I'm right there with ya TNT! I've felt like the past year has been pure heck but now that fall is here I'm REALLY looking forward to the cooler weather so I can hopefully get back to some very much missed horseback riding, some much needed outdoor time without the heat making it hard to breathe and most of all, time with my family.

I normally hate winter but for some reason I actually find myself sitting here wishing it was already here. I'm looking forward to the snow and being able to build a snowman with my little sister again. laying curled up on the couch with my favorite blanket, some hot cocoa, my kitten and a good book. Looking forward to maybe being able to take the four wheelers out and go riding in the snow again and just being able to do things this winter that I wasn't able to do last winter.

Toss,
You are usually one of the first people to lend an encouraging post to someone, so I am sorry to hear it was such a tough year for you.. Its so easy to feel run down over our troubles, particularly when they are as serious as what most of us are going thru.

I am a believer that things (good or bad) happen in life for a reason. One possibility is they can strengthen our resolve/character and allow us to look at our lives in a different way compared to when everything was perfect (so to speak).

It is interesting the top 4 things that you are looking forward to all relate to very simple things/pleasures. What would your list have been like before your illness (the same or different?).

I really find that all of the day to day crap that happens doesn' t phase me half a much as it used to, Thats not such a bad thing.

Hope you wish list comes true,
Robert

Honestly, I think my wish list would have been the same before the PEs as after. Last year, my favorite things were tainted with bad stuff and I'm looking forward to experiencing them this year with a little less baggage.

And I have to add ... wrapping presents. I love wrapping things!

I had a rough first six months I guess. But not so bad either. I survived, learned a lot and found this group. I think I've recovered. My body seems to be tolerating most of the things I put it through and those things that still give me trouble (bad back, asthma, and various aches and pains) probably would have given me trouble w/o PEs.

My grandmother turns 100 next month. For her, everything hurts. She needs help doing many of the simplest things. She lives about 5 and half hours away by automobile so I don't see her as often as I'd like. Her mind is still pretty good but she is not as sharp as she was 20 years ago when she was a young woman of 80. Most of the family will be going to her birthday party, including me, and I'm really looking forward to it. She lives in an assisted living center and doesn't like much about the way they do anything. I'm sure you know why. Because she wouldn't do it that way if she was in charge. She made the best cakes and pies from scratch and when she was first married, she did it over a wood stove. She still tells stories about hitching the horse to the wagon to go into town. I love my grandma and am looking forward to telling her again just that. She says she's ready to die. The doctors tell her it doesn't look like that's going to happen for a while yet. She had cancer 20 years ago and they told her that if she took chemo and radiation that they could probably extend her life. She asked them how long that would be and they told her that she might live six more months. At 90, they told her that she had cancer again and they operated on her and told her she had at least 10 more years. The last I heard, at 99, she had cancer again and they weren't going to do anything. They think she has a chance to make it to 110. She is always happy to have family around so i know this will be a special day for her.

I'm busy with High School kids doing cross country. I love being around them and watching them, running with them, and seeing them. They are such a positive influence in my life.

And I have my own running. Besides competing in an adult cross country competition, I'll be competing in a couple of half marathons and a marathon. I'm coaching one of my nieces in her attempt to complete her first marathon while I'm running in the same race. I'll be very proud of her when she finishes. And I'm proud of her for just trying to get ready to run one.

I'm volunteering in an elementary school, reading books that have lessons on how not to be the victim of bullying and how to recognize it when it happens. Of course, that also means the bullies learn that what they thought was just fun, isn't. And that they need to look at changing the way they interact with others.

For Thanksgiving, my wife wants it to be just the three of us (her, my dog and me) on some land we own near the coast in Mendocino County California. We can stay in our camper whatever the weather. We have pine, fir, oak, redwood, and madrone trees growing on the land. If there's no wind at night, we should be able to hear the seals on the rocks at the beach about a mile away. It's a great place for star gazing, communing with nature, and being with our own thoughts.

As the year ends, I hope to see as many family and good friends as I can. They are what makes life worth living.

Todd

Well I can't say I really relate:
I am still unemployed and not very hopefull on that fron.
But have volunteered at a hospital so am looking forward to that.
Have no medical insurance so have not have my Pt/INR tested in months but hey, it's a crapshoot, right?

Great post, Toss! Glad you are in a better place this year and I love your list.

My goal 4 months post-PE is to strengthen my relationship with God. Looking forward to cooler weather and time spent with family, friends, and God over the holidays!

I can really relate to your post! Hooray for second chances!! Last Xmas I was alone, still mourning the death of my husband and too sick to travel (good thing as it turns out). I had all of the early symptoms of the PEs developing but of course I didn't even know what a PE was. I blamed it on the COPD - mild case- I had been diagnosed with. My neighbors felt sorry about my being alone and invited me for xmas dinner but I didn't have the strength to even walk across the lawn. I repressed anything about Xmas day except being in bed.

Then in January I had to call 911 and that's when I learned that I had just barely survived very large bilateral PEs. They are still there but I am better of course - tire easily, etc. My sons took turns coming down to stay with me and my youngest son moved from Manhatten to Wilmington, NC so that he is an hour away now. He comes here on special days now and we eat out or he helps to prepare a meal - great cook.

My birthday is in a few days and my family will all travel to be with me - including my only grandson, Marc - almost 3. Life is not perfect but those second chances are wonderful and I'm glad you got yours too! xoxo Cindy

I'm looking forward to a good pulmonology report and clearance to fly so my husband and I can do our annual Las Vegas Christmas!!!! I have an Aunt who is 86 and a Grandson who is 18 who live in Sin City, and usually Christmas day is theirs. I have boycotted the home Christmas tree and gift wrapping stuff for the past 13 years....we just enjoy visiting, playing and relaxing in LV for a week or so.

What a great post! I am right there with you. I am so glad to be here for my favorite time of year too!
Here is what I am looking forward to:

The beautiful weather, smells and colors of fall
Halloween with my girls
Thanksgiving with my family (a lot to be thankful for this year!)
The smell of Christmas Trees

I left Colorado after 13 years because of winters! They were beautiful though (I restored an old Victorian house in downtown Colorado Springs - winter was like a Currier and Ives painting!

It will be 100 plus here in Vegas all week long, probably wont hit long sleeve weather for another few months. Never did need a coat last winter.

My goal is simply to get back into physical shape; I'm scheduling by 14 month post-event checkups over the next few weeks (DVT, PE and AFib).

What a great post! So good to focus on the good things, even though sometimes they are so hard to see...

Here is what I'm looking forward to by the end of this year:
1. Making it through an induced labor in 2 weeks without complications
2. Being able to stop Lovenox by December (fingers crossed)
3. Even though I'm in Texas, seeing the leaves turn and the weather get cooler (eventually)
4. Making my daughter's Halloween costume
5. Decorating for Christmas, watching my daughter's eyes light up now that she is old enough to appreciate it
5. After my DVT/PE/hospitalization/high risk pregnancy, enjoying every blessed minute of this life and spending Christmas at home surrounded by family

Happy Fall everyone :)

Hey TossNTurn,
I am sorry you have had a hard year! Mine has been pretty hard too for the last couple of months, but I am sure It will get better. I was fired from my job at the end of June, found out I had cervical cancer 3 days later, hysterectomy July 6th, then the PE July 12, and my husband was fired last month from his boss, who is also our neighbor. Wow, it has been crazy, but I am just thankful to be alive! Here are my wishes for the year:

1) Spending every second I can with my husband and kids
2) Moving into a new house to begin our new life
3) Volunteering to help someone else in need
4) Smiling more
5) Making sure I take care of my self more
6) Any thing to do with Christmas, I love Christmas.

I love that even though we all have been through so much, we are still able to look toward the good. I wish you all the best of luck with your goals! I hope the rest of this year is magical for us all!
Carrie