Past, Present and Future All in the Same Day
Using a calendar in 2020 has felt a bit strange, to put it mildly. One of the most useless purchases I made at the end of last year was a 2020 planner. I started relying on my SMTWTFS pill holder to help with the day of the week. Which month it was became anybody's guess.
But, every once in a while there comes a day unlike the rest. The square for 11/11/20 actually got a bit crowded with events. Veterans Day loomed large for a number of reasons. Of course, it has meant honoring the selfless contributions of heroes like my Dad (WWII Marine-Pacific Theater), my Father-in-Law (WWII Army- European Theater) and my husband, Brendan (Air Force 1974-1978), as well as Uncles, my Aunt Anne (WWII Navy WAVE), Cousins, and Friends. Thank you all for your service! 🇺🇸
November 11 is also my parents' anniversary. This year marks 70 years since their wedding day in 1950.
I know that they are together again in a wonderful place and looking down proudly on their four children, eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren. I also know they have been watching over us all, busily intervening on our behalfs and, at times, steering us in the right direction. My mother especially has become heaven's equivalent of the Helicopter Mom. My siblings and I can list dozens of times when things should have ended badly for us (or at least differently in a negative way) and we felt her presence turn the tide.
Which brings me to the Present part of this blog. Today was my followup mammogram and surgeon consult after facing down a breast cancer diagnosis one year ago. Last November I listened in shock as a radiologist outlined complications from my mammogram and referred me to the Maine Breast Care Center. It was a new and terrifying experience after many years of routine results. December brought biopsies, ultrasounds, and MRI's and, after the delays brought on by holidays, surgery in late January. Six weeks later I began sixteen sessions of radiation, coinciding with the onset of the Pandemic shutdown, making for a truly surreal experience for patients and staff alike. Hormone treatments were scheduled to begin in early April, complicated by a severe set of adverse reactions that sent us back to the drawing board. A different course of medications began in May and [knock on wood] all is going well except for some insomnia and the occasional hot flash But today loomed large in my psyche, causing additional hours of sleeplessness. During many of those hours, I held conversations with my parents, both lost to cancer, to ask them for courage and support. Today I learned that all is clear, no evidence of any cancer in either breast and the surgery and radiation have accomplished their purposes with no lasting effects. Chalk another one up to parents in high places and, especially to a super-amazing team of professionals: Nurses, Technicians, my Surgeon, Radiologists, and my Oncologist.
Early in the ordeal, a dear friend sent me this shirt which I wear proudly!
As to the future...that one is a bit trickier but today I am feeling optimistic. We are still in the vice grip of this horrible pandemic with some very rough sledding ahead but the faintest promise of a vaccine seems to be on the horizon. We have just elected a leader who is willing to confront this thing head on with a team of scientists and researchers who will be taken seriously. Politics must now take a back seat to information based in evidence and medical expertise. Let the game-playing stop and the business of helping a wounded country heal truly begin.
All in all, it has been a good day. Past, present and hopes for the future have made it a stellar day to circle on the calendar. Let's hope we have many more of these soon!
