Sunday, March 10, 2013

Things Are Looking Up?




































It is amazing what a little extra sleep over the course of a few days can do for you.

Plus, I sense a nap in my future later today as well.  It is absolutely going to happen if I have anything to say about it...nap, here I come.  Even the anticipation of a nap is delicious for me right now.

What does that say?

Because there isn't enough going on here already with a breast cancer diagnosis, an impending MRI and surgery out the wazoo likely down the road, right?  That little cold that I had turned into a raging sinus infection headed on the fast track to bronchitis-ville.  So I had to go to the doc-in-a-box for some antibiotics and a steroid shot to clear things up quickly given that a coughing fit in the MRI is no one's idea of fun.

You know that your current medical picture is a bit on the pathetic side when the nurses all offer to give you a hug and the doctor on duty squeezes your hand in sympathy.

The good news is that the steroid shot has worked a miracle and I can actually breathe this morning without it feeling labored.  You have to love that, don't you?

Spent some time e-mailing back and forth with Marcy Wheeler, of Emptywheel fame, yesterday.  Marcy, as usual, was awesome and very helpful.  [waves to Marcy]

She recommended a fantastic book -- Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book -- which I can highly recommend as well having spent the better part of a day yesterday pouring over it.  Anything that helps me make sense of the multiple variables of my early diagnosis and pathology report so that I can make something approximating a more informed decision after my MRI is incredibly useful and empowering.

I don't know what it is about having more information in my pocket that makes me feel more secure about all of this, but it does.  The phrase "invasive lobular carcinoma" is scary enough on its own, even before you start to dig into all the the various permutations of what that can mean from tumor to tumor.   Now, I at least feel like I have some basic information as a building block once we get more test results in to give us a clearer picture of what is going to be needed to fight like hell.

Information is good, as long as you don't let it freeze you in fear.  At least, that's how I see it.

Today, I plan on washing my no-metal-anywhere sports bra collection and spending the rest of the day reading about boobies and their potential cancers.  How's that for excitement?

Hope your day includes something fun.  You really have to laugh in the face of danger, don't you?  Go out and find your giggle today.

(Photo by Christy Hardin Smith.  This great blue heron was only a few feet away from me on the side of a road by a drainage canal on Hilton Head -- I made Mr. ReddHedd pull the car over and eased across the road close to it to get this shot.  It was a magical moment for me.)

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