What happened??

I turned my head for just a minute and 2013 was gone and now 2014 is here.

January 2013 started like most  of the Januarys since 2006.  Jim was no longer with me.  This was the beginning of the 7th year without him.  Of course I missed him, but I have precious memories and they sustain me.

February, March and April were filled with doctor appointments but nothing  out of the ordinary.

On Memorial Day in May (Friday the 31st) my daughter went with me to my old home place to put flowers on Jims grave.   We made several stops so that I could see old friends for a short visit.  I arrived home in late afternoon.  My daughter and I had stopped at a couple of places to buy flowers, some to put around the light post at the end of my driveway and some for a planter.

My world fell apart when I opened my mail box that Friday afternoon  and I saw a big fat letter from Illinois Cancer Care announcing that I had an appointment there (located here in Pekin) on next Tuesday.  This was the first notification that I had cancer.  I told my daughter that there was surely some mistake as I hadn’t received the results of the biopsy that I had done.  I called Cancer Care and was told there was no mistake.  I had received a telephone call a couple of days earlier that I was to see the surgeon that did the biopsy on Saturday and be sure and bring someone with me..  What had happened was that his office had made the appointment for me before I had been officially notified of the results of the biopsy.

What followed was a grueling round of scans and many doctor visits including a stress test (and many other tests) before I finally went in the hospital in July for surgery and radiation.  I was in the hospital for 5 days then home for 2 weeks and then back in the hospital for more radiation which finished on August 10th.  The recovery has been slow but I am doing well now, thank God.

On November 17th 2 tornadoes touched down here in Pekin.  One of the tornadoes cut a swatch  through the area that I live in.  Approximately 150 homes were damaged or destroyed in my city that day.  My kitchen window was blown out and there was glass everywhere.  Just yesterday I was cleaning underneath the stove in the kitchen and found more glass.  My kitchen window is still boarded up inside and out and it is dark in my kitchen even with the lights on.  My neighbor across the driveway from me suffered severe damage and has had no repairs done there yet.  I was told before Thanksgiving that it would be 9 – 12 days and my window would be put in.  And I have some ocean front property to  sell you too, located right here in central Illinois close by the Illinois River,  Oh and that reminds me that we had torrential rains here in early spring 2013 and the Illinois River was flooded big time.  I don’t live far from the river but my part of the city was not affected by that although Peoria was hit hard as was part of downtown Pekin.

To sum it all up, it was a rather nerve-wracking year but it was also a year filled with divine interventions.  I found a new friend in Sally (who is in remission for over 2 years from cancer) and I discovered that my next door neighbors would help me out when I needed them.  All totaled it was a good year and I am ever grateful to be sitting here typing this and thanking God for the privilege.

Happy New Year to you all, my blogging family.  May 2014 be a year filled with lots of love, peace, happiness and good health.  For right this very minute in time, Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth