Wednesday, August 20 2008

I look out at the Atlantic Ocean while sitting on a beach in Palm Beach Florida,
I ride my bike down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and look out onto Lake Michigan. I enjoy the sunrise, the sunset, the trees, the sky, the clouds and am amazed at how meticulously it was all created thousands of years ago. How unimaginable it is to me that all of the stars and planets rotate around each other with perfect coordination. This world, Created by my God. The God who created me. Surely this God has my life under His control. My cancer, my healing, my emotions, my side effects. Truly, God’s got it covered. All of it!!!

ELMHURST???

I am just hoping that I can tell this story and make it half as funny as what it was in real life. I recently bought a sign for my front porch that says, “Come sit on my porch”. Total redneck per my sister, but adorable per me. I saw it on a $2 Million dollar home in Hinsdale and I just had to have it. Perfect for a mansion in Hinsdale, maybe not so much for my cape cod in Elmhurst. Who though, is going to actually read it and listen? Well, let me tell you… My out of control drunk alcoholic redneck neighbor. That is who! The first time wasn’t so bad as I was pulling into my driveway with my husband. Tom took the brunt of the visit even though “It’s your sign!” was his only response to how we were going to handle the situation. I slipped out to the back yard to join the neighbor kids in dance practice to Hannah Montana tunes blaring. The second episode? When I wake up yesterday morning, I come down in my kitchen to see the back of his head with his long hair peeping through my front window. Can you say heart attack? Tom was out of town and when I get him on the phone, my heart is pounding so loud that I would think he could hear it through the phone, however; he is laughing so hard that I tell him I have to go to call my neighbor Brian to see if he can come over and save me. He does, but the scary man is no longer there and Brian turns around and adds that I need to take down my sign. The sign is not coming down because a.) it is super cute and b.) I can’t take it down now and risk the chance of offending the dangerous alcoholic neighbor. Now that is a dilemma! Funny, right?

1 DOWN, 34 TO GO...

I finally started radiation today!!! It has been awhile since my surgery (more than originally was planned) and I have been pretty anxious to get things moving along. However, that wait has turned into a true blessing. It has been a “luxury” to be able to spend this time researching my options for treatment, allowing my decisions to sink in and also be able to enjoy some free time this summer. I have had to really figure out what is best for me in the long run. I am still unsure about the next phase after radiation, but I am at least set for the next 7 weeks. A little over a week ago, the process started with my body being “marked” with tattoos. Never did I think that my first tattoo would be of four dots to help guide the technicians in setting up for daily radiation to fight my breast cancer… at age 36 - (too old for a tattoo and too young for cancer in my opinion)!!! Besides a little anxiety, things went extremely well today. I had to get x-rayed again and met with the Radiologist, which I will do every Monday, but the radiation itself only lasts a couple of minutes. I am now just praying that the side effects will be minimal and that I will get a clear sense of what to do about taking Tamoxifen after the radiation treatment is over.