A few days ago I discovered that my blog reader/friend Dieneke Ferguson had died months ago, in October. She had been diagnosed with MM in her 50s for which she had undergone many conventional treatments. When she was left with no options (but the final one!!!), many years ago, she came across my blog, got in touch with me, and began taking curcumin, which managed to stabilize her so much so that in 2018 she was interviewed by BBC Radio 4. That interview, if my memory serves me correctly, was picked up by other news agencies. Dieneke became quite well-known.
Unfortunately, she later developed ovarian cancer. The last time we communicated, she was undergoing conventional treatments. Well, with all that was going on here in Florence, I didn’t hear of her death last October.
Dieneke and I had planned to meet someday…In fact, she had invited Stefano and me to stay with her so many times; I’m sad to say, however, that we never met in the flesh. But even so, I was attached to Dieneke, her spirit, her optimism…Her death greatly saddens me.
Today I’m publishing a quick post (I have a zillion things to do today, including taking Peekaboo to the clinic for her CAT scan!) about a recent qualitative study on MGUS patients that is online for FREE this month. Many MANY thanks to Blain Murphy, one of the authors of the study, for getting in touch with me about it, otherwise I might have missed it. Correct that: I would have missed it. 😉
I don’t have the time to read it before posting, but I’m sure it will be of great interest to all of us, even if those of us who are beyond the MGUS level. I skimmed through it just now, and yes, this will be a good read…I recognize all the feelings I had at diagnosis (about 100 years ago!)…shock, anxiety, incomprehension, etc.
And, remember, the study is available for FREE only this month, so hurry up and check it out.
Wow, I can’t believe that I haven’t published a post in so long. More than TWO MONTHS…That’s definitely my (worst) record. 😕 Sorry about that. Since I’ve received a bunch of concerned messages, though, I thought I’d better reassure everyone publicly that I’m fine, Stefano is fine, the kitties are fine. In short, we’re all fine, although I’ve been dealing with some health issues with Peekaboo in the past month or so.
Peekaboo, February 2021
Last summer (and then in the fall, and then just about a month ago) she came down with a nasty case of gingivitis, which is concerning, not just because it keeps coming back, in spite of antibiotics and cortisone, but because more than two years ago she had an aggressive form of oral melanoma, and a portion of her jaw was removed…She recovered beautifully from that surgery, I would like to add…In this photo, if you look closely, perhaps you will be able to see that the left side of her face is a bit swollen (this is actually a good photo, since her left eye is usually half shut now). My poor Booboo!!!
But we’ll sort it out, I’m sure. Our vets had a meeting about Peekaboo yesterday. The upshot is that I’m taking her to the clinic tomorrow for a CAT scan. A CAT scan for a cat! Hah. Anyway, yes, I’m worried, but Peeky is a tough kitty who has been through so much…So she is going to be fine. Period.
Okay, let’s see, what else? I’ve been quite busy in these past two months of absence from the blog… not just translations, but, for example, after 20 years of living with an incredibly impractical kitchen (very little counter space, e.g.), we decided to have it totally renovated. I’m finally going to have the kitchen of my dreams (with lots of counter space, a new super duper oven, etc.). Very exciting. Demolition of the old kitchen will start on Monday. By the end of next week, I hope most of the new kitchen will be installed, except for the counter top, which will take another ten days or so.
Anyway, as we say in Italian, tutto bene = all is well. But now I really must continue clearing stuff out of the kitchen…Monday is just around the corner! Yikes!
So…ciao, everyone!!! Now more than ever, with all these blasted Covid variants floating around, please take care, stay safe, and wear your masks!!!
