So Much More: Movin On......

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Movin On......

I am so ready to leave it all behind…….

Another mile or few to go

Closely watching for the welcome words

"You can rest a while now, you’ve arrived".

Tomorrow brings me closer to one of the last big hills I need to get over. I will undergo the surgeon’s knife again for some leaky connection repairs, spend a few days coasting, then hopefully roll into a smoother stretch ahead for the remainder of the journey.

************

I’m reminded again to keep an eye on the positives; so today I am paying attention to the beauty along the side of the road.

I just seen a little flower peeking out from beneath a rock that partially covered his deeply buried roots. Despite the struggle he is blooming beautifully.

I noticed a couple of miles with no litter in the ditches, the haphazard arrangement of God’s natural design.

I’ve seen numerous fence posts standing strong and straight, holding tight to their markers taking up the slack for others that are leaning.

I seen the freedom of a wild animal taking care of it’s domain, insuring it’s place in the world tomorrow.

I noticed smiles on the faces of other travelers, each to his own destination with determination and bravery.

All of that and so much more……

Just little signs of the goodness of life around me and a glimmer of what it can be like if we keep steering ourselves straight.

*******************

One mile at a time……..

4 comments:

Heather said...: Keeping you in my heart and prayers!; March 24, 2010 at 5:56 PM
el poquito said...: Good luck with the new washers for the leaky faucet. See ya later on that drier shore. xo! e; March 24, 2010 at 10:00 PM
Beth Niquette said...: Ah...so much more. I love that picture, and I love what you wrote, sister dragon-rider!

God bless you--you're in my prayers! Keep us up on how you're doing, k?; March 24, 2010 at 10:05 PM
Mary said...: Heather, Beth & ep, ........ Thanks so much for all the prayers and encouragement. The evening after finds me a bit weary but doing ok. Sweet thang promised pudding and that fixes everything!; March 25, 2010 at 5:23 PM

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Tarzan?......why tarzan?

As noted in my profile, I was diagnosed with follicular non hodgkins lymphoma on November 30th, 2007. We were on a trip to the grand canyon area when I first became sick and noticed a lump on the side of my neck. Following an exam, many tests, and a surgical biopsy, I learned that for now I have a very slow growing lymphoma and over the years they have learned that immediate treatment will not change the outcome.

This is very different from when my Mother died of it in 1976. At the time hers was discovered in 1971, they saturated her with radiation over a 5 year period of time. Since then they now know that since it is not curable anyway, they would rather keep the patient off of treatment as long as possible. The modern terminology for this is "watch and wait".

At the time I have no further symptoms that I can not live with. I am low on energy, but part of that can be contributed to just age! Though I have some damaged veins in my neck due to the surgery, the nodes in that area come and go and have not caused any concern yet.

Watch and wait is NOT an easy way to live, we know the lymphoma will flare up again some day, so that tends to keep one aware of any changes. Of course I worry and of course I have problems with stress. However; since I look to my oncologist for guidance and rely on his wisdom, I am following his suggestion of pretending to be like Tarzan....... Tarzan in the movies who, while swinging through the jungle, always had a vine to grab as he was going from tree to tree. My oncologist has assured me over and over again that the vine would be there when I need it. As I grab one vine, another will be growing for me as I move through the jungle.

He explained to me that research and improvements in treatments are growing at a rate that is nearly faster than the growth of my cancer.

The message for all FNHL cancer patients, is to become "tarzan" like..... go ahead and climb that tree, stay alert, live life, and when you to need to reach out for that vine it WILL be there! As will the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Go ahead and swing through life and do it with confidence..... As with everything, there is so much more to the story, and so much more to life than cancer.

So Much More

The Search

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Movin On......

4 comments:

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