Sunday, September 28, 2014

These man-made viruses

I've started writing just in time for chikungunya - chik v ...... or as people like to call it chicken gunman, chicken gonorrhea, chicken gungu - many a name for it - much panic over it .
I guess because I live with cancer it doesn't scare me as the bottom line is that it's not a killer it's just very painful and the itching drives you out of your mind......thank God when you contract it the side effects are mostly short lived but if you get a bad dose it can keep reoccurring for a few years they say. I really don't know. I know I've stepped up my antioxidants as waiting on chik v to hit you is like me living with cancer and waiting on the other shoe to drop - you don't know when - you only know it's coming ......the virus has no known cure but just make sure you take plenty antioxidants to prevent you from succumbing to the worse of its side effects.

  1.  So this brings us to Jamaica and it's management or more accurately mismanagement of solid waste. When do we intend to do something about it ? The place I lived before my present home had no garbage collection so everyday we would find the nearest skip to throw our garbage - most people find the nearest gully to throw their garbage so it's out of their eyesight but here comes the rain and the sea looks like this where I now live in MoBay.


When are the powers that be going to do something about it ? When are we going to stop being so nasty ? Plastic bottles and scandal bags are killing the nation and since we are an island we can't truck our waste to another state and pretend it doesn't exist. Listening to people on the television talking about their experience with this new virus I realize just how illiterate our nation is. Although the experts say, and I do believe , this is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes - when mosquitoes bite you during the day most of us don't realize it - there are all sorts of ridiculous stories going around on how you contract it - People! Fenton Ferguson did not cause it. . My firm belief is that the origins of this virus, along with many others, is man-made -  Brazil just released thousands of mosquitoes aimed at controlling dengue fever.....messing with Mother Nature never ends well yet we continue to do it, we never learn. Know that our future with all these man-made diseases that they can't control is going to make our life a living hell so clean up your community ......NOW 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Life as a Semi-Colon: And so there must come an end

Today on Twitter Emma Lewis @ Petchary  posted this blog from Charley and nothing has come so close to home like this. It hit me like a ton of bricks as I realized the difference between me and Charley is that we chose 2 different paths,I'm so lucky my way worked for me because hers didn't for her. We both started with the bad boy colon cancer she got her few weeks to live diagnosis at the end of her fight, I got my two weeks to live diagnosis at the start .....Read and realize how short life can be.To those of us that will play the life game with cancer, remember that when you choose a treatment choose quality of life instead of quantity.Choose the way that will keep you out of hospital and able to enjoy whatever time you have left with your loved ones whether it be a day or a year. Here is the link to Charley's blog -
Life as a Semi-Colon: And so there must come an end

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Prayer

There were so many things I wrote about in my mind while I was away from my blog and now I'm back I can't remember a thing LOL.
Today my thoughts are about how much I would have missed if I hadn't made it til now. I would have missed all these school challenge quizzes which happen to be my favourite television shows ....why? they give me hope for my country - the youngsters are just the best - when they get a right answer you can literally see their 'glad bag bust' their eyes light up and they struggle not to smile and they look over to their coaches to get  approval. Some days I'm so tense watching them that I shudder to think what they are going through ....I just watched a repeat broadcast and the little boy from South Borough Primary burst out in tears when he realized time was running out and they were behind...of course among the high schools I would have missed is all of KC's wins -yes , I carry KC in everything quiz, track, football - fortis for life. My greatest joy now though is watching 'no name' schools doing better and better every year. I urge all my peeps to watch SCQ it will warm your heart .....watch it instead of the news and know that Jamaica does have a bright future we just all need to see it .
People ask me all the time what do I do to keep from getting depressed after getting yet another cancer diagnosis - they want to know how do I keep trucking on. Well in my case I never get depressed, I am just getting tired of the fight - feeling fed up .....it's not an easy road and I've had the diagnosis 5 times . The older I get, things that used to not hurt , hurt terribly now. My last biopsy my doctor couldn't believe I was crying as he is not used to that from me but it just hurt so much....as we walked to the lab he said ' Pat you're still crying' I said 'I am don't let it bother you' I cried from he stuck the first needle in me till I went to the cashier to pay for the test, the cashier summed it up best "Ah Mrs. Wright once again my prayers go with you". So what I do to get through it is always to have a prayer in my heart.
My favourite prayers are 'Thank you Father," and " Father help me " short and to the point.
So to all of you - keep a prayer in your heart and on your lips and choose life not depression.
My every morning prayer as I realize that I'm awake is The Prayer of Faith which says -
God is my help in every need
God does my every hunger feed;
God walks beside me, guides my way 
through every moment of this day. 
I now am wise, I now am true, 
patient and kind and loving too. 
All things I am, can do, and be
through Christ the Truth that is in me.
God is my health, I can't be sick 
God is my strength unfailing quick
God is my all, I know no fear
since God and love and truth are here.
God is my wealth, I can't be poor.
God is my true abundant store. 
His indwelling presence brings to me;
health, happiness and prosperity.

Thank you Reverend Sheila!

Sunday, September 14, 2014

I'm back

To all of you who were worried that I had expired I'm still hanging in there I've just not felt to write although I've had a lot of thoughts running around my head so definitely lots to say.


Peter Lloyd serenading me
In Nov 2012 after my last post I had the greatest 60th birthday party given to me by my close friends - it was sensational Peter Lloyd performed and my son, his ex wife and my grand daughter who all live abroad flew in to surprise me along with a lot of my long time friends from near and far so I was properly surprised.
One thing with being given two weeks to live 36 years ago is that you have lots of fun as people don't wait to appreciate you, they tell and show you daily. In turn I try to pay it forward as it makes me have a better quality of life
While I was away from my blog  I had another run-in with cancer - a lump bubbled to the surface of my left breast so I found out that implants won't prevent lumps from showing up - if they are there they will appear and hopefully you will catch it in time - my Doctor knowing I'm not a chemo / radiation girl had a long talk with me and explained that since it had been sitting there for sometime , as obviously they missed a few cells when they took off my breasts in 2011 , he would advise me to have radiation .
Deep thoughts and plenty money later , I was graduating from radiation oncology with flying colours. As I sat there every week day for 5 weeks for my 15 min treatment , lots of thoughts went through my mind ......why do so many cancer patients have someone with them when coming for radiation if they are able to drive or walk ? Why do we get so worried about cancer? We don't go home and die when we hear we have hypertension or diabetes so why do we get depressed and die when we hear we have cancer?  I feel better to be alone at such times as our family and friends don't deal with the thought of losing us too well  and they all feel we are going to expire at a moment's notice so it's less depressing to be by myself until such time when I need the physical support .... Why do these places look so depressing ? We need positive reinforcement at these times so why can't we make these places pretty???? when people who have been diagnosed with cancer go to Doctors, and they tell us we must continue same way,we mustn't change a thing - that we can eat  jerk pork and drink Pepsi
etc is it because they humour us as they feel we are going to die anyway so let us go out happy ? I think if we doing something and it hurts us shouldn't we change what we are doing and try and clean up our act or won't it come back? Anyway enough rambling for one Sunday morning it's great to be back!