Norma Garfin wrote the lyrics below to the tune of “My Favorite Things” and performed the song with Judy Weigman at the Twin Cities CLL Society Support Group meeting in August 2023.
Please enjoy the lyrics and recording below.
Original Lyrics by Norma Garfin:
Skin sticks and blood tests,
And watching and waiting.
Words that I can’t pronounce,
Number they’re stating.
Sitting and hoping my doc won’t run late,
These are a few of the things that I hate.
Join a support group,
And each month a meeting
Free to speak honestly
Time is so fleeting
We’ve become family, sharing our lives.
Learning together has made us quite wise.
Lots of water, pills we order,
On our minds each day
Co-pays and parking fees, long drives and such,
Oh golly there’s just so much.
Sometimes infusions and red spots and itching
Getting our skin exams
Sorry I’m bitching
Watching the thyroid, the lungs and the gut
Night sweats, fatigue, mental fuzziness but—-
One condition called remission
What we’re aiming for
And then all the negative worrisome things
For quite a few years ——-no more.
Listen to the live version:
Norma lives in Plymouth Minnesota with her dog and five talking parrots. She’s an American Sign Language interpreter, and an actress/singer. Norma is currently halfway through her CLL treatment, having been diagnosed six years ago. Her CLL support group has been meeting each month on Zoom for four years. The group decided to have an in-person summer get together. She wrote this parody to add some musical fun to the event. Norma is 86 years old.
Judy, age 81, lives with her husband in Bloomington, MN. She was diagnosed nine years ago, the last five years in treatment with Imbruvica, this year began Zanubrutinib. Judy has been co-facilitating the Minneapolis support group for the past eight years. After enjoying thirty years as a forensic interviewer, Judy retired just shy of her retirement party, due to Covid. She continues to be an enthusiastic member of Alive & Kickin’, a senior ensemble that performs rock music for a variety of venues.
