Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness
On July 3, 2015 I swallowed my last pill of chemotherapy. Fireworks were flaring in the background. The smell of sulphur reminded me that the neighborhood, the nation would be celebrating our independence. I, too, anticipated celebrating the end of my 8 months of...Sing it, Baby!
I’m a songwriter. And sometimes songs come out of me and it’s not quite what I intended, but what the song demanded. A few years ago a song came to me. One of my good friend’s battle with cancer took a turn for the worse. This followed several other...
Father’s Day
Father’s Day. The first time I really thought about fatherhood was when my older brother, Tom was about to become a father. I saw him transform. He built this cradle for soon-to-be Cate and for my sister-in-law as a surprise. He’d never built a cradle, and...
Dear Lady in the Steam Room with the Menthol
Dear Lady in the Steam Room with the Menthol, When you asked, white towel wrapping your head and soggy torso, about to enter the steam room, “You don’t mind if I use menthol” (A statement disguised as a question) you were already prying open the moist door. You didn’t...
I HEART Don Draper
Don’t tell my husband, but I heart Don Draper. Not just Don Draper, but Jon Hamm (the actor who plays Don Draper in the hit TV series Mad Men) as well. Of course. I heart them both. 10 minutes from now the final episode of Mad Men will air. I am shaking with...
The 2015 Kalamazoo Earthquake
Saturday, while I was sleeping in bed from the flu from the neutropenia from the chemo for the cancer … My bed shook me awake. Yes, I did say, my BED shook me awake. I was quite sure my bed was moving, although after having been sickety sick sick sick in bed for a...
Chemus Interruptus II
The sucky thing about chemo is… OK, I know that in the last post I just made friends with my chemo. And I know you read the title of this post and are like, “What? Chemo’s sucky? I never knew!” However, I have new information. See last Friday...
Chemo Round #3: Take 2
Last post I bemoaned Neutropenia (low white blood cell count) and the effect that it had on my chemo schedule. Yes, it was a bummer. But after a few days at my retreat spot I felt better. The following week, my numbers jumped from 1000 to a whopping 1400! Still below...
Chemus Interruptus…
I was all prepared for Round 3 of Chemo. Prepared? No, steeled for it, braced for it last Monday. I go for a blood draw every Monday morning to check my White Blood Cell count, red blood cells… Well. I started with WBC at 3000 – normal. Then the next week it dropped...
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