that if you allow yourself to be open to it, you can have moments of extreme clarity – some very spiritual moments as well.  When I was a kid, someone bought me a Snoopy record player.  There was a little plastic device that you could put on the player that allowed one to play 45’s (the really small records).  My Dad had a ton of them.  I remember listening to The Beatles and The Beach Boys on my record player quite often.  The 45’s had one song on one side and another song on the opposite side.  I thought that I was so cool walking around with a case full of records.  Anyway, another song that I listened to all of the time was called The Unicorn by the Irish Rovers.  It’s a pretty terrible song but that’s besides the point.  I don’t think I’ve heard this song since 1985, but it came on the radio while we were headed home on 76.  Tell me that wasn’t my Dad saying hello.

As I’ve been going through all of this, I’ve seen some really sick people out there.  I saw a woman at U Penn a few weeks back who looked awfully sick.  She was in the waiting area with, what appeared to be her husband and her son.  I couldn’t look at them because I was afraid that I was going to start crying.  I started saying a prayer for the woman and her family immediately.  It makes me feel better when I pray.  I’ve seen some really sick looking people in the radiation waiting area, as well.  I do pray every night and I ask God to be merciful in sparing me a recurrence.  I want to devote the rest of my life to my husband and children.  Sal and I joke quite often that if our kids are messed up, we want it to be because of the 2 of us, no one else!

 

 

Out of the Closet:

Above is a picture of Chase and I taken last week after I read to his Pre-K class.  His teacher was kind enough to send it to me.  I stopped wearing Sugar not too long ago.  She looks like she’s been involved in a nasty ass bar fight.  Really.  I decided to stop hiding under hats, too.  I haven’t hidden from anyone or anything up until this point, so enough is enough.  So, I’m out of the closet!  I’m here……it’s short……get used to it!  Everyone has been commenting about my texture and color, too.  My hair is coming back with a vengeance – very thick.  I can’t say too much about the color.  I’ve been getting my hair highlighted since high school, so I have no idea what my real hair color is.  If my hair started coming back purple I can’t say that I’d be surprised!  Well…..ok……I would be surprised, but you get the message!  I have an appointment with my friend, Nacole, to get it dyed or highlighted next Thursday.  It could use to be a bit brighter.  We’re going to spice it up a notch – BAM!

 

 

Don’t Worry, Be Happy:  I can literally count on one hand the number of things that I actually give a shit about!  Things that used to bother me don’t get to me at all anymore.  You should see my house.  It’s a wreck – by my standards.  Our bedroom is a mess, I haven’t cleaned the kids closets in months, and the laundry is piled sky high.  I started taking on the attitude of – it will get done when it gets done.  I’ll get to it eventually.  It’s been much more important for me to live – be at the kids school, spend time with my family and friends, enjoy life rather than worry about this stupid crap.  Who cares!

So, they don’t know it yet, but I’ve selected my neighbor and friend, Holly, to be my fitness life coach and my neighbor, cousin, and friend, Anne, to be my organic guru life coach!  I’m going to be bugging you guys really soon.  I’ve had a cold for the past 2 weeks which is why I haven’t started running yet, but I’d love to run the Pittston YMCA 5K at the end of May.  Stay tuned!

I went to Weight Watchers yesterday and am 2 pounds below my high goal weight.  I still have 15 more pounds to go.  So, let’s dispel the rumors now before they start.  No, I’m not sick.  Yes, I can still afford to lose 15 more pounds.  No, I’m not obsessed with losing weight, but the Fisher stubbornness and determination is a force to reckoned with!  My mind is fixated on a healthy BMI and I will not stop until I get to it.  I’m doing everything in a healthy manner.  I’m not starving myself.  Any other ridiculous thoughts that you might have, please ask me.  Just know that Weight Watchers does work if you’re interested in losing weight in a healthy manner.  I didn’t cheat to get to where I am right now.  I paid a high price starting in August 2012 with 20 weeks of chemo followed by 2 major surgeries followed by radiation followed by more treatments.  I’ve been working really, really hard to get healthy.  I’ll trade you!!

 

 

She’s a Brick……House:  I cracked myself up when I thought of this title!  Anyway, I have some information to provide in this section.

6th Annual Liberty Tax Fundraiser:

Pre-Tournament Mixer

When: Friday, May 24, 2013 Time: 6-9 PM

Where: The Brickhouse, Dupont, PA

$5 donation at the door which includes raffle tickets for Baskets of Cheer

Raffle baskets, 50/50, drink specials

 

6th Annual Golf  Tournament

Benefiting Breast Cancer Awareness in honor of Barb Sciandra

Where: Stone Meadows Golf Course (Route 115 Buck Township) Dupont VFW (Dinner)

When: Saturday, May 25, 2013 8 AM Registration, 9 AM Shotgun Start

Format: Captain & Crew

Cost: $80 per golfer (Fees include: green fees, cart, dinner, shirt and prizes) $20 dinner only option

Sponsor Levels: $100 (Gold), $50 (Silver)

For more information, contact Jeanna Mihalka at 570-237-0521.

Our friends were also kind enough to set up and online donation site if you wish to do so.  The following is the link:   http://www.donationto.com/Liberty-Tax-Barb-Sciandra-Fundraiser

 

I wanted to also give a quick shout out for Sal’s cousin, Attorney Qiana Murphy Lehman, who is running for magisterial district judge.  Her district includes Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Hughestown, and Pittston.  Qiana is a great attorney and is a wonderful wife, mother, and friend.  Please visit her website for more information on her campaign and don’t forget to vote!  qianafordistrictjudge.nationbuilder.com

 

 

All Things Must Pass:  I’m not sure if any of you have seen any recent interviews with Valerie Harper.  Harper was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer on January 15, but she made an excellent point in one of her interviews.  She stated that we’re all terminal.  Think about it.  We’re all going to die.  Every single one of us.  Am I going to die sooner than you?  I don’t know.  Are you going to die in a car crash on your way to work?  I don’t know.  Are you going to choke on your dinner tomorrow night?  Who knows!  The thing is, since we’re all terminal and none of us know when it’s going to happen, we should probably just try to ignore the fact that the end is coming at some point or another and we should try to sit back and enjoy the ride!

“Don’t go to the funeral until the day of the funeral.  Live this day.”  – Valerie Harper

 

 

A Patient’s Perspective:  A letter is coming soon!  Stay tuned!

 

The following quote is hanging on the wall in the changing room of NROC, my radiation center.  I wanted to share it with all of you.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”  – Frederick Keonig

Have a wonderful evening and a very Happy and Healthy Easter from my family to yours!

LIVESTRONG and God Bless!