| The diagnosis began with
an abnormal mammogram eight weeks ago, it was too small to feel on
self exam. As you can imagine, this came as quite a shock. We
found it early, the prognosis so far is good, and with the support
of my family and friends, this will only be a little detour. I
will be having surgery on May 12th and then there will be the
follow-up treatments over the next several months.
Many of you have met my son
Sam who is now working with me full time. And of course my
husband Howard is always by
my side. Although I know there will be good days and bad days,
Chagrin Valley Soap will
continue to do business as usual--we may be a bit slower! We
want and appreciate your
continued business
(after all, we have to keep Sam busy!). If there
are any delays, you will be notified as soon as possible.
There are some aspects of the business, like making soap, that only
I do--so we appreciate your patience with our soap inventory.
I have told many people
over the years, that I have been blessed with the kindest, most
wonderful customers.
I am grateful for your
patronage and patience.
Thank you,
Ida
| 5/15: The surgery went well and Ida is resting at
home. We have to yell at her to make her rest! She
should be back to doing simple things in about a week.
Thank you so much for all of the kind words, thought and
prayers.
5/28: I am back to work! Things take me a bit
longer--but it feels so good! I have received many notes
from my fabulous customers scolding me to take it easy--I
promise I will! I will not be able to lift my soap pots
for a while--but I am itching to make soap--where there's a
will there's a way--so we will figure something out!
Thank you again for all of the lovely notes, thoughts and
prayers.
7/9: Many of you have asked for an update so here it is.
The good news is that the last set of test results came back
and. . . no chemotherapy. I begin radiation therapy next
week. Howard asked the Doctor if I would glow in the
dark--so when we have a power outage he can still find me (my
sweetheart always keeps me smiling!) I have to go every
weekday for 8 weeks. The major side effect is extreme
fatigue and, at Howard's urging, the doc said I would
probably not be able to continue my 14 hour days for too much
longer. So, there may be some slow downs around here--we
appreciate your patience. The other possible side effect
is loss of appetite. Since I have never lost my appetite
in my whole life--this may actually be a benefit! A
heartfelt THANK YOU for your continued support and all of your
kind words and prayers.
8/20/08: Only 15 more treatments left (I am like a
little kid marking the days on my calendar). The
fatigue has really hit. It is an odd kind of tired--you
have to take a nap, but unlike napping when you are just
tired, the nap does not really lessen the fatigue. It is
difficult for an active person like me to give in to the
constant feeling of being tired--but my family yells at me
--so I nap! To Howard's dismay, I do not glow in the
dark. I am totally "tanned" on one side and he said when
all of this is over, I should spend some time at a nude beach
and tan the other side so that I match. (Should I
suggest the French Riviera?) Although my appetite has
decreased, so has my activity level. So I guess we
will not see a thinner Ida! I apologize for delays
in answering e-mails and some orders may take a bit more time
when we run out of whipped butters and other items that I can
usually make quickly as needed. I Thank you again
for your patience and all of the lovely notes, thoughts and
prayers. |
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