Well, at long last, a separation of a lengthier period was
awarded at my visit this week. She has
held me to 3 months for what seemed forever, then at 6 months. This past week,
I graduated and now am allowed to go a full year without returning to see my
beloved doctor.
It seems a perfect time to celebrate, once again, the
victory of being a survivor. I can’t help but recall just how wonderful life
has been, how many things I have celebrated over the past years since
diagnosis. So many personal changes have occurred, besides the obvious, going
from bald to hair. I have gone from
being a mother to being a grandmother, to being someone who lived a frantic
lifestyle to someone who takes time to smells the coffee and treasures small
things in life. I found out that long term effects of chemo are not just imaginary
but well worth the price of having another day to life. I got real, and though it took quite a lot of
practice and, in the process, may have lost some people that were dear to me,
with the loving support of caring people in my life, I am there. I find myself
happy, healthy and whole, just as I prayed and asked God to make me when I was
flat on my back in treatment.
So I must be
reflective for a few moments. It is my trip down memory lane. Even at my
age, I recognize, inside all of us, is a child that seeks wisdom continually
and must adjust to an ever changing world.
That innocence of youth still looks for a more perfect world, void of
war and certainly wishes for a day the world will be void of cancer. I long for a time when others live without judgment
of others and find a way to truly understand what unconditional love and regard
means and can incorporate it into their live and relationships. Getting real seems like it should not be
reserved for the very few.
