I have been asked questions about many things during my journey with ovarian cancer. I will share some of the questions I get and answer them. The most asked question is “What was my reaction when I first found out that I had cancer”? Answer is: very mixed emotions. I know the first thing is… I’m going to die! So how long do I have? Then of course, Why Me? Let it be known that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. Scary…yes. But as time goes by you learn that things are what they are. You have been thrown a curve ball and deal with it. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Get out and find a way to play just like everyone else. I believe the worst thing anyone can do is give up on life. That’s not part of the Man upstairs plan. I have been asked “did I feel bad before I was diagnosed”? Answer is ..NO. The symtoms I had were so much like regular menopause stuff that I didn’t pay any attention to them. The one thing I do know is that I had a feeling of a tiny pin poking at me from the inside down in the pelvic area.. And a pain in my right shoulder and neck. And this is interesting because Dr. White (our family physician since I was a kid) told me that sometimes when something is wrong with the body the pain appears somewhere else. And that many times abdominal problems show up in the shoulder and neck area. At the time I was like …”what”???? Boy, how true it was this time. Another question …”How do you keep your spirits up”? This is the hard part. I figure if you feel down and are always negative you are going to sink yourself so low you will not be able to recover. I was lucky to have a very supportive team behind me. Family, friends, doctors, nurses, and my minister and his wife. I try to make it a point to meet new people everyday. This is where you find that everyone you speak with either has or knows someone who has battled cancer. The many journeys people have taken are amazing. Not just with cancer but with all adversities. It has been a joy to meet so many new friends. You are part of God’s plan and you will find out how you are part of it one day.
Bill, Lani and I have been quite busy. My wonderful ob/gyn Dr. Paul Cook gave us Astro tickets so Bill and I got to go to the game. Great seats…right behind home plate. Lani had a dental appointment last Thursday so we went on a lunch/shopping trip to go along with teeth cleaning. Saturday, Bill and I met good friends Linda and David at the horse track and watched the Kentucky Derby. And yesterday my handsome Dr. Bevers invited me to be part of a photo shoot with him to open the new MD Anderson Katy Regional Care Center. I met so many nice, caring people. So if you see my hippo butt and “the Bev” on a billboard around town..be sure and wave!
The rest of the week should be interesting. Magoo turns 98 on Friday. He has been in rare form for the past week or so. He is really running out of steam. His friends are planning a little get-together at Dozier’s BBQ on Friday. I just hope he makes it. It’s no fun without Magoo antics….but we still have the hearing aide king to pick on! But every now and then he reps up and moves pretty fast. Then we are all kinda like when you see the bomb tech go running by, you’d better try to keep up!!!
Tomorrow Lani and I are driving to Cedar Creek, TX (15 min. from Bastrop) to have lunch with my swim team buddies Jenifer and Cindi. I can’t wait to see them.
Have a great week and stay out of trouble…I know, what fun is that? I can tell you all if friends were flowers, I’d pick all of you. Remember your job is to keep me going. Hugs!!!! Ride,Baby,Ride!
Leilani
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