NON-HODGKINS LYMPHOMA BLUES

Monday, May 10 - I've been in St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul since Wednesday morning. It started out being a very strange experience. Something happened to me on Sunday night, May 2. It was a serious medical issue. I thought maybe I just had a TIA, but it was much more serious than that.

Going back to Sunday night, I can remember that I started feeling very confused and disoriented. I went back to work Monday morning, May 3, because I was just coming off of medical leave for a different issue. I got to work and back just fine but had a horrible time of doing my job. I couldn't remember how to do it even though I'd been doing it for years. I tried to walk to the printer and went the wrong way. I got lost and turned around in my own office. My coworkers noticed something wrong but thought I was just having trouble getting back into the swing of work after a two-week medical leave. They were very nice about it but were concerned about me. My very nice boss Pete talked to me on Tuesday morning about my medical issues and getting back into work since this is our very busy part of the year in collecting data from insurance companies, health clinics, hospitals, etc.

I went home, then came back to work on Wednesday morning. I was there about two hours or so when I just had to leave. I was scared because I still couldn't figure out how to do my job. I was crying. I went to say goodbye to my coworker and friend Amy Camp. She wouldn't let me drive. She knew something was terribly wrong. She called an ambulance. The next thing I knew I was on my way to St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul, MN, very close to where I work at the Minnesota Department of Health. It was an excellent hospital for me to go to because one of its top specialties is neurology/neurosurgery.

On Wednesday I had a CAT scan and an MRI of my brain, then later an MRI of my entire trunk area to see if the tumor had mestatisized. It hadn't, thankfully.

At first the doctors thought it was an agressive, stage three or stage 4 brain tumor. The biopsy results should come within a couple of days. It is in a spot that I choose not to have surgically removed because of the chance of losing cognitive reasoning skills. That is not acceptable to me.

The plan at this point, before knowing the biopsy report, is five weeks of radiology and chemotherapy and then a cweek of cyberknife. I have a feeling that I don't have long to live, but that could be because I've always had a feeling that I would die by age 62. No idea what that was all about.

I'm sure glad I met all my new friends before all this happened. What joy they have all brought me in the last nine months since I met them. Holly Cairns, Matt Entenza, Jason Hitchcock, Bridget, Gretchen, many others from the Entenza campaign (I can't remember all their names now because of the brain swelling, but probably will soon.), Mark Dayton, Brian Klaas, Katie Tinucci and others from the Dayton campaign. Mark Dayton is the one who first excited my excitement in campaigning since the 2010 gubernatorial race began. After that, I was completely hooked on the campaigning and the election as well as the entire political process. I got to know all the DFL gubernatorial candidates personally. They're all wonderful, caring, intelligent people. Any of them would make a fine governor for Minnesota. They all truly care about Minnesota and the issues facing Minnesotans.

R. T. Rybak and Paul Thissen were both very special to me. They went out of their way to make me feel welcome and to answer questions about hepatitis C and cirrhosis, which is another medical issue of mine. Almost all of the DFL candidates for governor took a great interest in answering my questions.

Tom Rukavina added so much fun and humor to his campaigning. What a unique, feisty, wonderful guy. I'll also never forget his staffer Orrie Salper. He was very special to me because he's such a warmhearted, kind person and has a great sense of humor. Also, I can say nothing but good things about Matt from the Thissen campaign, Senator John Marty and various others.

The Rybak staff, as well as Paul Thissen and his wife Karen, who is such a wonderful woman, also made me feel very good about campaigning and about politics in general.

Also not to be forgotten are all my new reNEW MN friends. What a great group of people! Minnesota is definitely changing for the better because of them. They added so much fun, excitement and enthusiasm to the 2010 DFL State Convention. I was so glad to be an alternate delegate to that event. I met lots of people, including a direct descendant of Daniel Webster who was also named Daniel Webster. The current Daniel Webster was a staunch Rybak supporter. He's the one who did the Rybak campaign music video called I've Been Everywhere.

There are now three remaining DFL candidates for governor. They are Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza and Margaret Anderson Kelliher. It's very difficult to decide which one to vote for. On the other hand, I might not live long enough to have to decide. I've always been a Dayton supporter and I also like Matt Entenza very much.

I have a strong fondness for Mark Dayton, maybe partly because he's of the same era that I am. We both were active protestors against the Viet Nam War. We both distinctly remember Kent State and all the other intense things that happened in the late 1960s and early 1970's. We remember the same culture and the same music. We both love The Moody Blues, although he liked the Rolling Stones better and I liked The Beatles better. We remember Country Joe and the Fish, Simon & Garfunkle, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and so many others. We both kept our progressive values. No wonder I feel an affinity with him. I feel an even greater affinity toward him now that I know him a bit in person. He's never deviated from his dedication to progressive politics. He's been working hard and diligently toward progressive goals since the late 1960's. He has always put the well-being of others before his own needs.

Matt Entenza is definitely another person who I would feel very comfortable with as governor. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, as well, has the values that Minnesota needs. Any of these three would make a great governor.

In conclusion of this first part of my current medical story, I can only tell you, since when I wrote this I hadn't received my biopsy results yet, that the "tumor" might have been growing for awhile until it finally got big enough to cause the symptoms of confusion and disorientation. Luckily the steroids the doctors have me on alleviates that.

I'll submit Part II later today or tomorrow.

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FROM PARKING TICKET TO COURT

My job was to shovel our whole driveway...

I got a parking ticket last week. It doesn't happen often, but every now and then I have to make a trip to the big courthouse in downtown St. Paul. It's only several blocks from where I work in the Golden Rule Building. Through the skyway and down an escalator at Crown Plaza Hotel, then outside for half a block. Little baby steps today. Very slippery sidewalks.

Getting in the front door was the hard part. There's security. Empty the contents of your pockets into the little bin. Place purse through the scanner. Watch the campaign button; it's got a metal pin. Ooops, the security guard must not be a Dayton supporter. Hey! Give that back, mister. It's the only one I've got left. The nerve of some people...

I finally made it into the waiting room with about thirty other people. Not all were there for parking tickets. Some were there for not wearing their seatbelts. Naughty.

Wait, wait, wait...I guess that's why they call it a waiting room. Thirty people of all ages, races, ethnicities, gender preferences and political persuasions. People with tattered jeans and people in business suits. All at City Hall to beat a rap.

Have you ever sat in a crowed room of people and no one wanted to say a word? Kind of like the silent elevator. I had to speak up. Right?

"Anybody here ever been to a Toastmasters meeting?" I asked. One person had. The others didn't know what it was. That gave me an opportunity to tell them. They listened. A few were interested. I handed out my Toastmasters business cards.

One guy asked me about my campaign button. "Why are you wearing that?" he asked.

"It's easier than wearing a sandwich board," I replied.

Then the waiting room crowd all started talking at once. "I'm voting for the Mayor," said one. "He'll be a good governor."

"I'm voting for Rybak too," said a large football player type man.

"I'm suprised," I commented. "I thought you would vote for Dayton.

"And I thought you would vote for Kelliher or Gaertner."

Touche.

A woman who said she was a nurse said she was determined to vote for Paul Thissen. Another said her choice was John Marty. The field was wide open. No clear straw poll results here. Was a persuasive speech in order?

It was.

There are now seventeen new Dayton supporters running around in downtown St. Paul. My job was done, my parking ticket was dismissed, and I was on my way back to work.

I hit the skyway and stopped at the University Club. I wanted to check out Lifetime Fitness in downtown St. Paul. No thanks. I like my club in White Bear Lake. The one housed at the University Club has elevators that only go in one direction. Down. Guess they want you to get fit by taking the stairs up. Also, the running track on the 9th floor stops before it gets all the way around the circle. I left the building scratching my head in perplexity.

Going back to work at MDH was a pleasant diversion.

Colleen Sue's Day Off

I had an interesting day. Ok, maybe not as interesting as that of Ferris Bueller, but I met lots of unique people. And all because of Mark Dayton. One of his campaign staffers gave me a button/pin, so I've been wearing it on my coat. Turns out it's a great conversation starter.

My first stop this morning was the community room of my apartment complex. Residents get free coffee, donuts and interaction with each other every Saturday morning. This morning we also had birthday cake. It was Joan's 90 something birthday. There were probably about 15 of us...the same ones every Saturday. They all asked me when the Meet and Greet was going to be. They're really looking forward to it. I said I didn't know, because I hadn't been given a date yet. Hopefully it'll be a Sunday afternoon. That way everyone can come. Including my son and daughter-in-law.

Next stop was downtown St. Paul. I parked in front of the Golden Rule Building and wandered over to the bus stop. I wanted to go to Minneapolis and take the light rail to the mall. I didn't want to drive to Mpls for parking reasons and because my front tires have bad tread. Not to the legal limit yet, but close. Plus my hood flops around (my youngest son had rearended a city bus).

There were the usual people at the downtown St. Paul bus stop. Three young men were loud, but it was excusable, as they were practicing their rap techniques. I had to get after one guy, though. He looked to be about thirty years old. Far too old to be frightening the pigeons, I thought. I told him he was naughty. He grinned then looked at the button pinned to my jacket. "Who's Mark Dayton?" he asked. I replied that he's running for governor. He asked if he was related to the department store. I agreed that there might be a genetic connection. I told him if he didn't vote for Dayton I was going to turn him into the ASPCA for his mistreatment of the pigeons. He shamefully agreed.

The bus finally came and off I went down I94 to Minneapolis. I got off on Nicollet and went immediately to the light rail station. Luckily you never have to wait long for it to come along. Thanks, R.T.

I love trains. I grew up on trains. I come from a railroad family. My grandfather was an engineer for the Minnesota Transfer Railway. My uncle Everett was a fireman (for the engine). I had cousins who worked for the Burlington Northern. I spent a lot of time on the Burlington Northern Black Hawk between St. Paul and Chicago. Sometimes we'd go on to York, Nebraska, where my aunt and uncle lived. Once we even took the train to Florida. My cousin Diana and I loved nothing better than to ride the rails. To this day I could ride them for weeks and never get bored. You meet so many interesting people on the train and there's plenty of time to talk to them.

The LRT was crowded today. Everyone was headed either to the airport or the mall. I struck up a conversation with a young Asian man who was new to Minnesota but had already found a job and a car. He asked about my button. I explained about that particular candidate. He was duly impressed and agree to cast his vote appropriately. I took out my little notebook and made another scratch mark. Soon I'll have to get another one.

We finallly reached the MOA VIA LRT. It was crowded today. I covered three floors in just a couple of hours. First I walked into C J Banks. Two saleswomen noticed my button and came over to talk about it. "Oh, is he campaigning already?" they asked. I agreed that he was. I didn't have to say anything after that. They told me all the reasons they were voting for him. I smiled, agreed, made my purchase of a Christmas pullover and went on my way.

The same thing happened in three more stores. For a total of nineteen people. I'm grinning by now. Getting hungry, too. Oh cool, there was Crepes to Go, right in front of me. I love crepes but haven't had any for the longest time. I eyed the dessert crepes. Fresh strawberries with whipped cream. Carmel with ice cream. Bananas with apricot preserves. Yummy. I was a good girl, though, and ordered the chicken/broccoli divan. And a Diet Coke, of course.

My last stop was at Brookstone. They really have some neat stuff. I bought my middle son, Charles, something really cool. I can't tell you what it is because he might read this. The guy who rang up the sale noticed my button (of course). He said, "Dayton. Isn't he running for something in the 5th Congressional District?"

"Governor," I explained patiently.

"Oh yeah," he agreed. "Didn't he used to be our Representative to Washington?"

"Senator."

"I knew he did something. I'll vote for him."

Why argue with success? So I invited him to a Toastmasters meeting.

Usually when I go to MOA I get a headache from all the loud noise reverberating through the amusement park. It wasn't too bad today. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of going into Crabtree & Evelyn and testing the rosewater glycerine lotion. I forgot I always get a headache from the scent of roses. Unfortunately, they discontinued the gardenia scent. I love gardenias and lilacs. So off I went with a headache coming on. Another Diet Coke and two extra strength Bayer took care of it. I was good to go.

Back onto the train and more people asking me who was running for what. I just gave them the link to my blog.

I almost fell asleep on the LRT. Such a lovely ride. I felt content and peaceful. Then we stopped at the airport and some more people got on. There weren't many seats left. A little boy was going to sit next to me. His mom told him to go ahead. He must have been about eight or nine. Then he saw my button and started screaming, "Dad! She's wearing a Mark Dayton button! I'm not sitting with her!" Blankety blank little snot-nosed Republican kid. That's ok, another kid, thoroughly DFL, sauntered over and very coolly said, "My dad can beat up your dad, so take that back." The GOP kid did.

On we rolled to downtown Minneapolis. Just in time for the Holidazzle Parade. The guy standing next to me looked at my button and said, "Are you voting for Mark Dayton?"

"No," I said. "I'm voting for Norm Coleman. That's why I'm wearing a Mark Dayton button." Moron.

Time to get on the 94 MTC and go back to St. Paul. I was hoping my car didn't get towed while I was gone. I left it at a meter all day. Now where does the 94 stop? I thought it might be 8th Street. I hadn't taken a bus from Minneapolis for awhile. I asked a bus driver and he told me 4th Street. So I walked back the way I came. When I got there the people (who duly noticed and commented on my button) said the 94 goes down 6th Street, not 4th. Crap. Some 20 something kid said he would show me. I didn't need to be shown but I let him tag along anyway. He decided he'd take the 94 back to St. Paul too and also decided to sit with me on the bus. Rats. I had to listen to a tirade about World of Warcraft all the way back to St. Paul. If I wanted to hear about WOW, I'd call my youngest son, Marcus. I quickly and efficiently turned the conversation to my beautiful, overworked royal blue (not purple) and red button. By the time we reached St. Paul, he was glassy eyed but eager to vote appropriately.

My car was still where I had left it sans ticket. I got in, cranked up the heat and the stereo, and listened to Johnny Cash croon about getting his car one piece at a time. Kind of like one voter at a time.

Each day is what we make of it. Enthusiasm means everything.

Como Park Conservatory, St. Paul MN

Como Park has always been one of my favorite places to go in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is a picture of one of the rooms in the conservatory. It's beautiful. Many people get married here. My son Charles and his wife Becky got married here.

This conservatory has several large rooms as well as a middle part. There are lots of beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees. They even have a bonsai room. I went there with my sons Charles and Marcus. Each bonsai tree has a sign that tells how old it is. One was 300 years old, another was 400 years, and another was 800 years old. Charles said to me, "Mom, if you had these, they'd all be dead in two weeks!"

He's right. My plants always die. I guess I should quit singing to them.

If you want to know more about Como Park, here's the link:
http://www.comozooconservatory.org/