Robin -- Sun, Jan 10 -- 53
Jenny -- Sun, Jan 10 -- 35
Phil -- Mon, Jan 11 -- 83
Andrew -- Mon, Jan 12 -- 6
Aunt Mary -- Mon, Jan 18
Eddie -- Mon, Jan 18
Aunt Rita -- Sat, Jan 23

December Birthdays

• Erik--Fri, Dec. 4--13
• Joshua--Fri, Dec. 11--29
• Paul--Sun, Dec. 20--26
  

• The Xmas cookie baking thing at Mitch's has been canceled.
• I am waiting on the results of my BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests. The Genetic Counselor (sounds so nice, huh?) told me that they could find out which lab had done Gina's tests and use those results (thanks to Jim's speedy co-operation with release forms) to determine which test to do for me. Apparently, it's pretty rare for siblings to not have the same mutation. The whole battery of tests is what costs ca. $3,000. Just the one test should be $450 and my insurance should cover it since Gina was positive. (Thanks again to Gina and Jim for having that test done and footing that huge bill.) I'll have those results in a couple of weeks. If I am negative, I'll just have the laparascopy done to remove the cyst and stay in the UK ovarian cancer screening program. If I am positive, I will most likely have my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed and do some sort of hormone therapy program. I'd also have to supplement my yearly mammogram with MRIs. I'd no longer be in the UK program (no ovaries to screen-ha!). She said you can still get peritoneal cancer after your ovaries are removed but that it's very rare and that there's no way to detect it, so if you do get it, it will have progressed so far by the time you know that you have it, they wouldn't be able to save you. My next screening at UK is mid-November and my next oncologist appointment is end of November.
• My lawyer says that the judge won't decide till February whether my case will even go to trial, so if it doesn't, I'll have to vacate the house asap in February and pay back-rent for the last 10 months. If it does go to trial, that will happen around April.
• Pat's been on Jury Duty the past week and this week. I think Gus and August have done a great job not freaking out! I think Pat's been enjoying herself--she actually got to finish a book she's been reading!
• Paul is moving to Louisville at the end of November and will start at Sullivan's Culinary School in January.
• Devin is moving to Louisville in mid-January and will start working for Pat and Gus full-time.
  

November Birthdays and News

Natalie--Thurs, Nov. 26--15

--Kaela had her first fall from a horse last month but she got right back on and kept going--what a trouper! She fell again about a week later but she doesn't seem to be afraid.
--Jenny and Kevin had a rockin' Halloween Party!
Jenny and Kevin

Amy and Jason

Kaela, Tyler, Andrew, Jaylen, and Lillian

--Here's the Adams, oops, I mean Salyer Family all dressed up for Trick or Trunking, I believe:


--Caitlin, Natalie and Cyndi were on the news! Here's the link to the written piece and a lovely photograph: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Last-Day-For-Rainman-Mansion-Estate-Sale/t9mTlK-5lk65Dwx763fX8g.cspx
--Joe and Janelle have bought a house and are getting their wedding planned.
--Tyler lost his first tooth Saturday--on Halloween of all days! The Tooth Fairy left him $5! (Apparently the going rate for first teeth nowadays.) Now he thinks he'll get $10 for the next one :D
--Jill walked in the ADA Diabetes Walk last month.
--Here's a cute picture of the Wheatley Family getting their pumpkin:












--More Halloween pictures: You go, girl! (Josh, actually.)

Jaden and Mya.

Here is an update on my cyst (I think I'm going to start calling this the Klein Medical Chronicles):

• I have a cyst on my right ovary that is about the size of a golf ball and is filled with fluid.
• The disturbing parts about this cyst is that it is steadily getting larger and it has papillations, which are fern-like growth out of it (rather than having a smooth surface). Well, and also that it causes me a fair amount of discomfort!
  
• I have been to see a GYN-Oncologist and he's recommending that I have genetic testing done. Gina had this done and was tested positive for having a mutated breast cancer gene (for more information click here). If I have this mutation (which men can also have, btw), then I would be predisposed to have breast and/or ovarian cancer, so they could do certain procedures, such as removing my ovaries to better protect me from getting cancer. If I don't have the mutation, then they will just deal with this cyst--probably doing laparoscopy (more info) to remove it.
• My next ultrasound at UK is on Nov. 19 and I've also been able to schedule genetic testing to be done the same day. My next appt with the GYN-Oncologist is at the end of November, so I'll let you know what's up after that.

I would like to request that all of my siblings let me know what medical issues they have--high blood pressure or whatever--and I will disseminate the info--to each individual w/o using names to indicate who has what if you'd like. When I took Mary to the doctor, they always wanted to know what diseases her siblings and parents had. Studies have shown that what your siblings have is often more important than what your parents have because you share more genes with your siblings. They asked me about my siblings at the oncologist's office and I felt like such a dummy. This is so important! Please let me know about this!

Also, please start keeping a medical journal. Get a notebook and record the names and dosages of your medications and when you start and stop them, any allergies you have, the dates of any operations or procedures, and the names and contact info for emergency contacts as well as all your doctors. If you are having any symptoms, write them in this notebook. When you go to the doctor, write up a list of issues (in this notebook) that you want to discuss with him. Take the notebook to the with you to the doctor and record your blood pressure, weight and temperature. Take notes on your visit and any test results. Later on when/if someone has to take care of you, this will all be invaluable information.

I just got this email from Jackie Beisler Ridsdale and thought you all would like to know about it:

Dear Bridget, Sorry we missed the Beisler get-together this year. There was a calamity in our lives involving our eldest son, Pres, who was in a motorcycle accident & lost his right leg. As if that wasn't enough he later fell & badly broke his load bearing left leg @ both the fibula & tibia bones. He is @ home w/hank & me & we are just thankful that he is alive! Sorry again to miss out on all the Beislers. Love to you & all the family, Jac

I went with Mom and Dad to a Parkinson's doctor this morning since he hadn't been to a Parkinson's specialist for a couple of years. Just to check on his meds, esp. since he's so sleepy all the time. Unfortunately, they screwed up the referral and said he was a new patient, so they assigned him to a different doctor, who then had to go through all his history again, so it was like a new visit instead of a follow-up. He didn't seem to happy about that and seemed to want Dad to see the other doctor next time. Good try, huh?

Anyway, this doctor said that he wants to increase his Levodopa (for his Parkinson's) to 4 pills a day instead of 3. I can't remember that he gave a specific reason. To see if he shakes less? He said the L-dopa doesn't usually make patients sleepy, but if someone has Parkinson's then it will make them "wobbly," by which he means that sort of fidgetyness that you may observe in Michael J. Fox.

He did several tests and said that Dad had Parkinson's-like symptoms

• stiffness
• shaking of hands (although Dad had Essential Tremors, which is a quicker sort of shaking, prior to this--I think Fred, Mitch and Gus have experienced this after drinking a lot of caffeine)
• slowness of movement

He said Dad displayed memory loss since his last visit, but that this was probably due to age and that his CT scan (when??) showed reduced vascular activity due probably to age and high blood pressure (I think that was it). He also said that Dad's "Unique Personality" didn't seem to stem from the meds, so he wasn't sure if he could do anything about it. He mentioned giving Dad a stimulant for his sleepiness, such as low-grade Ritalin, but he really didn't want to go there. Instead, he gave Dad a prescription for something to help him sleep at night. The problem with this is that Dad will then stand up next to the bed and pee b/c he can't make it to the potty. Or else he'll pee in the bed, which is also a major annoyance... He needs to stop drinking Coke Zero before he goes to bed b/c this is 1) a liquid and 2) has caffeine in it.

The doctor also gave Dad a prescription for something to help with his constipation. The NP wanted Mom to give Dad MiraLAX every day, but she says Dad just lets it sit there and doesn't drink it.

The follow-up appointment is in April. Nice long time to wait and see if things get any better, huh?

BTW, Dad told the doctor that it wasn't certain that Aunt Dorothy had Parkinson's! That was news to me. Mom also thought that the complications from Parkinson's were what she eventually died from.