Dauchshunds and Xanax

So I looked back on my last post and it was in 2019. So it’s now 2021 let’s see how can I quickly recap this last bit of time. Lexi is still battling Ewings Sarcoma it came back a year after her final chemo treatment. Trump did not get re-elected and oh yeah there is a global pandemic that has been spreading like wildfire and has gone on the entire year of 2020 or most of it. And one final bit of news the doxies part of this is down to one doxie. My little old man Killer went over the rainbow bridge in February 2020. Suffice it to say 2020 wasn’t the most banner of years for me. One bit of good news that happened was I finished my degree! I have a bachelor’s degree. I graduated December 2019!

2020 has been a strange strange year and 2021 started out the way 2020 ended. The only good thing is that Trump lost his re-election bid and we are making great progress on this global pandemic! Well I mean there is a vaccine available so hopefully it will slow the spread and get rid of it all together. Now if people would just stop being jerks and wear their masks and stop complaining about it violating their freedom. Okay this isn’t the post I wanted to type I could go on a HUGE tangent about why people are being selfish jerks it’s been a year people get over yourselves. BUT I won’t this is more of a catch up and a slight rebrand of this blog. I want to do this more regularly than once a year 🙂 Fingers crossed I’ll start posting some stuff and crossposting. I want to help promote people I love and what they are doing. I’m going to start that the next blog I do. I’m probably going to overshare all the reasons one of my best friends is awesome. I mean let me give you a little preview. He runs a KILLER (meaning awesome!) Horror Blog that showcases amazing LGBTQ+ writers, he has a kick ass podcast where he and his amazing cohost talk to people about the movies that scared them as children. AND FINALLY he’s an editor of an amazing horror zine.

I also want to do some blogging/writing about different pop culture things because why not? There aren’t enough of those out there right? 🙂 But I also want to be a great ally and great friend and promote all the cool people I know

Lexi had some scans done today and this is what we now know. PTL shows no new cancer and chemo is working better than anyone could have thought. Scans look better. The doctors are super shocked at how well she is responding to the chemo. One of the doctors told her mom that adults can’t handle the type of chemo these kids get and here Lex is at 17 showing all the strength and courage of someone so much more than 17.

According to St. Jude this is what Lexi has. Ewing sarcoma is a cancerous tumor that grows in the bones or in the tissue around bones (soft tissue)—often the legs, pelvis, ribs, arms or spine. Ewing sarcoma can spread to the lungs, bones and bone marrow.

Ewing sarcoma is the second most common type of bone cancer in children, but it is very rare. About 200 children and young adults are found to have Ewing sarcoma each year in the United States.

• About half of all Ewing sarcoma tumors occur in children and young adults between ages 10 and 20.
• This type of cancer is rarely found in African-Americans and Asian-Americans.
• It affects slightly more boys than girls.
• It does not appear to be inherited (passed down in families).
• Although not often seen, Ewing sarcoma can occur as a second cancer, especially in patients treated with radiation therapy.

Symptoms of Ewing sarcoma can be the following:

• Swelling and soreness around the tumor area (commonly mistaken for a sports injury or the “bumps and bruises” every child gets)
• A low fever that at first may seem to be caused by an infection
• Bone pain, especially pain that worsens during exercise or at night
• Limping, which is caused by a tumor on a leg bone

Now with Lex, she was misdiagnosed. She was diagnosed with something else and it wasn’t until another scan was done that the cancer was found. She kept complaining about her leg hurting it was in her bone not her muscles.

Treatment involves chemotherapy and radiation and possible surgery. Right now Lexi is on the chemo and radiation tract. She is just getting ready to start 6 weeks of radiation and 16 more rounds of chemotherapy.

Here is what St. Jude says about treatment options:

Chemotherapy (“chemo”)—is usually the first step in treating Ewing sarcoma. It uses powerful medicines to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing (dividing) and making more cancer cells:

Chemo may be injected into the bloodstream, so that it can travel throughout the body.Combination therapy uses more than one type of chemo at a time.

Surgery—may be done after several weeks or months of chemo have reduced the cancer to the point where surgery can be most effective.

Surgeons remove as much of the tumor as possible.Sometimes the surgeons will graft (add on) bone or tissue (from either the patient or a donor) to replace diseased bone and tissue that have been removed. An artificial bone, called an implant, may also be used.For some patients, amputation (surgical removal of an arm or leg) is required to ensure that the tumor is completely removed.

Radiation therapy—is used to kill or decrease cancer cells that cannot be removed surgically. This is followed by more chemo to kill any remaining cells. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing:

Survival rates can be really good but due the the way it has spread in Lex the odds aren’t in her favor but as Han Solo says, “Never tell me the odds” this little girl is a fighter and is fighting harder and with more courage and strength than someone twice her age. So instead of focusing on the negative we are focusing on the now and how well she is doing.

Jeez I’m really bad at this blogging thing! I think I’m like a once in 6 months blogger. 😂

What a 6 months it’s been! Quick recap the Cheeto is still somehow President. Not sure how that one is still a thing but what can you do other than fight the good fight and stand up and say “Nope! You are gone you are not the best for America!” There are a million democratic options for president. I mean my dogs would be better leaders than our current leader.

Let’s see on the education front I am one semester, or 2 classes, or 6 hours away from a bachelors degree!!!! December 2019 baby!!!! Then what? I don’t know step one get the degree step two figure shit out 😂

My pup Killer had a rough February he had a 5lb cancerous tumor removed and at the end of February my oldest niece was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ewing’s Sarcoma (a very aggressive bone cancer) she is going very well and remains very positive and is really showing the definition of Super Girl or Wonder Woman. I’ll make a post about the kind of cancer she has another day. It’s good to educate others. She was misdiagnosed for several months and that delayed treatment. But despite that she is showing so much positivity and strength! She is 17 and amazing! I’m pretty biased though I think all three of my nieces and my nephew are brilliant and amazing!

So there ya have it. A brief recap of my life in the last 6 months.

Today I woke up thinking oh crap it’s Monday gross. I had a great weekend and now it’s Monday. I hopped onto Twitter and I saw the following post from someone I admire greatly. Anne Wheaton. I admire her and her husband Wil so much. I’ll get into that a little more later on.

My first thought was are they talking about a movie Wil made in 1993 called The Liars Club it has Brian Krause (Leo from Charmed) Wil (Wil Wheaton Sheldon’s enemy in The Big Bang Theory and lots of other things I could list without even going to IMDB Not to mention him playing a hacker named Chaos on my favorite show Leverage) Michael Cudlitz (Sgt Ford The Walking Dead) Soleil Moon Frye (I gotta do it! Punky Brewster!!!! She was also Roxie King on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch but for me it’s Punky all the way!!) so yeah in this movie Wil is friends with a guy who ends up raping a girl at a party and the group of friends all try to cover for their friend and the girl ends up being murdered. That was 100% the first thing I thought when I read this tweet then I reread it and thought holy crap!! This asshat that said this is dead serious and is trying to take out Wil listen that doesn’t fly for me at all! I’m ready to take out my earrings and go on the attack!!! I have felt like Anne and Wil have become my long distance friends because of social media. So I immediately felt the need to be momma bear and protect my friends! I was outraged for them!!! I’m very willing to knock anyone out when it comes to messing with my friends!!

I need to add I don’t personally know Anne or Wil other than through his movies and their social media platforms. I did have the opportunity to chat with Wil for a few minutes at a convention once and that was really cool!!

I also have to back this train up a minute and say for full disclosure I once upon a time had posters of Wil on my walls and teenage me was just in love with him!! Somewhere over time I’m not sure exactly when or how it happened but he shifted to this person who could have easily (and still can) be a part of my tribe. He has to bring Anne or else we may not let him in 🙂 kidding they are both 100% welcome in our tribe anytime!

Wil’s movies got me through some rough patches in my life. I could turn on Stand by Me, Toy Soldiers and The Secret of NIMH and forget my worries for awhile. Teenage me was a hot hot mess! To be honest early twenty-something me was a hot mess also.

Now days watching Toy Soldiers is like putting on a pair of comfy sweatpants and curling up with a cup of coffee it’s familiar and comforting. Now we fast forward to about 6 years ago gosh probably more now that I think about it. Anyhow I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. My wild and crazy hot mess teenage years were probably caused due to that but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my late twenties early thirties. I was always moody and could change from happy to pissed off in no time and I’d get antsy a lot and as I got older the worst it got. Honest to goodness between Wil and Carrie Fisher talking about their mental illnesses it made me see that I could do this! I’m not broken I’m ok I’m not crazy. There is nothing to be ashamed about. I love and appreciate all the hard work you and Anne do to promote mental health awareness!!!!

So with that I have to say thank you Wil. Thank you Anne! I know that you left Twitter Wil and frankly you are probably smarter for it!! I am glad that Anne is still active on Twitter and you both have a strong instagram games it helps make all the bad stuff go down easier knowing there are people out there just like me! If either one of you or both of you end up in Omaha first round of whatever is on me!!! Also I will take my earrings out and mess up anyone if needed. I’m my tribes very own brute squad enforcer and since you both are in my tribe that means I’ll brute squad for you too!!

Also I’m truly sorry there are asshats out there! I adore you both thank you for all you do!

This is a copy of the email I sent to our mayor and city council members. The town I live in is proposing making cuts to our already underfunded overworked fire department.

I’m writing to discuss my concerns about cutting the budget of the Bellevue Fire Department. I unfortunately will not be able to make the City Council meeting tonight because I will be in class funny enough it’s a media and politics class but that’s not the point.

I love Bellevue. I’ve lived in Bellevue most of my life except for about 10 -ish years. So let’s say 28 out of the 38 years I’ve been alive I’ve lived in Bellevue. Both of my grandfather’s retired from the Air Force in Bellevue. Both of my parents graduated from Bellevue High School.  My aunt graduated from Bellevue East, I graduated from Bellevue East, my sister, my cousins and now my nieces are at Bellevue East.

One of the reasons I love Bellevue is because it’s safe. The reason it is safe is because of the fire department and police department. They are out there keeping us safe and protecting us. Cutting funding to the fire department jeopardizes that safety and puts everyone at risk.

I understand the need for budget cuts, I work at UNO and for the last two years all we have talked about is Budget Cuts for the entire NU System so I understand the need but what I don’t understand is cutting the budget and putting people’s lives at risk.

Cutting funding to the fire department means there will be less people and less trucks to respond to emergencies. Seconds count in emergencies. My mother had a stroke two years ago. Because she had a stroke she is at risk of having another one. With a stroke every second counts. You only have so much time to administer care before damage may be irreparable.

Here are a few stroke facts from stroke.org:

• Approximately 795,000 Americans experience a stroke each year—about 185,000 of those strokes are recurrent strokes.

• At least 1 in 4 (25%-35%) of the 795,000 Americans who have a stroke each year will have another stroke within their lifetime.

• Within 5 years of a first stroke, the risk for another stroke can increase more than 40%.

• Recurrent strokes often have a higher rate of death and disability because parts of the brain already injured by the original stroke may not be as resilient.

• Within 5 years of a stroke, 24% of women and 42% of men will experience a recurrent stroke.

Now my mother is only 63 years old and because of her stroke she has a speech impediment, she can no longer drink from a cup without a straw, she has slight drooping of her eye and lip. There are days that she struggles to do simple things like brushing her hair or attempting to put her hair in a ponytail. She can no longer drive because her attention span is very short. All things considered she is pretty lucky and is still able to be relatively independent. The next one she has she may not be so lucky her disability may be worst or even worst she could die. This is something that my family deals with and lives with on a daily basis.  Now cutting funding to the fire department means that there are fewer trucks and fewer trained personal that can assist my mom. The basic signs of a stroke are associated with the acronym F.A.S.T. F=face drooping, A=arm weakness, S=speech difficulty and T= time to call 911.  That T step is crucial. Depending on the type of stroke there are medications that can be administered but they can only be administered within so much time, there is a surgical procedure that can be done if it is a different type of stroke but it must be done within a certain amount of time as well so that T that time step is the most important part of stroke prevention and health. That crucial T step is put in jeopardy when cuts are made to the people that respond to those 911 calls.

This is my mom. When you decide on the budget I want you to think about my mom who had a stroke and who is at risk of having a second one she is well within that 5 year range of her first stroke. I want you to think about your own parents, your own loved ones. If they were at risk for a second stroke, or heart attack, or any illness, or injury. If your own home was on fire wouldn’t you want that 911 call to be answered quickly?

Thank you,

Nikki H*****

PROUD Bellevue Resident

Ward 1

Dear Donald Trump,

Today I watched a group of sorely underpaid nurses and doctors who work at a vastly underfunded VA hospital work to bust their asses to help a patient who was in need of help. That patient was my dad.  My dad hasn’t always been the best father, but he is my dad and I love him  flaws and all. He is without a doubt the cause of all my gray hair and to be fair I’m probably the cause of most of the ones in his beard.

Today my dad went in for an outpatient procedure. He went in for a Cardiac Cath. When they were in there doing their thing they decided to attempt to unblock on of his arteries. An important one that is nearly 95% blocked. Because of them going in and looking at things they decided that he needed to stay overnight for observation. When he was in his room his blood pressure and heart rate dropped. I watched a team of nurses, doctors, a chaplain and maybe even a janitor or two come rushing in to quickly look at what was going on. My dad’s poor roommate thought he was going to get a quiet afternoon suddenly had people on his side of the room and a daughter who was trying to keep it together while watching people swarm her dad. He smiled at me told me it was going to be okay and “We old GI’s are tough don’t you worry” I smiled and laughed and said “Well sadly this isn’t our first rodeo.” The truth is this was my first rodeo with my dad on this. I watched my mom code and have a seizure where I had to physically keep her in the chair after her receiving an artificial heart valve but I have never seen my dad go as white as the sheet he was laying on (and I’ve seen him when he was still on a vent after bypass surgery)  My dad isn’t a huge guy he’s 5’5″ and maybe weights a buck fifty soaking wet. I mean my handbag weights more than he does but it was scary to see him seem even smaller being swarmed by people.

He was rushed to the ICU where the amazing staff have been taking care of him for the last few hours. We are going to fight however if he doesn’t get to eat soon poor guy hasn’t eaten since last night because of his procedure this morning but that’s not the point.  These dedicated men and women who choose to come to work at a hospital that is underfunded and work for a government…. a president who is trying to cut funding, cut support and is more concerned with tweeting bullshit things than doing anything presidential. A president that tweets out harassing tweets on an hourly basis against women, minorities, journalists, veterans and whoever else pissed you off because they question what you do so you attack them,  did their damn job and they did it well. They have treated my dad like he is the most important patient on the ICU wing even though they have other patients who might just be worst off than he is they have been working hard to figure out what is going on with his heart and trying to figure out the best course of action.

While this is going on you are trying your damndest to continuously cut the funding and care that he receives.  ALSO did you know that you are trying to make it so that his heart condition is a pre- existing condition meaning that he could possibly not be able to get insurance coverage because of that? As it is if it weren’t for the very underfunded VA he wouldn’t be able to afford the medication he has to take on a daily basis. Medication that keeps him alive and keeps him making my hair gray!

So Donald Trump when you tweet about someone pissing you off and you act like a spoiled two year old and throw a temper tantrum over twitter instead of being the fucking adult that you are and even more importantly President of the United States think about how your actions affect the little guys.  When you think about cutting funds to the VA Hospitals around the nation, when you think about changing what insurance will and will not cover I want you to think about my dad. I want you to think of all the dads out there that are blue collar workers that are barely scraping by… Since I don’t think you have that good of imagination… I want you to think about your children having to watch doctors and nurses work like hell to figure out what is going on after a routine outpatient procedure in an underfunded facility.

Finally your days in office are numbered and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for the elections this November and I can’t wait for the next presidential election. Believe me when I say to you that a pile of rocks would be a far better president than you because at least a pile of rocks wouldn’t take to twitter and act like a spoiled child.

Thank you I can’t wait to see you impeached! I’ll have the popcorn waiting!
A concerned, pissed off, proud democrat daughter of a veteran.

So I seem to be hitting this blog thing about once every six months. So much for trying to be a blogger! 🙂 I blame going to school.  I decided college was a good idea. I mean it is but it isn’t 🙂 SO GO TO SCHOOL KIDS!  I decided to go back after being out for nearly 20 years. It’s easier and harder this time around. It’s easier because I’m older and I want this a lot and I have a decent work ethic. It’s harder because I’ve been out of school for so long and I’m on the struggle bus a bit. But it’s worth it. I’m going to be done in 2019 and I’m very glad about that. I’m ready to be done. I’m ready to have more free time. I’m going to school while working full time and it’s a challenge. I’ll sleep when I’m done. My plan is when I’m done with school I’m going to take a little bit of time off work and just sleep for like two -three days.

So other than school, there is so much I want to talk about but I feel like most of it is the same stuff everyone is talking about.  We are living in a dumpster fire. Trump has NOT made America Great Again. He’s made us the giant shit show that we are now.  He is waging a one mad man crusade against the First Amendment. As a communications major that really freaks me out and makes me worry about the future as I go into this next chapter of my life.

On a happier  note…THE BACKSTREET BOYS HAVE A NEW SINGLE OUT!!!!!!!! HELL YEAH!!!!!

NEW BSB VIDEO

 

 

 

I applaud and salute anyone who is brave and strong enough to stand up and say #MeToo I’m fortunate that I’m not in that group but I’m still affected by it because people I love very much are in that group. They were some of the brave strong ones that stood up and said hold up! That’s not right.

Actor Anthony Rapp (side note I absolutely love this man he is amazing and I have loved him since Adventures in Babysitting!) came forward and talked about how when he was 14 Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted him. Kevin was an adult he was 26 at the time. I do not give a rats ass who you are or how much money or fame you have… that is against the law. Period. At 14 you are still a minor and 26 you are an adult that is considered statutory rape.

With all these people coming out with their own #MeToo stories why am I focusing on Anthony’s story? Well like I said earlier I love that guy I don’t know him but if I did I think we would be besties for sure! But the amount of I’m sorry but the only way to describe it is SHIT he is getting for coming forward with his story is insane! People are accusing him of destroying Spacey’s career. Let’s get one thing straight Kevin Spacey destroyed his own career when he committed a criminal act against a minor child. People are saying he’s only doing this for his own fame to further his own career. Bitches let me tell you this. Anthony doesn’t need this to further his career. Ever hear of this tiny Tony Award winning musical Rent yeah he was in that. And he was in the movie as well. If/Then another amazing musical. Episodes of some of the greatest tv shows around. Oh and let’s not forget he is now in the latest Star Trek series so yeah he has a kick ass career that many actors would love to have!

The bottom line is we need to stop victim shaming. We need to applaud them for their courage. We need them to keep speaking up and out to be a voice for someone who can’t speak up. Maybe someone sees that one of their favorite actors has their own #MeToo story and it helps them find the courage and strength to tell their own story.

This post has taken me a week to write. On October 22 was the one year anniversary of my mom having a stroke. For the most part she is ok she has a speech impediment still and she has a small blip with her short term memory but honestly she is a rockstar!! 

I have to say I’m super glad we went to the Garth Brooks show on the 22nd so I have a better memory about October 22nd!! This is my mom one year to the day after her stroke. 
Make yourself aware of the signs and symptoms of a stroke

Stroke Information
Knowledge is power and the more you know the faster you can react and have better recovery efforts! 
This is me and my mommy the day she was released from the hospital 

This is her a week after being home 

I’m so glad that she only has minimal lingering issues. We are so lucky and she is a rockstar!! She is a survivor!! 

My Sweet Sassy Grandma passed Saturday morning. She has been battling dementia for the last few years and has had several mini strokes. This is me and my sister with gram.

The first visit with Gram in 1980! 

Merry Christmas Gram! 

This is my sweet Sassy Grandma before she got so sick.

4 generations of awesome women on this couch! Great Grandma, Gram, my momma and myself in 1980. This was my first visit with Great Grandma. 

This is the Hecht family circa 1981/82. Backrow is my momma, Aunt Jane, Uncle Bill, My Grandpa Hecht’s mom and Step-Dad front row is my Daddo me and sassy gram.

This is my favorite picture of Gram and my niece!! 

Her signature that I got tattooed on my arm a week ago. 

She was a wonderful wonderful woman who taught me a lot of many things and she was super strong and sassy.  She will be missed and since I hate goodbyes I’m glad the last thing I said to her was I love you and I’ll see you later.