Degenerating arm - Working at Mountain View Elementary

     "When I had the radiation done on my arm the first time it – about two years after the radiation was completed I was noticing some numbness in my right thumb area kind of the base of my thumb. I asked my brother-in-law about it, he said, “you need to talk to your doctor about it.” But he knew at that time – he had some concerns – so I went to the doctor and he also had some concerns so I went to see a neurologist and he did some testing. He determined that I had radiation-induced Brachial Plexopathy – basically what that means is my radial nerve was damaged by the radiation and that [upwards] there was nothing - my arm was degenerating as far as that radial nerve and being able to have mobility in my hand.

      "There was nothing we could do to stop it, there was nothing we could do to slow it down, there’s nothing we could do to gain back what I’d lost. It is what it is and we just hope and pray it stops before I have no use to my hand whatsoever. I have to tell you that is almost a harder thing to deal with than cancer. Unfortunately, it continues to degenerate to this day. I also have problems with lymphedema which is swelling in my arm because the removed all the lymph nodes. 

     "It has been a challenge, something that has been extremely difficult for me to handle and to deal with. Because of the fact that so many things I love to do, I do with my hands. Piano, I crochet, I knit, I cross-stitch, I sew, I write, I transpose music – so many things I love to do I do with my hands. Some of the things I’ve just had to let go – I’m definitely coming to terms with it, I’m a lot better about it than I used to be. So many people will just, “[gasp] that’s so horrible!!” I, “Well it could be worse.” And it has, unfortunately. 

     'Heavenly Father has designed it so we can switch hands. I’m getting pretty good with my left hand. I’m able to write with my left hand now – I think I’m at a third or fourth-grade level, I can sign my checks, write on the board when I need to. I am able to do a lot with my left hand. I’m still able to drive just fine – I’m a very safe driver. I’m able to do a lot of things with my left hand. I can still do some things with my right hand - fortunately I’ve been piecing some quilts lately for my kids and I’m able to use the rotary cutter with my right hand but I have to have the brace on it. They gave me a brace to help with the – to strengthen that hand because it was just floppy all over the place. 

     "I’ve had numbness up through my arm and also down into my pinkie finger is completely numb. It’s kind of funny, sometimes I’ll reach down and I can tell there is a temperature difference. It’s colder than the rest of my hand is. But I also have some neuropathy meaning that I have some pain that would just – kind of ironic – it just makes me laugh – how come it can be numb and but yet I can still feel pain? That’s just the way it is. That’s definitely something that has been a challenge for me – I feel like I’ve – it’s given me a lot of appreciation for ability and use of bodies. How wonderfully our bodies are designed that you can do so many wonderful things that it’s amazing, it just amazing. 

     "This has also given me an opportunity to rely on family members to help me out with a lot of things. Like with them cooking – sometimes it kind of hard for me to chop things up – so ok come on over here and start chopping. When I’m working in the kitchen – I have to be careful too that I don’t burn it because there is a time when I don’t feel things and I have to be really, really careful."

Lisa helping out at a wedding

      "I also wanted to talk about working at Mountain View Elementary. The year that I was diagnosed with cancer I had started working as a yard duty, and I did that for one year and then the next year the lady who had been the secretary in the office decided to take another position and the lady – Jean Sabolosky – who had been the typist clerk (which is a two hour a day position) she decided to apply for the secretary position and she got it. I applied for the typist clerk position and I got it. It was like the perfect little position for me.  I started doing that the year that Kylie was in first grade. So I would take her to school into class and I would head into work for a few hours and then I would go take care of all the other stuff I needed to do as a mom for my kids for my family for me and then pick everybody up.  

     "It worked out so well. The kids were in carpools, I would drop people off to school, make sure everybody was where they needed to be and go to work. The thing that was nice about that position was that it was so incredibly flexible.  If I needed to – just as long as I did the time during the week it was fine – if I needed to do it later because I had a doctors appointment or volunteering in somebody’s classroom then I could do that. It was just a great position. I did that for several years (four years?) I don’t know how many. 

     "But then the district started not having money for everything so there was one year that I got laid off three different times. Because they would lay me off and then another pot of money to use hire me back on again and that pot of money disappeared so I got laid off. It was at that point I decided I was going to start substitute teaching and then I could also sub in the office. 

     "So I had my teaching credential it was just a matter of filling in the paperwork and getting that applied for and so I was able to get on as a substitute teacher.  I will never forget that first day going into the classroom I was absolutely terrified to go in there to be a teacher because it was something I hadn’t done before even though I had been in classrooms before. A teacher would need something and they would send me down to the classroom for 15 to 20 minutes and I was comfortable with that but I had never actually taken charge or been the one in charge. That was terrifying to me. 

     "But come to find out it was something I’ve enjoyed immensely! I like being in the classroom. I like the fact I can say no, I like the fact that it is very, very flexible if I’m not available – I’m not available and don’t have to worry about it. It’s just been a great position for me. 

     "I’ve also done a lot of subbing in the office. Again it’s just been a great position for me. One thing that has been really nice is the fact that since I’ve worked in the office, worked at the school so much I know the kids, they know me, they really liked me in the office – whenever Miss Jana is gone or Miss Jean and now Miss Karen – whenever they are gone they call me and I go in and work. I know all the teachers, I know how the phones work, I know so many of the students – they really like having me there and I really like being there. It is a good thing. 

     "When I’m sick I don’t have to worry about it, but the work is there when I go in. It’s kind of hit and miss sometimes. Sometimes I wish I had a little bit more work usually at the beginning of the school year is a little slow. It’s been a great situation and I’ve been very thankful for it and I feel like it’s something I can do and it doesn’t interfere with my family too much. It’s been a blessing for our family to have that added income with kids on missions and kids in school just trying to help them out so they don’t have to take out loans. 

     "This past year we’ve done a carpool with Kylie and it’s worked out so, so well! When I was subbing when Kylie was over at Mountain View still then I would just take her with me and I would head-on into school, then she would head out to the playground while I’d head-on into the classroom. And now that she is over at El Dorado for the past two years, I set up a carpool and it would work out that somebody else is always driving in the morning, that way she would get picked up, then I could head on over to the school because I would have to be there earlier than she was going off to school. 

     "Fortunately I think she actually enjoys that little time in the morning alone. She’s been extremely responsible about locking the door behind her as she heads out the door. I feel like I have the best of both worlds. I can be a stay at home mom, I can do a little stuff on the side to and it’s been a huge blessing to have the time at Mountain View this past year with going through the cancer treatments again worrying about how long I’m going to be here and sometimes I don’t like sitting here at home with four walls. I like being out around people and it’s been fun, interesting. It’s been a huge blessing."