2015 started out well enough for me. you know that feeling when you are on a roller coaster and at first you think, " hey, this will not be that bad!". then you start to go slowly up the first hill and your stomach starts to drop.the feeling that" everything is o.k." is pretty much over after that.
i looked back on my national wildlife calendar- which is pretty much an outline of my life for a particular year. ( by the way, my dad started the tradition of giving us all calendars from national wildlife so that we could keep up with events, birthdays,etc. i have continued that tradition since my dad's passing by purchasing one every year for me and both of my children. ) anyway, the first of the year found me working full time and taking care, as much as he would let me, of my husband after his second hip replacement. he should be the poster child for how you do a hip replacement. he went to all of his physical therapy sessions, did the exercises at home, and returned to work in record time. well, there was that one time he went outside USING HIS WALKER to clear snow off of the walkway to our house. but i will let that go since fortunately there was not a trip to the emergency room involved.
if you are like me, you remember the "ides of march" from high school literature. i am not sure if it was shakespeare, my english teacher, or a combination of both, but i have always felt a little uneasy this time of year. the actual date to beware of, is march 15th. on march 18th of this year ( close enough to the ides of march, in my opinion) i had my first mammogram. a few days later i had my 3D mammogram, then the first biopsy-a few days after that. and so i began my journey. the day that i got my cancer diagnosis from the surgeon was on my wedding anniversary ( april 2nd) . my husband was with me that day, of course, and we went on with our plans for the day. but it was not a happy day by any means.
this being said, my roller coaster ride of 2015 had some very good "highs". my first granddaughter was born on september 16th of this year. her name is violet, and she is a sweet little flower. she has managed to capture the hearts of everyone in our family with her good nature and sweet smiles. i have a feeling, though, that she will rule the roost, so to speak, when she gets together with her brother and cousin at our family events.
my journey with breast cancer has had a lot of unexpected twists and turns. there have been many bumps in the road. but, i have a lot to be thankful for. the cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes, even though i had the three tumors and a random smattering of cancer cells on one side. i had to take the chemotherapy because my cancer was an aggressive type( invasive lobular). i opted for bilateral mastectomies, with my surgeon's blessing. he said that if i had not chosen to do it now, i would no doubt be back in a couple of years for surgery on the other side. i decided to just take care of things now. i have NO intentions of doing this again!
of all things to worry about, i worried what the oldest of my grandchildren, who is 4 years old, would think about my appearance. i did not want him to be worried or afraid of me. leave it to sweet little children, though. all that he has said is " i really like your scarf, mimi!"( i am keeping my head covered until my hair grows out a little bit more ). he knows that he has to be somewhat careful around me, but other than that, things have been pretty normal.
i have to have blood work done in march of this year to check for tumor markers. i am not sure how close it will be to the ides of march since my doctor's office has not contacted me with the exact date as yet. in april, i have a CAT scan scheduled to make sure that the cancer has not spread to my chest,lungs,etc. i also have a big thyroid cancer check up in april. april sounds a little scarier than march this year, but i am hoping for good news. i would like to spend this year away from doctors, hospitals, and roller coasters. i am praying for good health in 2016- for me and for all of my family and friends.
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