I need to go on a slight tangent about the care I have gotten through my journey thus far. I have obtained world-class care from world-class facilities along the way. The only time that wasn’t top-notch in the journey was getting my old mammograms from the last place I had gotten them. That being said, that was definitely a one-off event. That facility, in my mind, is one of the best in patient care. Now, I brought to the attention of the appropriate people about that event, and some processes changed for the better. That is the way it is supposed to happen. I know there is a ‘movement’ to have zero harm to patients. That is not a realistic goal. Why? Because we are all human and people make mistakes. I have been in the medical field for over two decades. There are those stories that you hear on Dateline about nurses killing patients. Those are rare and few and far between. I have never met, worked with, or led anyone that internally made a mistake. Shit happens, and we fix it. We fix it so that it should never happen again with process and system changes. I am by no mean saying that there are not devastating mistakes that happen in the medical field. Again, not down playing the severity of any situation. There are people that feel I should be splitting mad for all the things that have happened to me so far on my journey. Not the way I want to spend my energy.

This journey is mine. Everyone handles things differently. I handle my journey with grace, not only for myself but for those that are caring for me in the best way possible. Some people have told me that they would have cried in bed for a week after learning they had cancer. If that’s how they needed to process it, great. That’s not me. My energy is precious to me. Laying in bed crying would not have served me well. It’s not the way I would want to spend my energy. I appreciate everyone sending me ideas, support, love, prayer, positive energy, all the things. I take those things and add them to my journey in a way that serves me. I am by no means downplaying that cancer doesn’t suck. I know I’ll have moments, bad days, and maybe even terrible days. But every day doesn’t have to be a bad day. People ask me how my family is handling all this. I tell them that they are a reflection of me. I’m dealing with this in the most positive way possible. They are taking it the same. My oldest son (who will be 16 shortly and is not excellent at expressing feelings) asked me one question about this journey. “Are you afraid of losing your hair?” I told him absolutely not, which was why I cut my hair short so that everyone could get used to my short hair. That way, it won’t be a big deal if I lose my hair. My youngest son is more interested in everything going on. He wanted to see my surgery incisions and asked all kinds of questions about it. I answer them to the best of my ability. My husband is super supportive, lovely, and attentive to all my needs. He and I have an understanding that if he is not dealing with something, having feelings about, or just feeling the feels, we will talk about it. Again, this part is my journey. That part is his. We are all on separate parallel paths that intersect often. Love, faith, grace, hope, and strength are the foundation of my journey. Thanks for coming along 😊