Getting a swift perspective change is like stepping on a rake. Somehow, despite the fact that my "jour-ney" is almost over, we are still overwhelmed. Then, we went to two cancer-related events. Seeing tiny kids with bald heads like mine forces all of the air out of my chest at a frightening speed. Seeing other …
A piece of normal
I never thought I'd say this, but I actually look forward to going to meetings and hitting deadlines now. It's what healthy people do. So I met with the communications director of Komen this morning to talk about writing survivor profiles, and it was great. Plus, I got a sneak peak of the "Who Will …
Sometimes you’ve gotta say yes
Livvie got a gift card for Ben & Jerry's for her birthday. Of COURSE she wanted a funnel cone the size of a dunce cap drenched in chocolate and sprinkles. I said YES! That's something my grandmother would have done. I love spoiling the kids once in a while and making dinner "art" with spray …
An emotional toll
Somewhere in shouldering the weight of my cancer, Steven's immune system let him down. Now he's got mono. I told his doctor everything about how, since he was born, he took responsibility for things he shouldn't. How he joined Brian and me in fighting cancer instead of staying a kid bystander. How he stayed so …
What could be better than this?
Nothing makes Mother's Day happy like stuffed brioche and Iron Man. We started with an amazing brunch at Mama Mia. Just looking at my family sitting there finally laughing, I realized, Oh my God, I am so thankful I'm here. Then, tears. "Seriously, Mom. If you cry, that would be WEIRD," Livvie said. Too late. …
Falling away
Look, no hands
Arms either. If you're dreaming of having a new rack, you might to rethink that. Getting breast reconstruction hurts like hell, and I'm one of those people with a pretty decent pain threshold. Plus, you're not supposed to use your arms. (Don't tell the doctor I typed this blog. I'm not supposed to do that …
Unforgettable camaraderie
The minute I met these ladies at a photo shoot for Race for the Cure this morning, I felt huge compassion, respect and love for them. Each of us is going through different forms of the same thing - surgery, chemo, radiation. But we all want to return to our regularly scheduled lives stronger than …
Being a woman is a pain in the chest
Next to chemo, everything should be a cake walk. But getting syringes of fluid pumped behind your chest muscle is no sparkly cupcake. With boobs under construction, a drain dangling from one side and a throbbing back, I am not confection happy. Why does being a woman have to be so painful. I'm talking menstruation, …
Blogging while strongly medicated
Here's one piece of advice I can confidently give you: Don't drink and look for jobs on Craigslist. I did that once, scored an interview, then realized that I would have gone home with negative take-home pay. They laughed out loud when I called them to bow out of the interview. So here I am …
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