Fun… somehow, I’d lost it. I lost having it, lost seeking it. I forgot how much having fun lifts my spirit, my mood, and keeps me pleasant to be around. Over the last decade or so, like so many, I’ve walked through health crises (Read Our Story and My Final Straw Moment), the loss of … Read more
Brain Health
You may be wondering what brain health has to do with being resilient, or perhaps the relationship between the two is pretty obvious to you. I didn’t make the connection until I’d read the book Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age by CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent and neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and … Read more
Self-Compassion
In his book, Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness, Dr. Rick Hanson’s chapter on compassion begins with a plea to be compassionate to yourself and the benefits of doing so. Until I’d read this, I hadn’t considered what it meant to be kind and compassionate to myself or even … Read more
Compassion
Throughout my life I have been the recipient of others’ kind deeds. When I or someone in my family was sick or walking through something challenging, family, friends, and neighbors stepped up to help in all sorts of ways. Meals, breads, and treats would arrive with notes letting us we were being thought of. Rides … Read more
Resilience
I remember a woman named Mary who was exceedingly kind. Mary always had a smile on her face and a gentle demeanor. What really stuck me about Mary was when her husband was diagnosed with cancer and his health began to decline, Mary’s demeanor and treatment towards others never changed, at least outwardly. She remained … Read more
My Final Straw Moment
In May 2024, I had my “final straw“ moment. In her book Thrive, Arianna Huffington describes her final straw moment – that moment when one crosses a threshold and knows deeply in their being that something has to (I’m paraphrasing here) “radically change because you cannot continue to go on this way.” To me, my … Read more
Getting a Diagnosis ~ Part I
In May of 2015, my husband Joe hurt his knee. Initially, we thought he strained it and it would feel better after rest and ice. It didn’t. Perhaps physical therapy would help. It didn’t. We thought the orthopedic surgeon would be able to diagnose what was causing the pain. Over the next year, Joe endured … Read more
Immediately After the Amputation ~ Part II
At the time of the diagnosis and surgery we were close to the 2-year mark of the original injury. Joe could not use his left leg as the tumor prevented him from straightening it. I could visibly see how the tumor was slowly blocking the blood flow to his calf and foot. Joe had tingling … Read more
Home Care and Prosthetics ~ Part III
Before Joe’s amputation, we didn’t know what to expect of Joe’s healing. We made arrangements for in-home care after the surgery, but the focus was on having the surgery as soon as possible. There was so much to process in a short time. Once Joe came home, nurses came to our home to check on … Read more
The Spread ~ Part IV
We were progressing well with Joe’s prosthetic leg when a spot showed up on a scan in his lung. Since bone cancer spreads to the lungs, Joe was having routines scans to detect things early in case it spread. In February 2018, a lung biopsy confirmed that cancer had spread to Joe’s lungs. It was … Read more