Hello my friends! I certainly have missed you! Life has been a little crummy as of late, and for some reason it has been hard for me to put fingers to keyboard, but here I am. The summer is almost over. OMG where has the time gone? So very much has been going on. Sooooo...just in case you're interested, I thought I'd use this post to catch you up on my less than perfect summer.
Back in March it all started. I found out that my brother in law had cancer. That news really blindsided our family. We had, until then, been so fortunate as not to have had many crisis situations. (In the back of your mind you know that things can happen, but until they happen to you and your family you really don't get the full impact.) He was told that he'd have to undergo chemo, and the prognosis was good. So he began the necessary but distressing process of chemo. Then the next bombshell hit. My little sister found out that she has breast cancer.
We couldn't believe it. As far as we knew(at that time)there was no history of breast cancer in our family. She goes through so much constant discomfort. I don't mean discomfort like when you sit too long and your foot falls asleep. That discomfort goes away after 10 or 15 minutes. Her discomfort began with the healing that comes after a mastectomy. She couldn't sleep on the bed comfortably. Luckily she had a chaise lounge that took the place of her bed for a while. She found that her taste buds were all outta whack. She wanted to eat but nothing tasted good. There was intermittent nausea, overall fatigue. She had to shave her head, because hair began to fall out; chemo does that. When she is finished with chemo, the radiation begins. She longs for a meal that she can enjoy. Heck right now I'm sure that it would make her day if she could have a good cold glass of water that doesn't taste "funny." You really wouldn't know that she has cancer just by looking at her. Yes she wears scarves and sometimes a wig, but other than that, you can't tell. We are blessed however. My sister is doing well....considering. I understand that some people really go through a very hard time. Yet, we are blessed in many ways.
Life happens and we never know how or why. It makes us question our very existence. It makes us embrace our faith or turn away from it. It makes us paranoid. I just had my yearly mammogram. I think that I've mashed my breasts so much feeling for lumps that I've actually made them sore. I had my mammogram on a Friday, and the moment that I walked out of the office I began to obsess about the results. One of the last things that the technician said to me was "if the radiologist finds anything at all different from your last mammogram, he'll let you know immediately." My mind began to race; I panic easily. What if....
Last year there was no history of breast cancer, and now... there is. Actually, there was a history all along, several women on my maternal grandfather's side had breast cancer. For some reason, ma has never chosen to share that info with us. However, now it is in my immediate family; and that changes which box I check when I get my mammogram. Anyway, for three days I've run to the phone praying that there is no call from the imaging lab. Today something told me to check the mailbox (I don't check it every day)and there it was, the letter with my results. I ripped it open, and the box beside normal, negative, no evidence of cancer, was checked! Whew! Then I thought "what if they made a mistake?" Ok, so medication may be in my future, but I'm just sayin...
Summer is drawing to a close. My brother in law has completed his chemo, and is cancer free and on the road to being 100%. My sister only has 2 more chemo treatments to go, then the radiation treatments begin. Once her taste buds get back to normal, maybe we'll celebrate at Five Guys or something. It has been a long challenging summer. It is only by the grace of God that we've all made it through. I'm still unemployed but I'm hopeful that I'll snag that great job soon. Until next time, stay positive. And for all of you sisters out,here's a word of advice, get those yearly mammograms!
