The Night Shift.

Well, I have been working the night shift (7pm-7am) for a few weeks now, and to be honest, I don't know if I am coming or going. I am truly having a difficult time adjusting to it. (the extra shifts I picked up probably doesn't help much either) It is so bizarre working over night, I catch myself doing crazy things like picking up the phone to call my sister. (something I am used to doing at work) HOLD ON!! It is 3 am, she will surely kill me for this. Our unit has all of these glass doors and windows so that we can see all of our patients, When the lights are turned off the place fills with all of these creepy reflections. I can't tell you how many times my own reflection has made me jump! And waking people up to do things to them in the middle of the night isn't very nice either. I do work in an intensive care unit, so most of my people are happily sedated. But not all of them are. I remember being in the hospital and being woken up every 2 hours to have my blood pressure taken. It is annoying, and is it really necessary all the time? Surely not for every patient. Anyway, this shift is not agreeing with my body at all. I dont know when to sleep or eat, I am sleeping when I used to eat, and eating when I used to sleep, so therefore, I am never really hungry or tired. I just pray that I can figure this out, because I need to make some money to pay off these doctors who treated me! To get our stability back will be priceless. Stay tuned for more night shift antics!!

The Law of the Garbage Truck

This was sent to me in an e-mail, I thought it was too good not to share!!

"One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in
the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right
in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the
other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.
And I mean he was really friendly."

"So I asked, "Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car and
sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now
call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck.""

"He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll
dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well,
and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at
home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let
garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so love the people who treat you right and pray for the ones who don't."

Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don’t need me to tell you what to do. You’re God-taught in these matters. Just love one another!
1 Thessalonians 4:9

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Mathew 6:43-47

Getting to Know the New Me.

"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us,,,for when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn can be an encouragement to you." 2-Corinthians 1:4,6.
I am changed spiritually because of my cancer journey. Suffering does that to you if you let it! I am a different, better person because of the suffering I have endured. I have more compassion, more empathy, more patience and more mercy. I am finding that my story has great power to uplift people who may be struggling with something. It may not even be cancer that they are dealing with, but my story always seems to reassure them that despite all odds, there is always hope. I believe that God has a hand in my recovery, I am supposed to use the comfort he has given me to comfort others, just as the bible says. Trust me, this way of thinking comes in handy as a nurse!
I have faced a tremendous challenge.
I have come face to face with my own mortality.
I have endured difficulties that I never thought I could.
I have learned, with the help of God, to distinguish between the important stuff and unimportant stuff.
I know better than most that life is indeed a gift not to be wasted.
It took being thrown under the "cancer-bus" to push me into the arms of God. Who else do you go to with a problem that HUGE? As long as I live I will be afraid that that bus is coming for me again, something survivors face everyday. But I will live each day like it is my last, I will speak to everyone as if I may never see them again, and I will continue to share my story of hope and faith with anyone who needs to hear it.
"So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall, but will become strong." Hebrews 12:12-13

Light the Night 2008

For those of you who remember, Last year the walk was in October, and we froze!! This year it is on September 26th at The Crossing Park in Colonie. I am prepared this year!! No Last minute scrambles for organization this time!!

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds lifesaving cancer research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and many other types of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants, that have helped patients live better, longer lives. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving the quality of life. Without LLS, adequate, standard, and lifesaving treatments for Hodgkin's Lymphoma may never have been discovered.


But more research is critically needed:

-Every five minutes someone is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

-Leukemia causes more deaths among children than any other cancer.

-Nearly 20,000 Americans died from lymphoma in 2007.

(I was lucky!)

-The survival rate for myeloma is just 34 percent.


Please make a donation to support my participation in the Light The Night Walk and help save lives. Be sure to check my Web site frequently to see my progress, and thanks for your support! Below is the link to the donation site, I also put the link on this page. (simply click Light The Night 2008) If you are interested in walking with me, Please leave a comment. So far, I know that it is on September 26th this year, so it should be warmer than last year, other details to follow!!! I would also like to have shirts made for our group.."Michons Troop".

(And be WAY more organized than last year!!)

https://www. active. com/donate/ltnAlbany/2433_mloubier

"Wrecks"

While I was in the hospital last September, my stepson Kevin asked me if he could bring home a puppy.
He pleaded his case, and in my fragile state, I caved and said yes. Mind you, we already have two yappy chihuahuas not to mention the two cats (one of which with only three legs). I met Rex when I came home a few days later.
He was black with gold flecks in his fur, he had big grey-blue eyes and he wasnt THAT little, at 10 weeks and 20 pounds. I guess I had forgot to ask what kind of puppy he was. It quickly became clear to me that he was a pitt bull.
I had known all along that I would end up providing all of the care to this creature, as Kevin and Norm were working full-time, and I would be at home everyday for the next few months undergoing chemotherapy.
I soon changed his name from Rex to Wrecks, he was like a bull in a china shop. He grew so fast! At his first vet appointment, the vet actually said "Whoa! He is gonna be a big guy!". Now he is Eight months old and around 75-80 pounds and still growing. The problem is, that he was raised with two Chihuahuas, and subsequently thinks he is one. (Not a good thing to have Wrecks jump up on your lap!) We are now the best of friends, though he does try my patience from time to time. Like how he waits till I am asleep to stick his big girraffe-like tongue up my nose! He is very intelligent, and surprisingly gentle and loving.
I think this breed has gotten a bad name by being forced to fight under the control of bad people. I must admit however, that a dog like Wrecks takes a LOT of work. I speant many afternoons teaching him to sit, stay, shake, heal. I saved him from the pound, and he helped me to keep my mind off of being sick. Wrecks has never seen me as a "cancer patient". He is a proud and majestic animal who deserves every bit of love and respect he has been given. This beautiful, but nutty dog holds a very special place in my heart. He is truly my best friend. (A title that he shares with Norm!)