Sincere wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.

Silver lining in all this is that Jason is happy. LOL

Your roses look amazing.

Valerie

Beautiful roses Ingrid! Best wishes for both you and your husband with both of your gealth issues. So sorry you are going through this.

Sheila, Valerie and Alana, you are such dear and kind friends. It will take some getting used to, but we'll make the best of our changed circumstances, and yes, Jason is a very happy cat. At this moment he's parked between us on the couch, his usual and favorite spot. It just wasn't the same when one of his bookends was missing.

Sheila, you're so right in that a lot of research is being done about MS and the situation is not nearly as dire as some decades ago, with so many new drugs and treatments being discovered. It's by no means as serious as other diseases we can all name, so there's much to be grateful for.

Sorry, I didn't see what this thread was about... My prayers for you and your husband, Ingrid. May you continue finding the joy of life together through healing, love, gardening, Jason, and everything else you so beautifully share.

Ingrid, no one deserves roses at Christmas more than you and your husband! I celebrate his return home for the holidays as I do your determined spirits. As Lisa mentioned, and as your specialist no doubt explained as well, there are several kinds of MS, each with its own treatment plan. I have been impressed with recent effective treatments and the hope of more on the horizon. I hold you and your husband in my thoughts for the best news and the most successful individual treatment program. Sometimes it helps to know you are in good company, so I will chime in by mentioning that my son-in-law and two good friends of mine have been managing MS for years. I am finding that every time I turn around, I meet some new and wonderful acquaintance with an autoimmune disorder. We should start a club! I send you and your husband all my love and care straight from OR, down I-5 and right to your doorstep. Carol

Ingrid, so sorry I didn't read this sooner! I hope you and your husband are comfortable and getting along better since he's been home. Your Christmas roses are lovely, all the more so since most of mine look brown and leafless at the moment. Thank you for taking a moment to share them in spite of all the difficulties you've had.

Best hopes for your husband, Ingrid! And, glad to see those nice photos that defy winter. Annie Laurie McDowell is certainly on my list as a potential occupant of any garden openings in the future.

Ingrid, so saddened to hear that your kind husband (AKA cool dude) has MS. Medical science is making giant strides in the field of autoimmunity. Yet it is still a major illness.

Melissa, Jin and SeeingGreen your husbands too are in my thoughts and prayers. May the coming year bring us all better health and happiness.

Cath

Ingrid....I am so sorry to hear of your husband's health troubles. I remember when you were posting about the falls he had been having. I'm sorry to hear that the cause turned out to be MS.

Here's hoping that your garden can be a refuge for the two of you this year and that the roses will bring you lots of joy.

I could not ask for more kindness and empathy, and you can't know what an impact it has had. Feeling alone is part of the pain, and when I read your posts I know that is not the case. At the same time, I think of all of you who have your own anxieties and pain, and I'm there just as much for you. I especially worry about bart, since she hasn't mentioned what the plan is for her treatment.

Today I learned that Cecil may not have MS, although he exhibits all the classic symptoms, but we don't have all the results back. Reading about autoimmune diseases can make your head spin because there are so many, and one opinion is that he had a cancer he wasn't aware of which healed itself and his disorder now is the result of that. Bizarre, yes?

Keep us posted, Ingrid. I am hoping they come up with a good diagnosis and treatment plan for Cecil for whatever it is.

Thank you for thinking of me, Ingrid. I join Sheila and the others in sending you and your DH my heartiest best wishes for a good diagnosis and treatment. That is so kind of you to think of me; you are lucky to be able to think about other people's troubles as well as your own. It helps, and I myself must keep this in mind especially at present and try to follow your example. We saw the doctor yesterday; fortunately the cancer is localized solely in my left lung,and therefore is curable. The plan is to shrink it with chemotherapy. Then they have to evaluate the situation: it turns out that I also have emphisema (that totally shocked me! all these years working so hard,breaking rocky, hard ground by hand with a pick, lugging heavy sacks,etc, in my steep, steep garden,and I never felt particularly breathless!?!), so it may not be possible to remove the diseased portion surgically. If that is the case, I guess it'll mean radiation and maybe more chemotherapy. Right now I am feeling quite daunted. This is the second onco issue for me; the first was about 7 years ago, a rather "minor" breast thing. Now this.

This is a tough one bart, I'm so sorry, and can only send good wishes your way and hope for the very best there... and for Ingrid's husband too. Yes that is bizarre, I don't know what to make of it.. but we keep our fingers crossed for a positive outcome...

bart, thank you so much for letting us know what the treatment plan is for you. Lung cancer is a toughie but yours seems much more hopeful than most because it's confined to one area, and what's being planned is exactly the same as would be done here. I can imagine your feelings because the chemo is so tough, although I think nowadays they have better drugs to alleviate the discomfort. However they proceed after that is another hurdle, but if in the end the cancer is gone in retrospect it will have all been worth it. Please don't hesitate to turn to us when you feel the need; we're here for you just as you've all been here for me. Most of us have never met each other but more and more I think we share our lives here as much as we share our love of roses, and that seems like a very good thing.

bart, I didn't realise till now that you had a spot on your lung. I knew you had mobility problems - hip? I wish you all the best with it. A friend of mine has just had the lower lobe removed, and the lymph glands, after a spot was discovered there. She had breast cancer a few years ago. She is expected to be fine. I hope the same goes for you. That is a surprise about the emphysema, with you working so hard in your garden.

Ingrid, that is indeed bizarre about the cancer. I hope they get to the bottom of your husband's problem soon.

Bart, I wish you all the best. It is great to hear that your left lung can be taken care of but hearing about emphysema seems shocking. You seemed shocked and doing all the " rocks and yard" work and other chores and no symptoms seems ....

I would go for 2nd opinion. From x Ray they can see all..how did they missed the 1st time around..

Ingrid you have been on my mind a lot no doubt. I wish your husband best wishes also. And also a 2 ND opinion from a different doctor, see a BEST doctor. Then go for 3rd to make sure ( they sing same song). Titan already said get to bottom of it.

Keep us updated, please. I hope to hear good news . Wish I can do more, I just wish...

Jin

Bart, I am rooting for you too. Anyone who grows roses in a dry Summer area with only hand carried water and breaks hard rocky ground by hand with a sore hip is one "tough cookie". I do hope your challenges ease up on you a little.

Ingrid, I do know that some people who have been treated for cancer can end up with an autoimmune disease, sarcoidosis.

Cath

Thank you all for your sympathy and good advice. We have seen two neurologists in addition to about six other doctors at the hospital whose specialties I don't know, but who wanted to study Cecil's case since it is such an oddity. A specimen from his lumbar puncture and quite a few blood samples were also sent to the Mayo Clinic, so I think he's in good hands. Our primary doctor who practices internal medicine immediately felt something was very off the moment he saw him, and in the same day arranged for an MRI; I don't think he even officially had permission for that at the time. He called with the results personally the very same evening.

I took this picture today. He's so gaunt and changed, but his sense of humor is intact.

Ingrid, it seems you are in very good hands, which is the most one can hope for. Well, that, and that they get to the bottom of it quickly, and have a treatment. But with so many doctors interested in his case, it seems hopeful.

I'm glad to hear that his sense of humour is unchanged.

Thinking of you both, and wish there was something that I could do. Trish x

He does look thin, Ingrid, but the fact that he takes a "positive,pro-active" attitude is so, so important,methinks. And having a good sense of humour-and keeping hold of it even in adversity...well, THAT promises very, very well,IMO. "Laughter is carbonated holiness" (Anne Lamott); it's a well-known fact that it is good for the health of body and soul. Having good doctors is so important, too. I totally trust the doctors that are looking after me. The oncologists of Tuscany are amongst the best in the world, I've read,and they work together as a multi-disciplinary group of specialists; it is not just one doctor who makes decisions and interprets the tests. The entire equipe meets on a regular basis to discuss the cases they are treating I've done a LOT of different tests, btw,3 CAT scans,bronchoscopy with this new-fangled thingie called an EBUS, which permits them to do biopsies during the bronchoscopy- my family doctor didn't even know what that was, it's so new!- and a PET. I myself am quite confused as to how "bad off" I actually am; I'm trying to formulate questions for the doctor,because neither the CAT scans nor the bronchoscopy showed cancer, just the fact that these lymph nodes are swollen. The problem was only revealed by the biopsies, and confirmed by the PET,so as far as I understand at present, the problem started in the lymph nodes, it didn't spread to them (???) So I am very confused: the fact that it wasn't "visible" seems a good sign, the fact that it's in lymph nodes seems bad. But they said it IS curable,and they are good doctors; only a dishonest quack would lie to a patient. (This is another great thing about the socialized health system; doctors don't get rich if they work for public health).

I think-I hope! that you are right about me, Cath! that I am indeed a "tough cookie" and will get over this difficult hurdle relatively unscathed. Thank you, Titian, and all of you for wishing me well. I feel kind of guilty, like I "hijacked" Ingrid's thread a bit, but I am so touched that she asked specifically about me; it seemed churlish not to "spill",lol.

Ingrid, I'm holding you and Cecil in my thoughts and heart. I'm sorry that's all I can manage to say at the moment. Biggest of hugs, Comtesse ((()))

And Bart, I'm shocked to hear your news; you are also in my thoughts and heart as you negotiate this. Hugs and good wishes, Comtesse ((()))

What a tough year this has been for so many of us. Let's see what we can do with 2018. Love to all.

Though I read this forum fairly regularly, I don't post very much, so I hope that I'm not intruding. I just wanted to say that I'm really, really sorry that some of you are going through such very hard times, and for what its worth you are in my prayers. You all have my sincerest wishes for a happy and healthy 2018!

Bart, It may be that the lymph nodes were just swollen in reaction to something not being right in the lungs. Biopies often reveal things that cat scans etc can't, which is why they do them. It seems logical that if it is localized to the lung then the lymph nodes are just swollen due to that. Sometimes doctors will also sample/biopsy the nearby lymph nodes to see if there is anything in them for sure. Hoping and praying for the best for you.

Ingrid I am praying that your dh makes it through this okay. There are so many things that can go wrong with our bodies besides cancer. My best advice is to anyone going through this, is to keep asking questions and seeking a diagnosis and do your own research until you are satisfied.

Someone mentioned Sarcoids and that is what they found on me after a CT scan, MRI, and liver biopsy. I had had a rare type of uterine cancer a few years ago. It was stage one and they got it all and 6 mos later they saw something strange on my liver on a routine ct scan. I had a biopsy of my liver and after seeing more specialists, since the oncologist wasnt sure what it was, it was diagnosed as a sarcoid. It was a tiny thing and didn't mean I have Sarcoidosis. Apparently, a lot of people get Sarcoids and they just go away on their own and no one knows they even have then unless they happen to have a scan or something. They can be a reaction to something your body is trying to get rid of, such as an infection etc. It was sure scary though, thinking cancer could have went to my liver that quickly. Luckily it was not. If the Sarcoids persist and dont go away or keep recurring, spread to different areas etc then it will be diagnosed as Sarcoidosis.

I agreed with Titan 100 per cent. ( Trish). All of it

And I wish you all Happy New Year with good health and happiness.

Jin

Your all so dear to me. Know that I am thinking of each of you as you as you go through these rough times. Lisa

Trish, thank you for your kind and encouraging words. You're always a beacon of light (except when you're criticizing your garden!) I'm so glad you're part of our group.

bart, don't even think for a moment that you hijacked this thread. I'm so glad that you have excellent doctors; that can make all the difference. Their saying it could be cured is wonderful. I had a friend who had a similar situation. The radiation oncologist treated her lymph nodes twice a day, which is almost unheard of, but she saved my friend's life. Every case is different, and having a panel of doctors reviewing your case is great.

comtesse, my thoughts have been with you, and I sense you're going through a difficult period. I so hope that the next year will also be a better one for you.

Frances, it's so kind and gracious for you to come forward and wish everyone well and a happy new year. Feel free to join us at any time, you'd be most welcome. Best wishes for the New Year to you also.

Jin, you were so fortunate to have your uterine cancer diagnosed early. My mom also had a rare type and it was too late for her. Let's hope the sarcoid turns out to be insignificant.

Ingrid, that is such a sweet thing to say! Thank you.

Bart I just wanted to add two sense. My lymph nodes were swollen in my chest and lungs they did a lung biopsy and all sorts of tests. It was back and forth between sarcoidosis and something else. When they wanted to cut me again in my chest just because bloodwork wasn't 100 percent on sarcoid, I didn't do it. A few months or more later the doctor that they had that was going to cut me again and I refused, because I was tired of being cut on, told me it had to be sarcoidosis because your lymph nodes don't go down after swelling up with the other, only with sarcoidosis. Sorry I cannot remember what the other thing was it could have been. I know it may sounds crazy to refuse, but I have been a doctors guinea pig my entire life and I get tired of it. I wish I could afford to see the specialist in Charleston or even Columbia but I am doomed to deal with what I have so..I am glad you like your doctors.

Alana, I am so sorry that you have had such negative experiences with the doctors you know and can't get to see a specialist. ALL people, no matter what their economic situation is, should have a right to proper health care. I am so, so lucky to live in a country where excellent health care is considered to be a right for everybody,no matter their economic status. Unfortunately there are those that are trying to mess this situation up,but hopefully they will never, ever succeed. I am also so, so lucky to have found good doctors.

Once again, thank you all for your kind wishes, and I wish the best to all of you, too. Also I want to thank Ingrid in particular for a) starting this thread b) caring enough to ask about me. This helped me to open up a bit, which can be so hard to do, especially because I am one of those people who feels a bit "funny" about Internet (I don't think I ever mentioned on this forum that I even had a son until said son turned 18 for example!!! because it's Internet and to me it seemed safer!!!) My cousin wrote to me, asking if there were support groups, etc, in my area, which I highly doubt, and in any case it's pretty difficult for me to "get around" these days,what with being so out-of-breath and weak-feeling and my hip problem. But I'm finding that you forum friends are turning out to be a pretty valid "support group" for me!

I have been out of the loop, but want all of you to know I am praying and thinking about you. I am so sorry that you guys are dealing with such scary things. I know that your positive attitudes so impress me. Hugs to you all.

Trying to catch up on posts after being away from the forum during the hustle & bustle of the holidays. So sorry to read of the troubles many of our rose friends and their loved ones have suffered through this year! Praying for a healing 2018 with much love and happiness surrounding all. Reading the kind words of forum members who have never met, but yet are so concerned about one another is uplifting and inspirational. Kindness is contagious…let’s keep spreading it around in 2018!!!

Like Pat, I stepped away for a bit and am just catching up again. I am thinking of everyone. Please keep us updated and check in whenever you have news or are in need of support, a shoulder or a bit of "carbonated holiness" as Bart and Anne Lamott suggested.

Ingrid, please keep us informed as the doctors narrow their focus to determine what is affecting your husband's health. I've often thought that medical science reads like a detective novel. Your husband is indeed in good hands. The Mayo Clinic is an ideal setting, filled with Scotland Yard's finest doctor detectives!

Alana, I hear your concerns about quality health care. My family has struggled with similar. If I could bring one wish to fruition in 2018, excellent and accessible medicine for all would be in the top of the list. Carol

Alana, I hate that for you. My sister went thru the same, but it was a blessing for her. They had to discover exactly what it was because the treatment options were vastly different. She is on hormone therapy vs chemo and radiation. Her initial biopsy was correct, but what she had was so rare, her specialist wanted to do her own biopsies and send them to a special lab in Texas.

I don't know if all the people who care will see this here, but I have wonderful news. Cecil is completely back to his old self! The five-day intravenous immunoglobulin treatments he was given in the hospital have begun to work and it is close to a miracle for us. When he first came home he actually seemed worse for several days, and then suddenly day by day he improved and he now does not have a single symptom; even the weak, hoarse old-man voice is gone. We're both over the moon; it's as though we have been given our old life back. No walker, no cane, complete control of his body, perhaps just a slight residual tiredness. We understand that as long as he receives booster treatments whenever he begins to deteriorate he should be fine. This should be a happier new year than we were able to contemplate even a few days ago, and my dearest wish is that all of you struggling with health problems will experience significant improvement. bart, I think especially of you since your poor body is being challenged in so many ways. I'm sending death rays to all the enemies in your body that are trying to keep you from being well and away from your beloved roses.

Wonderful news, Ingrid! The happiest start to the New Year after a roller coaster journey from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other. I am celebrating alongside you and Cecil and hope you can both sit back with a shared sigh of relief before tackling your spring garden projects! Carol

Ingrid, that is fine news to start out 2018, and I very much hope you can both continue to achieve better health this year.

Comtesse, I hope the warmer weather suits you, and you are at least able to sit outside and enjoy a bit of nature-watching. If you are able to do more than that, so much the better.

bart, I also am puzzled by your emphysema dx when you are so active, with no shortness of breath. Even the best doctors can make errors, so I agree that a second opinion would be wise. Especially since it seems that it will effect the treatment plan for your lung. You are definitely a tough cookie... a biscotti?

Alana, our health care system is wonky, and likely to get worse before it gets better, but doctors still go into their professions because they want to heal the sick, and I do recommend reaching out to specialists in Columbia or Charleston or Duke or elsewhere to see if there are treatment studies you may be eligible for, or if a doctor is willing to treat you simply because you need help. Even if you have already tried, it may still be worth trying again, just to see if anything has changed.

Jin, I don't know what your husband's situation is, but I hope he gets the care he needs, and that he will soon be on the road to better health.

Love and healing to you all,

Virginia

People can have emphysema from alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, among other conditions, without having been a smoker. Lung cancer can also occur in nonsmokers. There are so many conditions that can present without fault of the victims. Wishing you the best, Bart.

Thrilled to hear Cecil is back, Ingrid. He surely knows when to make a comeback for the New Year! I hope he can dig holes.

Thank you, everyone. We're so totally thrilled. Sheila, I've already asked him, he can dig holes!

Wow, amazing. I am thrilled for you and hubby. Congrats and now you can truly celebrate a happy new year.

Valerie

Delighted to read of your good news Ingrid, these things are such a worry. I'm impressed with the speed of treatment.

This is splendid news indeed. What better way to start the new year? I am so delighted for Cecil and for you, Ingrid. Congratulations and keep up the good work,lol!

Once again, I want to thank those of you who are rooting for me. I've started the treatment. Virginia,more than one doctor has seen the CAT scan. As the pneumologist put it, the lungs are marvelous organs, that can compense in amazing ways. Probably the fact that I have worked so long and hard on my steep land did a lot to keep themselves in shape, in spite of the condition. True, lately I had noticed that my wind wasn't perhaps quite as good, and that I tired easily, but I took it to be the added stress and fatigue caused by lugging my by now totally blocked hip about. In a year or so I hope to get that replaced, but first I have to get well from this far more serious problem. But even with the hip, the surgeon was quite impressed by the flexibility I still have in that area-he said that,from looking at the X-rays, he would never have thought I could move it as well as I can. So maybe the emphysema is sort of like that.

Sheila, I don't feel guilty about my problems. I used to smoke, but was not a very heavy smoker. Both of my beloved parents WERE, however,and this was way before anyone had ever heard of passive smoking,so it is a bit as if I'd been smoking since birth. It wasn't their fault-in their day, they were brought up to believe that it was healthy to smoke-good for the digestion. Then, during the second World War, the USA actually launched a campaign encouraging people to smoke, as a patriotic gesture to help the US economy (I read this on Wikipedia). As any gardener knows, it's pretty darn easy, fast,and inexpensive to get a plant to leaf out, and that's all you need for tobacco.The more customers you have, the more money you make. By the time I was a teenager, however,my darling mother was dead from lung cancer and the facts about passive smoking were coming out, so I felt a bit doomed.Besides, I had very severe social anxiety, and having a cigarette to light up and smoke made me feel so much less awkward. I don't kick myself about it. Both the type of emphysema that I have and the type of tumour that I am in the process of getting rid of are of the types that happen to non-smokers as well as smokers anyway. Growing up, I think I always did tend to be prone to bad coughs, etc,and I also had severe anorexia at ages 13-14 after my mom died. Teen-agers are still growing; they have to eat. Back in those days no one had ever thought of stuff like "social anxiety" and "anorexia", so I had no medical or any other kind of help for these conditions So that might be part of the picture, too.

Hhhmmm ... looking back, maybe-hopefully-Virginia is right-that I AM a "tough cookie", "un duro biscotto"!

Best wishes to all, and once again, Ingrid, I am so, so happy for you two.

Bart, you are truly "un duro biscotti"! Your perspective is both practical and compassionate. There are oodles of us who were hit by the last wave of second hand smoke. My father would have been horrified to learn that my sister and I both suffer lasting effects. In the grand scheme of things, if it's toxic, the generations of the 20th and early 21st century have eaten it, drunk it, swum in it or inhaled it before warnings were posted, corporations reluctantly admitted to misleading the public and laws were passed. At least we're all in the handbasket together which places us in good company! I think of you often and will continue to hold your health and healing in my heart. Please do keep us updated! Carol

Ingrid, so happy for you that Cecil's health has improved dramatically and with the promise of continued good health to boot!

Bart, what is past is past. We build the future from now and it sounds like you are doing just that. I wish you every success in your return to robust good health.

Cath

I’m sending love to you Bart. I know that a positive attitude makes a world of difference as to the outcome of these things, and it seems you have that in spades. Indeed, I think the gardening has given you extra strength and flexibility that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

So many here have some serious health problems, and I suspect some do that we know nothing about. Gardeners are generally a caring lot, and this is a good place for support from people who have the same interests. After so much writing here, we DO care about each other and have become “Rose Forum Friends”.

Ingrid, I can’t even tell you how happy I was to receive your letter and also read your update here. I’ve responded through Houzz this time, rather than regular email, so I hope it reaches you. I can hardly believe what a quick turnaround Cecil has made. I’ll bet the sun is shining a little brighter and each rose looks extra beautiful now! I’m just so happy that I’m literally grinning as I type this. I’m SO looking forward to our little get together:)

I am thinking of all of you who have special burdens right now. Alana, Comtesse, Bart, Jin, Virginia, and anyone I missed, wishing the best for you and I think and pray for each of you while I tend to my roses. Lisa

Ingrid, that is wonderful news. It really seems miraculous. I am so pleased for you both. I expect Cecil will be springing about like a new lamb!

Bart, I wish you well with your health problems. My friend who had a spot on her lung, 2 years after breast cancer, recently had part of a lobe removed. It was cancerous, but the lymph glands showed no spread. I hope the same for you.

My husband was a pilot in WWII, and they gave them free tobacco. Whenever we got in the car, he would say "Hat, coat, matches, tobacco, undercarriage."! Strangely, he was found to have sarcoidosis of the lungs in later life, by which time he had quit smoking (a pipe). He developed a fungus ball in the lung, which caused his death, and I've often wondered if he'd kept on smoking whether it would have kept the fungus at bay.

Alana, Jin, comtesse and Lisa, best wishes. x

Ingrid, I’m going to email you the “other way” again. Monday sounds great! My second reply through Houzz came right back to me, yesterday afternoon. It said something like “address not found” or “invalid”. Nonsense! All did was use the “Reply” feature, same as earlier. Lisa

I'm so sorry, I didn't see quite a few comments, thinking this thread was finished and also already having my mind on which new rose to purchase. bart, thank you for sharing your story, which might not have been the easiest thing for you to do. As teenagers we tend to think that everyone else is normal and we're the only ones who lack self-confidence, are shy around people and feel close to worthless. People would tell me that I was pretty or beautiful but that never penetrated to the lonely inner core that was the "real" me. Fortunately, no one in my family smoked, but my incredibly healthy brother suffered a stroke and has since been paralyzed on one side and that will never change. There are very few of us past our youth (and some in their youth like Carol's daughter) who haven't suffered numerous traumas of various kinds. bart, you are our "duro biscotti" and our thoughts will be with you on your journey that we hope will end with a complete cure. Everything so far seems to promise a good outcome and, as Lisa says, a positive attitude is essential.

Cecil says thank you for the wonderful support. We're still waiting for a diagnosis, assuming there is one. He will have to have follow-up injections of immunoglobulin, probably for the rest of his life, a small price to pay for continuing to stay well.

Ingrid, I just read this thread and wanted to tell you how thrilled that I am to hear your wonderful news! I can't imagine how relieved you must feel.

I'm so deeply touched by the show of support from all of the rose friends and thinking about those who still have battles to fight.

lavender, I can't even express how much the support and caring have meant to me. In the same way, I just as strongly care about my friends here who are going through their own struggles. I just want to hug them all and let them know they're not alone. We need each other most when we're vulnerable and hurting, and that's also when you find out who your real friends are. I have so many wonderful friends here.