The two Breast Care Coordinators at Kettering Health Network (my hospital) are named Sharon and Karen. How fricken' perfect is that? I was a little put off by the idea of the breast cancer class, because I'm pretty good at doing my own research, but I'm also a follower of directions in that if someone says "Take this class" (like the breast surgeon said,) I'm going to do it. I was just hoping it wasn't going to be all pink and huggy.
So on Thursday I dutifully attended my "Navigating The Breast Cancer Journey Class" I was the only patient there. There were two breast cancer survivors present for moral support, as well as Sharon, but they figured out pretty quickly that I had my shit together. We basically skipped over the portions of the power point dealing with advocating for yourself and setting up a support network. (More on that later.)
We also skipped over the portions where I get a biopsy and get diagnosed and look at the treatment options, pick a surgeon, learn about mastectomy and research reconstruction. Cause I've already done all that. So we sailed through most of the course but she ended up giving me almost more than I could carry out of there. The coordinator did her best to provide me with stuff that wasn't pink. Pillows and literature and scrapbooks, Oh My! I was staggering under the weight of it all. Luckily it's not all for me. I'm going to spread the love with some assigned reading for Dan and the kids. There's something for everyone!
And speaking of everyone, we continue to receive well-wishes and offers of help. And I now have my very own volunteer coordinator to match my needs with the many offers we've received. She's going to work something out with a google calendar or a link to my blog or something to make it easy for me to indicate if/when I need help with the kids, errands, meals etc. That should be up and running in a few days.
Dan has indicated that in my desire to post every day, the quality of my writing is suffering. I had to remind him that I'm not really doing this for my audience. I'm writing for me because it helps me sort out my thoughts on this. It helps me to follow each train to where it leads without losing sight of it. It creates a historical record of how I'm feeling, when and how I made decisions in my treatment, documents what is happening to me physically and emotionally and, oh yeah, it also helps others to keep abreast (pun intended,) of my situation in a way that is convenient to both the reader and me. I write when I feel like it, you read when you feel like it. Frankly, it's working for me.
Frankly, this is working for me too. I know you don't have time to talk to everyone who cares about you and retell what you've been through on each step of the process, over and over again. Keep the posts coming. I'm excited to see your haircut, what a great idea to go short. - Molly
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Dan noted that your quality of writing is suffering ... I noticed that being an issue with MY blog, but not yours. For me, my blog is cathartic and not truly intended for an audience. It is because of this that I rarely proof ready it and notice later that I have some pretty big typos. I do go back and correct them when I see them. I am happy that some people may be reading my "stuff" and are perhaps even gleaning some valuable info, while I document my journey. I am thoroughly engaged in reading your posts and can see how much it helps you to write about your experiences. Mr. Bunch would be proud ... Thinking about you and grateful to see you being so supported.
ReplyDelete