If you've worked with me you know that I set deadlines. I learned this at first from an old boss - Jim Roda at Kitsap County Public Works. He taught me "if you don't set a deadline, it won't get done." He was right. I've gone a little overboard on urgency and deadlines. Nowadays I set them a bit earlier than it might be possible to complete them. Sometimes probably drive people around me a little crazy. Here's why. I have a tumor in my chest. It's the size of a softball, lodged in the middle of my right lung, and adjacent to my heart. It's been radiated - it's not dead, but it's not really growing either. It just sits there. I feel the tumor with every breath I take. I feel the pain from it pressing against nerves from my shattered rib (where it started) every moment of every day. Yes, the drugs help. The pain is a tolerable reminder that I won't live forever. How long do I have? No one knows. Given how fast this one grew, and given ...
This morning I realized that my life is very much on track. I wish that, 15 years ago, I could have seen a glimpse of what my life would eventually become. A very rough time could have been a little easier. I've made mistakes. Some of them I regret very much. But I've made good decisions too. Now I'm reaping the results. In the words of a very smart friend, "make sure that every step you take leads you in the direction that you want to go." Thank you Micki for that very good lesson, even though it hurt at the time. My kids are wonderful. Most of them still love me and want to be around me. My job is wonderful - I love my co-workers. And my husband is better than I ever could have wished for. I'm so blessed with Dave in my life. I didn't see this coming, but I did the work and tried hard not to repeat mistakes. Therapy helped me get through some very hard times, as well as the love of family and friends. If your life is currently very hard, hang in there. D...
And now the battle against bone cancer moves to a new battleground. Today we’re at Swedish Cancer Institute, where I’ve just gotten my first shot of something called GCSF . That’s a drug that will stimulate my bone marrow to produce stem cells and release them into my bloodstream. The purpose of flooding me with new stem cells is to harvest them, next week. These little soldiers will be set aside to save my life in about 3 weeks, after my bone marrow is destroyed in one shot by something called Melphalan. Sounds dramatic I know, but this treatment has been done so many times to so many Multiple Myeloma patients that we’re virtually certain it’ll work. The treatment will prevent any new tumors for years to come. They tell us that the shots will cause bone pain, and they’ve given us instructions on how to deal with it. There will be 3 more weeks of feeling relatively better before the battle to come in March. How do I feel? A little scared to be honest. This is serious stuff. But more th...