Better than Roses Anyday

In 2002 the surgeon arrived after an exploratory surgery to say, “Mr. Crawford you have Pseudomyxoma Peritonei.” She explained what she found and said she’d called an oncologist. When she left I called our middle child, Marcy.

This week husband said he’d see the doctor with me. “Not necessary. I’m going there and then to work.” I handled that first appointment fine. Had lunch with friends at CBWF and drove to the surgeon. I felt rather grand when I left there. After all, it’s a lump. Had one of those before. I know dozens of women that suffered with these problems.

Only the next morning when I realized the radiologist talked with the surgeon before he talked with me, I felt a bit squeamish. When he said I needed to call the surgeon for an appointment, I said, “okay.” Drove out of the hospital parking lot, down the hill, into a driveway, dug through my purse for the surgeon’s phone number. Couldn’t find it.

Husband wasn’t home. Didn’t want to call him anyway. He wouldn’t know the number and I wanted to tell him in person. So why did I call Marcy? Cause that’s what daughters are for.

Someplace in Capsules of Hope I have a whole thing about not leaning on your kids, they break. However, at that moment in time, I needed to talk about what happened. How I felt. Marcy couldn’t find the phone number I needed, but there is something about sharing the weight of what just happened.

Thank you, Marcy Lou, you are better than a dozen roses in my day, a sweet rare treasure.
Mom the Kat

Not About Me!

When I read Joni Tada’s devotional yesterday, I claimed it for me. I’d memorized Psalm 5:11 during another tumultuous time in my life. I pulled out the Amplified Bible, looked up the verse. The first part says, "But let all those who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice....." The last of the verse says "....let those also who love Your name be joyful in You and be in high spirits." That's me, in high spirits.

This is Saturday. I drove to work at daybreak, finished a pile of inpatient charges and then saw the doc for a pre-op. Tomorrow I speak at the Louisville Christian Church, Monday I work and Tuesday I’m taking a break from work to visit with all those people at Bergen Mercy Hospital.

Remember I said, this journey is about someone else, not me. Yesterday a patient called all flustered with her bills. I empathized with her, while I set her up on a payment plan I told her how confused I’d been when husband struggled with cancer. “I work in medical billing and didn’t know what to do.”

The patient said, “I’m in the medical profession?” I moved from one screen to another and said, “Really, where do you work?”

“I’m a pharmacist at Bergen.” Guess what? That young lady is coming to meet me in surgery. Said she’d hold my hand. Are you excited yet?

Okay before Monday I still need to send off two articles, clean my desk, complete the legal stuff—P OA for daughter Marcy. Then must copy advanced directives and all that other stuff. Fortunately, we did all that legal stuff when husband was sick. That won’t take long.

Thanks for your prayers,
Kat still Lionhearted

One Lump or Two?

Unfortunately, this isn’t about a walk on the beach. That’s my dream, to return to Oregon in August and take time among the sand, sea and driftwood. But for now I have an interruption in my life.

A few weeks ago I noticed this thing, a hard spot in my left breast. After a few days I commented to husband, “Can’t figure this out. Think I have a lump.” Only I really thought it might be just a part of my changing hormonal chapter. (This spring the doctor suggested I wean myself off those HRT pills I’d taken since 1984. The hot flashes are a killer.)

Then I noticed a pain. “Quit being a baby, you probably slept wrong,” I coached myself. Only neither the pain nor the lump went away. Last weekend husband said, “Do something.” Monday I called and Tuesday morning I had my first appointment. That doc made an appointment with the surgeon before I left her office. Okay, that’s fine with me. Obviously this thing isn’t going away—we’d better deal with it.

I left the first doctor’s office, drove to Valentino’s for a Christian Business Women’s Fellowship (CBWF) luncheon. Over my salad and chatter with friends the speaker, April Kelly, convinced me I’m missing a huge marketing opportunity by not pursuing Linked-in. When I left CBWF I had great plans for all that new info, only first I had to see the surgeon.

Surgery I can handle, done this before, it’s okay. Only when I drove in the driveway and saw CANCER CLINIC blazing a trail across the front of the building, I felt a little a twinge of fear. (Just a twinge.) That’s when it hit me. This can’t be about any little ole lump, this side trip is not planned in my schedule. It must be a huge marketing excursion for Capsules of Hope: Survival Guide for Caregivers. I quick called a friend and asked her to pray for the person(s) I felt certain I’d meet.

Well the surgeon now has my book and said she’d write a testimonial. (Think I’ll refuse the surgery until she reads the book and writes the promised words. Hmmm.) Surgeon sent me to radiology for an ultra-sound. Ugh a little messy and quite painful. The radiologist said, “We need another mammogram to compare with the April one.” Ouch. After the squish and smash routine, nothing shows on the mammogram. Go ahead ask, “What does that mean?”

Bingo, the radiologist doesn’t know. The lump is about the size of a baseball and totally unknown. This I do know: I’m scheduled for surgery, Tuesday, July 28th at 9:15 at Bergen Mercy Outpatient. (Tuesday is my 12th anniversary of medical billing at Custom Computing Corporation—what a way to celebrate.)

Please keep me in your prayers,
I’ll write more tomorrow.
Kat still lionhearted

Tomorrow I’ll tell you who is on her way to OR to meet me.

This weekend I grabbed my mug of coffee and studied mission statements. I wanted to share a concise reason for my giving Capsules of Hope Caregiver Seminars. Writing a mission statement isn’t new to me, still I couldn’t define my goals simply.

• I truly wanted to brainstorm, but didn’t find any brains going my direction—two or three friends listened to me. Even husband gave up a few commercials during Tour De France, but no one came up with catchy, mind boggling perspective on where I’m going with the seminars. Okay, so I cracked open the books—not really, I used the internet.
  
  After hours of studying Disney, 3-M, Walmart and a few ministry statements, I found several words repeated: encourage, educate, teach, empower, offer help and hope. Finally I came up with a list of do’s and don’ts.
  
  The negatives:
• Avoid lengthy verbiage difficult to read or memorize.
• Avoid coined phrases familiar only to your circle of friends.
• Avoid promises you cannot keep.
  
  The positives:
• Focus on what guides your goals, be realistic and inspirational?
• State your purpose clear and concise, in ways to motivate others.
• Write for the one in need of your service.

The result:

Capsules of Hope Mission Statement:
To help the ordinary caregiver, whatever their circumstance—chronic illness, disability or terminal illness—realize they aren’t alone, help and hope is available. To create an awareness of how neighbors, co-workers, family, friends and the church can help the caregiver cope.

Purpose: To encourage caregivers, no matter their age or situation.

Vision: To create an awareness of the needs in a caregiver’s life.

Plan: To help people of all ages see how one ordinary person can make a remarkable difference in the life of a caregiver, one caregiver at a time.

In the process of building my mission statement I stumbled into a website where the author suggested every caregiver should build her own mission statement. What a great suggestion, only today I couldn’t find that same website, sigh.

This I know, when I finished the project, I felt empowered and inspired, ready to make more phone calls and schedule more Capsules of Hope Caregiver Seminars. I want to create a difference in the world around me before I leave earth.

Oh, be aware, I’m not into giving out cute mugs yet, but who knows what the future holds.

Capsules of Hope: Survival Guide for Caregivers

Celebrate with me. Capsules of Hope is done and available. It is more than a memoir, it’s a resource guide for most caregivers in almost any caregiving situation.

Designed for caregivers, those special people called to give of themselves, their time, heart and energy. Notice the emphasis on “time” first. To serve as caregiver demands giving up a leisurely soak in the tube, days of shopping the mall, and often a full night of uninterrupted sleep.

Because of a caregivers time constraints, this survival guide is written in capsules form—short segments. A caregiver can grab the book, read on the run, digest the bulleted survival tidbits and apply them to their day.

The book is available at Katherine Crawford’s Storefront on the publisher site, http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3762689

Price: 16.95 hard copy
Price: 14.99 E-book



I

Cracking the Parenting Code

Cracking the parenting Code by Laura Lee Heinshohn is one of the best parenting books I’ve read in a long time. The book is built in an easy to read, investigative layout. Obviously the author did her sleuthing detective work ahead of time, her FBI questions and resolutions are thought provoking.

Heinshohn laid out the book in three parts: The Mystery, Solving the Mystery—Six Clever Clues, and Leader’s Guide for leading a 13-Week Small Group course. She gives practical insights for single parent families, how to uncover clues in your childhood, and seasons of parenting. Other tidbits: When children don’t feel heard, they don’t feel valued; how to teach children to care for others; understand your childhood and how it colors your own parenting skills; and learn the love languages.

The author realizes it takes more than a family to raise a child, even more than a community. She also is aware it takes a village to write a book. Her acknowledgement list gives credit to many involved in this most worthwhile project. All are to be commended. This is great baby shower gift for the new parent, a gift for a friend struggling with her child’s adolescent issues, and/or good for the parent with an adult child still at home. I especially appreciated the chapter on boundaries, “Mama Don’t…I Mean Do…Fence Me In.”

This is a great read even if you are a grandparent.

Market Your Book

This past year I held over 35 Cup of Comfort book signing events in churches, bookstores, and at work. What a learning experience.

In 2007 my author friends, Tara Rye and Audrey Hebbert joined me at Parables for a book signing. Then Audrey and I were invited to Barnes and Nobles. We sold 7 books in 2 hours and built a good relationship with the sales staff.

At the close of the signing the sales rep thanked us and said, “We’ll sell all of these before Mother’s Day. Easy sell.”

Didn’t she intend to order more books after Mother’s Day? Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers is designed to use all year.

I couldn't take a chance on no more promos. “I’m promoting Coffee Capers for the summer.” I opened the book to show the rep the layout design. “What about inviting people to learn about the mystery of being an author?” I kept talking, pitching ideas for future book signings.

“Call me, I like the idea,” the rep said. “Let’s talk.”

Lesson learned teach the rep how to market beyond the title, beyond the promo pitch, beyond that particular book.

It appears to me, when you write an article for a magazine or a SS handout, it leaves your desk and your job is done. When you write a story for an anthology, the author becomes a part of the marketing team. Develop a pitch. Think outside the "Comfort Cup" or is that, "Cup of Comfort?"