Just Day by Day

Where in the world have I been?
Things are so crazy around here lately
by the time I fall into bed at night I can't remember
the last time I sat down or sometimes if I had something to eat :)

With the end of the school year comes all the
activities, parties, and field trips!
Abby has softball and Kaden is doing baseball  -
so we are at the fields 3-4 times a week.
Throw in some dance and scouts and preschool.
Not to mention my dozen or so doctors appointments.
I am in the car or at Walmart a lot.

I think I am doing pretty well,
on the days I have time to think about it.
All the incisions have healed up beautifully
and everyday I am still in awe how doctors can do
this type of surgery.  I am truly blessed with how
smoothly everything went and continues to go.
(I finally made it back to sleeping in my bed!)

I  do struggle with how fast I seem to run out of energy and stamina.
(Plus the side effects of my meds that will last for the next 8 years.)
We went on my favorite hike on Mother's Day.
And I loved every minute of it - we were gone for about 5 hours.
But boy did I pay for it - the whole next week.
I was so tired and just couldn't keep up with anything.

There are a few areas that need to be addressed/fixed,
so I will be having another surgery in July.
I feel a little vain about it, but I figured I have been
through so much, I deserve to be happy with my reconstructed body!

I really liked this article, his words are so true.

Cancer Only Happens to Other People, Right?

By Steve Pake

Wrong. Although we know anyone can get cancer, no matter what age, health condition, or genetic history, we still never think it's going to happen to us. So, what do you do when it does?

 
I was never going to get cancer. It just wasn't in my life plan. Young adults don't get cancer, only older people. Even when young adults do get cancer, it was only something that happened to other people--not me.

After my cancer fight, I was just going to bounce back to life like everybody said I was going to and settle right into that "new normal." I wasn't going to suffer from chronic-fatigue issues for years due to the after effects of chemotherapy and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. I also wasn't going to have to walk around with an extremely uncomfortable stent for six months, trying to save a failing kidney. I also wasn't going to have terrible issues with anxiety, with depression, and with post-traumatic stress. I was just going to pop back to "normal" after cancer as though I merely had a really nasty case of the flu. Right?

The reality was, of course, very different. I couldn't keep up with my children and my body felt like complete hell and as though it had aged 30 years. I was in tremendous amounts of pain on a daily basis and my mind was a total wreck. My chronic fatigue after cancer was so bad, that I barely had the energy to make it through the day most days.

None of this was in my life plan. This wasn't the life that I had expected, nor was it the life after cancer that I had expected, either. Cancer threw so many unexpected challenges my way. Despite my best efforts, my post-cancer demons still managed to find ways back into my life, but I learned to evolve spiritually and to develop faith as the ultimate way of overcoming. 

Never give up, and never stop believing in yourself. Keep your hearts and your minds open, and surround yourself with positive and uplifting people that believe in you too, who can help to carry you during the times you might stumble.

Cancer wasn't in my life plan, but I've made a far better one now.