I am in awe of the human will to live, to survive. I recently watched a movie based on a true story of a family that survived the tsunami in Indonesia. They were in the thick of things and all 5 managed to survive. A miracle for sure. One part of the movie focused on the mom and the oldest son right after the water hit. Damn, I’m telling you, it was intense. And I thought, how easy it would be to just let go and be done with it all. You know if you are hit by a tsunami like that and survive, it’s not going to be all champagne and roses after you get out of the water! It was a nightmare. But that is what we humans do, we want to survive!

When I go to chemo I see all kinds of people who are much sicker than I am. I overhear conversations that are just heartbreaking. On Wednesday there was just a curtain between me and a young man who must have been in his 30’s. He had a friend there and they were doing a live Facebook video chat. They were so upbeat and positive; focusing on friendship, love, connections. It was inspiring. Then I overheard that he had chemo every day that week. Daily chemo. once every two weeks is enough I can’t imagine daily chemo. But there he is fighting, surviving and being so upbeat and positive. 

My friend Julie sent me a link to a blog that is written by an old friend of hers; Wendy Harpham. She is a survivor of multiple kinds of cancer. She fought for years and has been 15 years cancer free. She had a blog post about the effect of a positive outlook on an illness. The bottom line is that there is a connection between the brain and the body, and having a positive outlook MAY have an impact on an illness, but it most definitely has an impact on how you live or thrive while fighting the illness.

That has been and remains my aim, to fight, to survive, thrive and be positive along the way.

I had chemo on Wednesday, pancaked Friday and even more so yesterday but actually feel a little better today I am happy to say!

I have a scan on June 5 and we’ll go from there!

Mike has been going to PT building up the strength in his knee following his meniscus surgery. Now he is gearing up for surgery on his big toe this coming Wednesday, May 31. He’ll be 2 weeks no weight bearing. He has his knee roller all ready, well he just needs the streamers on the handle bars, then it will be all ready! Lucky for us Mike’s sister Carrie is retiring after 36 years in the Fire Department (most the time as a medic) on May 31. So we plan to call on her for support as she transitions into her new life!

I’m thinking of all my teacher friends as they start to wrap up the school year. June is such a tough month as a teacher in Seattle! It will be staying light until 9:30 and later, kids just want to be outside and play! Then there are all of the end of the year celebrations and ceremonies (not to mention report cards and packing up the room!). Good luck my hard working teacher friends! You have earned yourself a vacation!

Lots of love to you all on this sunshiny, warm day!
Janet