May 1998 Updates!
May 1998 Updates!
May 15, 1998
Let's see, what has been going on this past month. I had a birthday, I turned 43 or is it 34--I can't make up my mind. That aside, I have been entrenched in what could be termed life's mundane activities, but to me they are freedom personified. I am free to do anything I like, I do not have to be masked or germ paranoid, I can let children slobber on me, I can be in a crowd and feel normal, I can worry about the color of my hair rather than the chill going down my bald head, I can update my wardrobe and know that I will have a chance to wear it, I can make plans for my future that reach beyond a few months, I can be a participating mom, I can choose a new career, and best of all I can say that I am a one year and two month survivor. There is a reward to life after cancer, and I know just how lucky I am to be one of the ones who gets to survive. Such a close call in one's life allows for the quickest and most dramatic transformation imaginable, and it is clear to me that those going through cancer right now should know the rewards of coming out on the other side. They need to know that they can come out, that they can play a part in their own survival, that cancer will not last forever, and they can feel strong again. Shall I scream it out - CAN YOU HEAR ME? You must insist on surviving! Your body needs to know that you mean business!
One of the highlights of this month was being in a video for Varian, the company that invented and made the radiation machine that helped me save my life. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time when I was chosen to be a cancer survivor representative in their 50th anniversary video celebration. The other highlight was the blast I had at their party, where I was treated like a family member. The video was fantastic, and I now have another visual aid to add to Brittany's "remember mommy" trunk. I am so lucky to have been in two videos these past 2 years, and all I had to do was survive cancer. These videos do more than document my cancer experience, for they also include my daughter and show what it is like to be a mom with cancer. That is such a big relief for me, because I know that one day Brittany will be grateful that I have left her a chest full of memories. It is her history, it is my history, and it is every human's desire to leave a little piece of themselves behind so that they can live on.
Yadda yadda yadda - life goes on!
