Big girl panties

Hi! Yep, that picture is me in all my polyethylene-ceramic-titanium-ness (assuming I actually got the picture where I wanted in the post – if you haven’t noticed I haven’t mastered that quite yet). Today was my first follow up appointment and everything looks good. Had my bulletproof, waterproof bandage removed faster than you can say “leg wax” and staples taken out with only one round of Lamaze breathing. Made me regret going off my pain meds (but that first glass of wine was sooo worth it). Both the nurse and the physician’s assistant told me my incision looks great. I told them I’d take their word for it. Seriously, I’m not looking at that sucker. You can’t make me.

I brought my list of questions for the doctor:
1. How much longer do I take aspirin?
2. Can I start taking my vitamins again?
3. 12 weeks???? WTF?

Yes, I’m thoroughly bugged about movement jail being doubled from 6 weeks to 12. After much whining on my part, the surgeon’s assistant said we could probably lift part of the restrictions at 6 weeks. The surgeon only said, “We’ll talk at 6 weeks,” but he smiled when he said it, so I’m hopeful. In the meantime, I shall dutifully remain in movement jail, and I am trying very hard to have a better attitude about it.

And to explain movement jail, it’s a ban on twisting, crossing my legs (not much of a big deal) and bending more than 90 degrees at the hip (BIG deal). The 90 degree thing doesn’t initially sound like an issue, but it means I can’t sit on chairs where my butt isn’t higher than my knees, I can’t use a regular toilet (only a raised seat), I can’t lean forward when I’m sitting (like to avoid dropping food on my lap when eating); it means I have to park in handicapped spots because the only way to get in and out of a car without breaking 90 degrees involves opening the car door as far as it will go; it means I have to use assistive devices to put on underwear, pants and socks, as well as to wash anything lower than my knees when showering. Now, some of these things I’m handling quite well: for example, I’ve mastered the art of picking things up from the floor when I’m too lazy to get my grabber – it’s this slow, awkward lunge-type thing. Looks weird but it works. But seriously folks, the bathroom thing is a drag. We went to a friend’s birthday party last week and we didn’t stay long and I refused to drink even a sip of anything – BECAUSE WHAT IF I HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM?? Honestly, toilets just should not be this big of a deal.

Ok, end of whining. As I said, I’m going to try mightily to have a better attitude about the whole thing. And they were very patient about explaining the reasoning for the 12 weeks – apparently there was indeed a pseudo tumor in the hip, but when they went to get it, the hip capsule was so “scarred down” and tight from my previous surgery that they had to do a lot of debridement and other stuff to get at it. At least that’s the way I understand it. And there was metal debris to clean out after all, but it sounds like it wasn’t too big of a deal. Reading the surgery report they gave me today made me appreciate just how much work is involved in a hip revision – and how much artistry and “feel” too. For instance, there was one part that the surgeon tried 3 different ways before he was satisfied with how it felt. It made me so grateful to have a doctor as talented as he is. And grateful, too, that I chose general anesthesia – I seriously had the option of being kind of awake, but reading all about the power tools and the pounding and other heebie jeebie-inducing activities that ensued during surgery, I’m very happy I chose the long nap.

So that’s that. I’m getting around better and better, using only one crutch at home and working up to taking that out into the real world. I can even take a few steps without crutches, but Riley says I look like the Beck Bennett adult baby character from SNL. He has politely requested that I not do it in public. Sitting is still less than comfortable for long periods of time, but at least I have crutches next to me so people don’t think I have hemorrhoids.

And now for something totally different: cancer! Yes, I almost did forget with all this crazy hip stuff that I still have cancer (damn!). And I’ll try to keep this brief because I’ve already yammered on long enough, but I had another reminder today that if I listened to all the advice I gave my children, I’d be much better off. This week I received my schedule for my upcoming scans at Mayo on April 1, which reignited my uneasiness with a decision we made at my last appointment. My oncologist had suggested at the time that we start alternating liver ultrasounds with the liver MRI’s. In all my research, MRI’s are considered vastly superior to ultrasounds in terms of detecting metastasis, but my oncologist said he was concerned about the gadolinium exposure (the contrast they use in an MRI) that someone as young as me would get over the long haul by doing MRI’s twice a year. He also said that I’m thin enough that I don’t have any fat on my liver to block a good picture on an ultrasound. So basically he called me skinny and young, and seemed to think I had a long term to be concerned about – flattery will indeed get you anywhere. I agreed, but as time went on I felt less and less peaceful about it. Well, I got a little distracted with a certain hip thing, and never got around to calling. When I received my schedule with the ultrasound on it this week, I figured that was that, too late to do anything. However, after not sleeping a few nights this week, Rich urged me to call and ask about changing it. “But it’s already scheduled! I can’t!” I whined. “Call them,” he yawned and rolled over.

So here’s the ironic thing – I’m always telling my kids this: “Ask for what you want. The worst thing they can say is no.” And yet I felt so nervous and fearful about calling and asking that I almost didn’t do it. If it weren’t for the fact that I was costing my husband sleep, I might not have gathered enough guts to do anything at all. And even when I did put on the big girl panties and call, I immediately went into apology mode the second I asked: “I know Dr. Pulido thinks I’m a total nervous Nellie,” I back pedaled, “And if it’s too late and you can’t change it, it’s fine…I know I’m being a total pest…” My oncologist’s secretary was gracious and reassuring, and an hour later a scheduler called to say they had switched the ultrasound to an MRI. Just like that. Months and months of unnecessary worry over. Now I’m generally a strong person, and I know in my heart that I should NEVER apologize for advocating for myself, and as someone with cancer I know that in fact I have to be my number one advocate, but there are times when I really need to listen to what I tell my kids: Ask for what you want. The worst thing they can say is no.

So, my friends, that’s my gentle reminder to all of you. Don’t be a chicken when advocating for yourself. Don’t assume that you’re bothering people or being a nuisance if you are simply respectfully and politely asking for what you want. The fight that you’re fearing probably won’t even happen. Just ask.

Big girl panties on.

Progress!

Hi! Sorry for the lack of updates, but there’s not much exciting to tell. I get a little better every day, which is encouraging. And, I’ve been surrounded by great friends and family, so when I’m not sleeping I’m enjoying their company. Rich went back to work and the kids

Love my coach Sara! She doesn’t let me forget to do those ankle pumps. Ever.

went back to school on Tuesday, so my girlfriend Jeannine came over to be my nurse. That was a fun day, complete with my first official outing – mall walking. It’s absolutely pathetic how excited I was to get out of the house. I got passed by every 80 year old there, but it felt so good to be out and moving (and I’m coming for you, Mabel! Just wait till I’m stronger, you’re not going to know what blew by you). I took a three hour nap afterwards, but I did it.

Moving in general has been way better than I expected, and infinitely better than after my last hip surgery. I’m acing my PT exercises and – this is big – I can now get in and out of bed by myself. Now that may sound trivial, but it’s the difference between having to call for help every time I need to get to the bathroom and being able to just take myself. And one example of how little things can be huge.

Oh, and speaking of huge, the J Lo backside only lasted a few days, thank goodness. My left side is still decidedly swollen, but in a much less remarkable way. And that’s just fine with me.

All the lounging has taken a toll on my back – I mean, it’s just hard to recline without a recliner or to sleep hospital style without a hospital bed – and to spend so much of your day (and night) on your back. Enter my friend Joy, or as I like to call her, The Pillow Whisperer. Joy is a nurse at the hospital I went to, and when it became apparent that I was taking my pain pills as much for my back as for my hip, I called her. She is one of those servant-hearted friends who will drop anything for someone in need, and she did exactly that, coming over to our house to offer a pillow tutorial of sorts. Who knew we were doing pillows all wrong? She even showed me a way to legally lay on my side. Oh sweet relief! And it only took two people and five pillows to get me there. So thanks to Joy, I am resting much better. It is still massively more comfortable to stand or walk than to sit or lie down, but I figure that’s just nature’s way of making me do PT.

And, after a few nights I have mastered the art of getting onto my side without help. Ok maybe I shouldn’t call it an art yet – let’s be honest, it probably resembles a breaching whale as I attempt to launch myself and all my pillows onto my side. And I doubt it wakes Rich up any less than when he had to get up and help me. But I can do it. And it feels good.

I’m also starting to wean myself off my pain pills – not entirely, but a little – and so far it’s going well. I still have an enormous stash of bottles at my bedside, and thanks to the color-coded spreadsheet my dad made we are coordinating things very well – that’s is, if you don’t count the brief moment of hysteria that ensued when we thought I had accidentally taken a laxative instead of a stool softener. But I digress… Aside from the fact that they make me loopy and tired, I have to confess that the number one reason I want to get off the painkillers is because I’m dying to have a glass of wine. Is that shallow? I don’t think I even care.

So that’s the scoop for now. Things are going better than anticipated, which is a pleasure to report. I’ve now been out of the house a total of four times, and my mood improves with each outing. I’m getting around great on my crutches and looking to move to one crutch in a week or less. Most helpful for morale has been the continued love and support of friends and family. I love the prayers, phone calls, visits, texts and messages, and I’m so grateful to have so many awesome people cheering me on. It’s easy to have a good attitude when you have good support. Period.

Oh no, J Lo!

First full day home and I’m continuing to do just fine. I think the only thing I miss about the hospital is the bed – not because of its superior tempurpedic qualities, but because its bendy-ness is fan

Rocking crutches at the hospital

tastic when your resting positions (and ability to get there) are limited. Yeah, sleeping on a conventional bed last night was rough. But there’s only so much you can do when you’re confined to sleeping on your back (and can’t cross your legs over your midline, so no interesting twisty stuff or anything). The way I see it, I have three choices for sleeping positions: looking straight ahead, turning my head to the left and turning my head to the right. I’m going to have to start getting creative with pillows.

The other thing that’s different about being home is mirrors. There aren’t a whole lot of mirrors in hospitals, and I believe that’s intentional. Get home, however, and there’s nowhere to hide. And I’m not even talking about my didn’t-get-washed-in-days hair, or the lovely yellowish cast to my skin when I wake up (which is a lot, because I sleep most of the time). Or the fact that they apparently used adhesive ALL OVER my body. And I’m not going into the excessive body art that my doctors felt compelled to create on the canvas of my leg and backside (I’ll just add that I’m pretty sure it’s beyond initials. Maybe a coded map. Or gang signs, I don’t know). No, here’s today’s entertainment: my butt. To be fair, we were warned that the swelling would be greater this time, but holy bountiful booty, Batman! Initially when it started yesterday, Rich and I just stood in the bathroom and and observed it with a sort of reverence. “This is what I would look like with hips.” Yes, but it didn’t stop there, and as the swelling continued to spread up my back and down my legs, the thought came – what on earth am I going to wear for pajamas? After gutting our closet, Rich was able to produce an old pair of sleep shorts with shot elastic, so in the end (ooh, bad pun) I did have something in which to sleep. But not without quite a lot of giggling. And in case you’re curious, yes, there does exist a point where this won’t be funny anymore, but considering that I’m not close to going out in public yet, my J Lo-ness might as well entertain us.

I think for the most part Rich is managing the whole taking care of me thing admirably. Last time, my parents were here to help out, but due to nonrefundable airline tickets, they won’t be here till Wednesday, so Rich is on his own. Like I said, he’s doing really well keeping up with the meds schedule, PT, food, kids and dogs. Because he’s trying to do so much, I try to go easy on him, but I do have my high maintenance moments. Take, for instance, the magazine in our bathroom. We have a magazine rack in front of our toilet, which I don’t usually pay attention to, but given the tortoise-like speed at which I am moving right now I notice everything – including the issue of our health club’s magazine front and center in the rack. And the guy on the cover is looking at me. Me, in all my doctor-tattooed, Kim Kardashain glory. The front of the magazine exults, “Be 10% Happier!” But honestly, how can I be 10% happier with some strange man watching me use the facilities? So I had to ask Rich to move him. High maintenance, I tell you. Or, given the painkillers, maybe we just leave it at high. Who knows.

So that’s it for today. Every day gets a little better, a little easier. And being confined to bed could be very lonely, but Rich and the kids have been so sweet about keeping me company, and I’ve been loving the texts, calls and emails, so I’m fine hanging out up here. Thanks again, mighty village! You all rock. Oh, and I’m including a picture from the hospital. Pre-swelling, of course. This is a G-rated blog, people.

I’m bustin’ out of here!

Well yesterday went really well – and that’s with so sarcasm or anything, it really was a good day. I rocked my first therapy session, much to my great surprise. I remember some of those exercises being next to impossible last time, and I pretty much sailed though them this time. I don’t know what the difference is, but I’ll take it. My good friend Sara is my coach again, and she was pretty floored at the difference too. And that’s just fun. Then for my second therapy session, I went in with a walker and came out with crutches, AND they took me to do stairs. So I finished the day so far ahead that I awoke this morning to find they’d changed my orders to discharge today instead of tomorrow. Can I get a “Yesssss!!!!” I mean, not that I don’t totally love being awakened every hour and a half all night long, but it will indeed be lovely to be home. Lots of tricks to do for people before that can happen though, so it’ll be a busy day. Gotta learn how to get in and out of a car, refine my stair technique, get some lab results and finish my antibiotic IV, but I believe I’m on my way.

Our friends David and Elena visited last evening, and then Rich and the kids hung out and had dinner in the room with me while we watched Modern Family reruns. Tessa held my hand and showed me funny videos on her phone, while Rich had fun adding fictitious doctors’ names to my care board. Just a nice, relaxing evening together – a marked difference from the previous night when I could only sit there with my eyes closed and a barf bucket at the ready. I think it was a relief for the kids to see me doing so much better last night. Tessa had to get up early this morning for a dance competition, so she and Rich left before Riley. My sweet boy sat with me till I was ready to go to sleep, then helped set my room up for the night, laid my clothes out for today and tucked me in before leaving – kind of a strange role reversal, but one I found rather touching.

So I’m doing really well. Thanks for all the prayers and healing thoughts and messages. I feel like I say that a lot, but I appreciate them more than I can express. They really are helping me get better, I know it. And the meals have started coming, much to my family’s delight. We really do have an incredible village rallying around us once again, and I am all kinds of grateful.

Well, I’ve got a lot of going home work to do, so I’d better get at it. Off to PT!

One day down, 12 weeks to go

Good morning! Sorry I didn’t post last night. I had double vision and some nasty nausea, so writing was out of the question. I feel much better today.

So surgery went well I’m told. This was Rich’s post to my Facebook wall, for any of you who didn’t see it:

“Jen is out of surgery and in the recovery room. Likely to be there at least 90 minutes. Dr said things went well but they did go long so he could get the sizing right so that she’s not shorter on the left than right. Dr said there was no breakdown at all of the parts he used last time so it must be that her body simply didn’t like having metal on metal parts. He said the original work still looked perfect (I think he was sad to have to take it out – perhaps he’s a little bit of an artist on top of the perfectionist). He says she will have more limitations for longer during this recovery. No 90 degree bending for 12 weeks instead of the normal 6 and she’s to expect more swelling that will take longer to shrink.”

Did you hear that? 12 weeks!! Ugh. Not excited to be in movement jail that long. And, the swelling he’s referring to is what I called my saddlebag last time – aside from the usual unsightly-ness of a saddlebag, it just looks weird having only one. BUT I’m on weight bearing as tolerated, so that’s a plus. And I don’t feel like I’m going to barf anymore, another plus.

So the nausea…turns out that I didn’t get Gary as my anesthesiologist, but I did get Jen and Lora. Diane had shared my Mayo charts with Jen, so she knew about the triple, but apparently due to side effects of one of the drugs, they just do two of the three drugs. Suffice it to say, the double was not quite enough, but oh well.

I start my group therapy sessions today. Riley said it sounds like we’re all going to sit around and talk about our feelings, but it’s actually physical therapy. And after the second session I get acupuncture, which I’m very excited about. My pain is pretty good, all things considered, but a nurse warned me that it gets worse today, so I’m not getting cocky. Yet.

Because of the nauseau they’ve been cranking the fluids in my IV. That, combined with their eagerness to get me up and moving meant I made 4 trips to the bathroom yesterday – walking! My mobility is really good compared to last time, which is awesome. What was not awesome was trying to “void” as they like to call it here. Apparently one of the side effects of anesthesia is that your body forgets how to pee. I felt like a toddler sitting on the toilet, legs dangling, wailing, “nothing’s coming out!” And I mean, really – I’ve had children, I pee when I don’t want to (if you girls know what I mean), so the irony of the situation was not lost on me. But it all seems to be ok now – aren’t you glad I shared that? I’ll get off my drugs and read back over these and be mortified, I’m sure.

Speaking of drugs, there’s more to report but I don’t remember it. Something about my bone is really thin somewhere and that’s the reason for the 12 weeks of movement jail. And I know there was stuff to clean up in there so I think that’s the reason for the extra swelling. Not sure. Rich has told me at least three times, so I probably won’t ask him again until I’m sure I can remember it.

Thanks so much for all the thoughts, prayers and messages! Let the healing begin!

Surgery tomorrow

Let me just say that I had grand ideas about writing this post tomorrow morning, leisurely sitting at my kitchen table, sun streaming through the windows, tea in hand. Since my surgery wasn’t scheduled till 1:30, I’d have time once the kids were off to school to finish packing, enjoy my clear liquids and thoughtfully write my blog post.

And then the surgeon’s assistant called at dinner time tonight to inform me that my surgery had been pushed up to 9:30 tomorrow morning. Yup. That’s a 6:45 report-for-duty time.

So I am instead running around like a total nut job, trying to finish everything on my rather ambitious to-do list. And really, at this late hour what’s it’s turning into is an exercise in moving most of the items on that list to a new one titled “After.” After? When is after? I don’t know, but at this point I’ve managed to rationalize why quite a lot of items belong on that list instead.

So anyway, the hip surgery…With Christmas and the Disney trip and other stuff, I just haven’t had any time to get worked up about it. Probably a good thing, really. Having done this before, I’m more relaxed in some ways. For instance, I don’t think I’m going to be as nervous about the surgery itself. With the last hip dealio, plus the 2 eye surgeries, I’m starting to get used to the drill. And, my friend Diane works at the hospital and is coordinating my anesthesia team, so it’s cool knowing ahead that I’ll have awesome folks in the OR with me – my anesthesia posse, if you will: Gary, Jen, Lora and Karen – my new BFF’s. Speaking of anesthesia, it only took me calling the Mayo Clinic every other week for two months to get a copy of my anesthesia records from my surgeries there. I am totally serious. But it was worth it, because Mayo seems to have solved the nausea after anesthesia riddle. They call it “The Triple” and I swear, it’s magic. No post-surgery barfing is a glorious, wonderful thing. But oh boy, you’d think I’d asked for the Colonel’s secret blend of eleven herbs and spices or something. It’s all good now though, because I have the recipe and I passed it along to Diane, who will hand it off to my new best friend, Gary the anesthesiologist. Good to go.

Of course, knowing what to expect also has its drawbacks. I remember very clearly how not fun the first week after surgery was. The level of helplessness is off the charts, and totally stressful for those of us who are very accustomed to self-sufficiency. I’m also not looking forward to the dreaded “no bending more than 90 degrees” rule. It lasts for 6 weeks and is basically movement jail. But I have my assistive devices all laid out and ready, and I’m going to just take a deep breath and keep reminding myself that it’s 6 weeks, not 6 months. Suck it up, cookie.

The surgery could be really quick and smooth, or it could be more complicated, depending on what they find when they get in there. If I get to keep my cup (the hip socket liner that’s already in there), and there’s no metal debris or funky stuff to clean up, this could be a way easier surgery than my first one. A lot of the pain and swelling and stuff from the first surgery came from the fact that they had to dislocate my hip – and apparently had a very difficult time doing so – and they won’t be doing that this time, since I’m getting a traditional hip replacement (read: they’ll cut off the top of my femur. Yuck, I know, but no dislocation necessary).

I’ll try to get a quick blog post up tomorrow if I can, just to (hopefully) share the good news that my surgery was successful, devoid of surprises and thoroughly boring and unremarkable.

I’ve had a few people ask about visitors. Yes, I would love visitors. I absolutely adore having people come see me in the hospital. That said, last time I fell asleep on every last person who visited. No exceptions. So, if I end up on the same cocktail of painkillers that I was on last time, you can count on me falling asleep mid-sentence if you visit. Just promise me that if it’s funny and you put it on YouTube, I get a cut when you get rich and famous. I’ll be at Abbott Northwestern Hospital if you want to give it a try. Just text me or Rich first so we can tell you if it’s a good time (oh who am I kidding – text Rich and he’ll wake me up and ask me, that’s what’s really going to happen). I’ll also be thrilled to have visitors once I’m home, so remember that if you’re bored next week.

I still have a few things left to do that I was unable to rationalize putting off – things like packing. You know you’re having old person surgery when the packing list the hospital sends you includes things like denture cleaner. Seriously. It’s funny watching nurses’ faces when they come in my room, totally not expecting to see a 44 year old. So I guess that’s a silver lining of sorts – I feel decidedly youthful. Well, until they have me using a walker. Then, not so much.

Thanks so much for all the well wishes and prayers! It’s been uplifting reading all the texts and Facebook messages. Prayers appreciated for tomorrow – for Dr. Anseth, my anesthesia team and especially my family; and for an easy, boring surgery with no drama or extra excitement.

And now to the rest of that to-do list…

Running – faith, trust and pixie dust

I really did have the earnest intention to blog while on vacation, but well… I was on vacation. Played hard in Disney World with Rich, Riley and some awesome friends for 4 1/2 lovely days and barely touched my iPad. And I’m not sad about that. But I’m having surgery in a few days, and I haven’t really said much about that (probably because I haven’t thought much about it), so I need to bring you all up to speed before I head into a drug-induced la-la land for a bit.

But first, Disney…

We went for the marathon weekend – planned before my hip figuratively went south, of course. Tessa was originally going to be with us too, but she ended up having a dance competition and stayed back with our good friend Christine. Saturday, four members of our group and I ran the half marathon. And yes, as you can see from the picture, I ran in a Minnie Mouse costume. I’ve actually run the half marathon and full marathon (called the Goofy Challenge when you do both) several times, and I’ve been Minnie every time. It might not be very aerodynamic (seriously, those ears are not good in a headwind), but it’s cute, and when in Disney you should always err on the side of cute. It’s Disney World, for crying out loud. Going into the whole deal, I had no idea what to expect from my body, since generally it is considered good preparation to actually run a bit before you race, and I had done next to nothing. One five mile run in the fall after my running embargo was lifted, and it hurt a lot so I didn’t do it again. I had full permission from my orthopedist to run this, so I wasn’t doing anything naughty, but this was a total unknown. I did know one thing, however: it could be my last race. I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to run after the hip replacement. So I decided that I would complete it, even if I had to walk the whole thing, even if I had to drag myself across the finish line with my lips.

It did sound a little crazy, especially when I heard other people say it. As we waited in the staging area before the race, someone asked me my goal time and I think I answered vaguely that I wasn’t sure. “She’s having her hip replaced on Thursday,” Rich explained. All around us eyes widened and eyebrows shot up, with varying expressions of awe, horror and oh-my-gosh-you-are-the-dumbest-person-ever. Yes, it sounded totally nuts.

But oh man, it was so fun. Turned out I ran just fine. Maybe my body just remembered how to run, maybe the euphoria of running a race again and doing it in freakin’ Disney World masked the discomfort. Maybe I’d found some pixie dust, who knows. But for 13.1 wonderful miles, I felt my feet against the pavement, the rhythmic swinging of my arms, the wind in my hair (and pushing against my very cute mouse ears, ugh). I heard the happy chatter of runners around me, the thump of music playing along the course and the at times deafening cheers of spectators. All around me was pure joy. Ok, a little suffering too, but mostly joy. And I loved every second. As the finish line loomed ahead I tried to look around and see everything, to take it in and memorize it all. Just in case.

As wonderful as it felt to run, walking afterwards was a different story, as it was then that my lack of training made itself known. My hip felt fine, but every muscle in my body angrily screamed curse words at me with each step. So, even though I was signed up for the full marathon the next day, I caved to my potty-mouthed muscles and skipped it. Not an easy choice, because it would have been marathon number 30 for me (I do love nice, tidy numbers), and the medal for doing both races was especially cool this year, but my John Wayne-esque walk was pretty solid evidence that it was a bad idea. And I’m so glad I passed on it, because it meant I had a prime spot at the finish line to witness my son finishing his very first marathon. It is so cool to see your kids come to love things you love. And pretty special that as I was potentially wrapping up my distance running years, he was starting his.

Ok so talking about the trip took longer than I planned. Tell you what – I’ll hit you with the nitty gritty on the upcoming surgery in my next post, is that cool? I know you’re all just dying to know all about it. I mean, what is more fascinating than a hip revision? Sexy stuff, I tell you. I won’t leave you hanging.

Until then, one final thought: birthdays. It’s my birthday today, and in Disney World they give you birthday buttons to wear around, so every cast member wishes you a happy birthday. It’s fun. I was, however, starting to bristle just a bit after the third or fourth cast member chirped cheerfully, “Happy birthday, ma’am!” Wait – “Ma’am??” Am I really that old? When did I become a ma’am?! But just as I started to look around for a cane to smack the next whippersnapper that tried that business with me, I was reminded of the revelation I had on my birthday last year: getting older is something not everyone gets to do. As someone with cancer I know full well how precious birthdays are. And more birthdays mean more wrinkles, more gray hair and yes, more “ma’am”. And that’s not only ok, it’s a good thing. A great thing.

I get to have another birthday today. So if you’ll excuse me, I have some celebrating to do…

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, and welcome! If you’re reading this then I have successfully done something technical: transferred a Caringbridge site to a blog. Whew, that was hard. No really. Computers are just not my jam, I’m sad to admit. A huge thank you my friend Christine, who is that rare combination of creative and tech-savvy, for helping me find my way in the blogosphere.

“Interrupted Stories?” Ah yes, the title. I explain it a little in the “About” page on here (yes! I created a page!! I had to rest afterwards. It hurt my brain), but basically it came out of the idea that we think we’re living one story, only to have life chuck a major plot twist at us. The story we thought we were living, or were planning on living, gets hijacked and we have to find our way in a new story. And find a way to make it our own. For those of us type A, planner people, this can be particularly challenging, but it can also be an interesting exercise too. And holy cow, it can be funny.

If you’re new to this blog, you should know that I like to laugh. And I tend to see things through a humorous lens. Yes, cancer is serious business, but I am very firm in my resolve to not let it take away who I am. I will not give it that kind of power over my life. I definitely have my somber moments – we all do – and I will share them as honestly as I know how, but when things crack me up I’m not going to hesitate to tell you about it. Because the only thing better than laughing is laughing with friends.

So thanks for making the switch to the blog, my awesome friends. I love having you along for the ride.