It’s always about this time every year that I grow wholly grateful for life in ways I wish would stick with me through the year. October is my birth month—a birth so many moons ago I begin to lose track. But October also is my death month. At least that’s the story I thought I was living nine years ago. Read more
For a good three weeks, I had the flu, then bronchitis, then what I call persistent bronchitis, because it refused to go away with just one antibiotic. So I was prescribed a second round of medication that lasted twice as long as … Read more
Recently, I’ve listened to a couple of interviews with Ryan and Amy Green, creators of the video game “That Dragon Cancer.” Their son Joel was diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was 1. The Greens began working on the game while he was still alive, hoping he might make it, and then adapted it after he didn’t.
commemorate – verb | \kə-ˈme-mə-ˌrāt\ : to exist or be done in order to remind people of (an important event or person from the past) : to do something special in order to remember and honor (an important event or person from the past) I was washing dishes one evening last week thinking about my upcoming birthday […] Read more
I barely remember my doctor telling me that he would try to save my uterus since I was so young, still in my child-rearing years. At that point, he had seen cancer on only one ovary. I remember less the form I must have signed giving them permission to remove whatever organs they needed to. […] Read more
lucky — adjective \ˈlə-kē\ : having good luck : producing a good result by chance : resulting from good luck __________ I shouldn’t read about cancer online. I know from personal experience that doing Google searches of symptoms and prognoses and treatment options isn’t empowering like I wish it would be. Instead, one link leads […] Read more
bro·ken – adjective \ˈbrō-kən\ : separated into parts or pieces by being hit, damaged, etc. : not working properly : not kept or honored __________ On Tuesday she knocked shyly on my office door and slowly entered to drop mail on my desk. I said, “Thank you, Leslie.” Then I looked her straight in her blue […] Read more
dust – noun \ˈdəst\ : fine dry powder that builds up inside buildings on surfaces that have not recently been cleaned : fine powder made up of very small pieces of earth or sand : fine powder made from a particular substance __________ I look around the office, the living room, the bedrooms—there is dust […] Read more
. . . continued from Tuesday’s post (“My Word of the Week: Wait“) For the past week, I’ve been reading John Stumbo’s An Honest Look at a Mysterious Journey about his sudden illness in 2008 and the months of rehabilitation to get him eating, walking, and functioning again. His “honest look” shows the difficulty of living […] Read more
I remember more than once turning up the volume loud in the car and belting out the lyrics of one of my favorite show tunes from Wicked with tears streaming down my face. Unlimited My future is unlimited And I’ve just had a vision Almost like a prophecy I know – it sounds truly crazy […] Read more
