Happy Life Day! A friend texted me this morning and said “Happy 2nd birthday…” and let me tell you, it feels like a birthday. One year ago today, I went under anesthesia to remove a brain tumor would we later learn was a malignant grade 2 oligodendroglioma. Since then, a lot has changed. Life has gotten harder in some aspects, easier in others…but we’ve certainly learned to appreciate things a lot more. It doesn’t mean we’re all kittens and rainbows over here. I definitely have bad days and I find myself a lot more intolerant to BS these days because I realize it’s just wasted time. In the last couple of days, I’ve done some reflecting. A lot of people wait to end of year to reflect on the year but I personally think we should do this more often. Weekly – maybe monthly. But, we should do it.

I like Facebook because it has memories and I could go back and see what happened last year. I could also see what happened on Feb 22 in other years (I learned we spend a lot of time in hospitals, lol!)

If you followed my progression with this cancer, you know that I found this tumor by mistake. I had a car accident that while this was not the cause of the accident, thank the LORD for the accident as it uncovered it. In my communication about it, I received multiple messages from folks who told me to get a second (or even third) opinion. We ended up talking to a doctor at UTSW and another doctor (briefly) from MD Anderson. If you’ve followed along, you know we ended up choosing a neurosurgeon who specializes in these types of gliomas.

The day of surgery was long (for others, mostly) and while it was a “quick” recovery, I was determined to be at church on Sunday and wanted OUT. I pushed myself as hard as I could. We talked to the Chief Resident every day about release. We asked about allowing me to get walking downstairs at the hospital. I ate normal food as soon as I could (within 24 hours – don’t ask me about the Jello post surgery…) and I got a shower as soon as I could. I knew the road ahead of all of the anesthesia and pushed myself to hit all the milestones to get released.

• Shower
• Bathroom
• Walk
• Eat
• Commnicate

I wanted to check all of them off and I wanted to be home.

Getting to go home was the best. We kept our kids away from the hospital during this time. It’s not easy to watch your parents go through a difficult surgery and honestly, I didn’t want to the kids to be there if someone had to tell my husband I didn’t make it. Those conversations and decisions made prior to surgery were hard and never things I’d wish on anyone to make.

But, that’s not the purpose of this.

We’ve made changes. I’ve started seeing a functional doctor in Frisco who’s started focusing on my bloodwork. Ironically (or not so much), my bloodwork is a disaster. We’ve focused on making small changes in the diet for me and trying to pay more attention to the things I know are gasoline for cancer. Lower sugar, lower fat. No red 40 dye, limit the red meat, more fruits/veggies, less carbs. Embedded into that has been gut health and how I absorb medication. Also, quality vitamins. Not the junk you can buy over the counter in a plastic capsule. Really focusing in on the importance of that. And y’all – you can’t buy that stuff from a multi marketing setup. No matter what they tell you. I can’t get you discounts on the vitamins/supplements I take. But I can tell you what works and how I feel from the stuff I’m taking. I can tell you if my bloodwork is responding. I can also tell you what brands were not working. Placebos in a jar.

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This year has been like living all over again. I’ve learned to appreciate the times with my kids more. Sure, they still get grounded. Sure, they still make me madder than pig snot. Sure, they still don’t obey and they still choose not to do their chores. My pre-teen son still talks to me like a doormat some days and my daughter is 100000% my child and my attitude in her is strong. But in that, we have had so many things I didn’t think I would see and it is not lost on me that I get to be there for those:

• Volleyball games
• Trophy celebrations
• Music auditions
• Music awards
• Concerts
• Wedding anniversary
• Christmas
• Birthdays
• Thanksgiving
• Cold days where we can snuggle
• Hot days where I can complain about the heat
• Random breakfast or lunches with my husband
• Watching shows with my husband (that isn’t One Piece :=( )
• Helping with homework
• Screaming about projects

Then there’s all the things I’ve learned to REDO along the way and things I’ve had to learn to adjust:

• Typing
• Attending meetings and learning to focus
• Memory (still bad!)
• Patience (limited even more now)
• Tying my shoes
• Braiding Elysha’s hair
• Washing dishes
• Cooking
• Learning to handle a knife without killing my fingers
• Feeding animals
• Re-learning my left side distance (MULTIPLE smashed fingers)
• Adjusting to painful nerves
• Learning about medication

But, in all of that, I’ve gotten to do things I didn’t think I’d be here to do. I watched my son go to Cotillion. He signed up for orchestra. I got to drop him off at sky ranch again this year. I was there to take pictures. I got to spend a weekend with him at a music contest. I got to watch my daughter play volleyball. I got to do her hair again for Father/Daughter dance. I got to help her with projects this year – just a simple thing that despite hating them, I was glad I was ALIVE to do them. Teaching my daughter how to make Doritos casserole or Sushi bake. Teaching my daughter how to make bread, despite how frustrating this experience can be. Working concessions with my husband. Being ALIVE to work at the school on a float or in the shop. Getting to know teachers this year and being here for the START of another school year. Seeing my son graduate 6th and my daughter 3rd. Being there for awards. Celebrating another Christmas.

Life is what we make it. A year ago, I didn’t think I’d be here. A year ago, I had written wills. I had the conversations about sex, marriage, periods, boys, girls, and my husband remarrying. We had talks about how to handle life insurance. Power of attorney. We were ready. God wasn’t. Praise His Mercy!

God is so, SO good. He has done so much. We’ve been blessed by new friends. Closed some doors on ones that weren’t so great. But he has BLESSED US along the way. What does your year in review look like?