Back Exercises

Thursday September 17, 1992

Frank has walked to his carving class so I say my prayers, do visualization and back exercises, then take off for my 20 minute walk. It takes me awhile to get cleaned up. The weather has warmed up and I'm over-reacting to the heat. It's so hard to put on makeup when the sweat keeps running off it. And hard to curl my hair when it's wet with sweat. After lunch I go shopping for clothes to wear to dinner on the cruise.

We go out to dinner at Vistas at the Radisson Hotel. It's nice. I have alot of tumor pain this evening.

According to Wikipedia: "In the U.S., acute low back pain is the fifth most common reason for physician visits. About nine out of ten adults experience back pain at some point in their life, and five out of ten working adults have back pain every year." I remember Mom teaching me some stretching exercises in the tent while we were camping at Lake Don Pedro. I was only in my 30s then and had not yet experienced back pain. Over the last decade however, I have experienced more than my share, especially after suffering from a herniated disc in 2008, followed by back surgery. I have done some of the exercises Mom showed me as well as some given to me by physical therapists over the years, several from the examples shown above. For the last 4 years since my back surgery I get the most relief from back pain by taking aqua aerobics 4X/week.

Ugh! All that sweating sounds miserable. Maybe the reason she's sweating is because she's using a hot curling iron around her face! What women go through to be attractive!

Thank God for Computers!

Monday September 14, 1992

Up and off to get my nails done at 10:45. I brought home chili dogs for lunch. I worked on the laundry and did some typing. I tried to finish my memories of Arkansas. I wrote it 3 years ago and want to type it but my typewriter broke down again.

At 7:30 we went square dancing. This is the first night of the new class. We have a good time seeing friends. After dancing til 9:30 we go to Hudson's Grill with 25 friends til 11:00.

Sleeping very well. Trying to do visualization at least once a day. I relax and go inside my belly. I paint all the cancer and tumors with a big paint brush dipped in potent medicine that shrinks and kills cancer.

Mom's journal and all her letters that I saved are handwritten. I know that computers were around in 1992, but not near as common or easy to use as they are today. I can just imagine Mom struggling with an old typewriter like the one pictured above. Thank God typewriters have been replaced by computers, where you can type quickly, easily make corrections, print and save electronically. Not only that, but with a web-based program like this one, it is there for all the world to see years in the future. Too bad I never came across her memories of Arkansas. I'm sure she put alot of work into it as she did with her journals.

Seeing My Enemy Made It Real

Thursday September 3, 1992

Kinda bummed today. I really knew the CAT would not be good news but seeing my enemy really made it real. At least I know what to visualize now I've seen it. But we hadn't known about the blanket on my abdomen wall. I seem to feel more pain and discomfort today.

I call my Mom to give her the latest news. She was distressed, but reassuring that God would answer our prayers and heal me. I called Cathy Thomas also.

I must step up my praying and do the visualization exercises daily.

I have the sinking feeling that seeing her enemy yesterday will be a turning point for Mom. Up to this point she is happily living her life as if nothing is wrong, blissfully in denial. I guess that saying "Ignorance Is Bliss" applied in this situation. Maybe it's better not to see the enemy?