Age I was given: Bev. Cooke gave me 35
I lived in: a fog, but otherwise, in San Jose, CA, around the corner from the Winchester Mystery House. I lived with my daughter and husband and our little lhasa apso named Harry, as well as my parents, Ed and Bea who came when the baby was born (of course), and stayed after the baptism (the happiest day of my entire life) for my mom to have very delicate open heart surgery which she nearly did not make it through. Once she was nearly recovered, the year of hell commenced. Thank God, and I really mean it, that my parents stayed and were there to help and support during that year.
I drove: a red Nissan Sentra, and Jerry drove a white Ford Escort
I worked at: maintaining equilibrium during this most difficult year in which I went from supreme joy at finally becoming a mother after 11 years of trying, to dazed fear of losing my daughter to cancer. In between, I attempted to maintain my medical transcription business which did survive - barely. I worked at becoming knowledgable about childhood cancers, nutritional support and being a strong advocate for my daughter's medical care. I worked extremely hard at forcing my insurance company to pay for my daughter's treatment which they tried to skip out of. And to think that some people say we have the best medical care in the world. Not.
I wanted to be: Living a different life. Anywhere other than where I was. I wanted to take my daughter and my dog and run away which I did do six years later, and learned that running away changes nothing but the scenery. But really, when I was 35, it was what I didn't want that stands out. I didn't want to be the one that everyone relied on - I wanted someone to rely on. I was exhausted from carrying the weight of our life. I didn't want to be the mother of a miraculous child who had cancer. I didn't want to watch my daughter change from a chubby, happy baby to a hairless, emaciated, solemn gnome. I wanted to be at rest and peaceful, but there was little of that to be found, except during liturgy, but I couldn't attend every week due to my daughter's health.
I feared: Breaking, and I came so close... My daughter's death - I used to have nightmares of her in her little wooden casket. Once in a while, I still do. I feared that everything I had built my life around - God - wasn't real. I feared that my husband and I would never recover our relationship after this, and we never did. I feared my own weakness and sinfulness, since I felt that every aspect of our family rested on me. I feared making a wrong decision. I feared that I would never be able to forgive the weakness of some people that I depended on during this time. I feared that life would never again be the same, and it wasn't. I feared that my faith and my love would not be enough, but I was wrong. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief was my prayer. Also, Isaiah 40:30. Mostly, I feared not surviving intact, no matter the outcome of that awful year of 35, when every aspect of my life blew up. But I did. I really did. And it was only through the grace of God.
And that is more than you EVER wanted to know about me, Bev!
"Like" this status and I will give you an age!
1 comment:
My dear, I know some of this. Great good has come of your post to the old OrthWomen's list on Yahoo, wherein you explained the nutritional support you gave your daughter so she would have less mouth sores. When I was started on Methotrexate for my rheumatoid arthritis (weekly injections which have continued for 10 years), the first thing I did was lose chunks of hair. And the second thing I did was develop some mouth sores. I referred back to your post (which was neatly filed in Yahoo's e-list files section) and started a regimen of Zinc, L-Lysine, Vitamin C, and Mega Vitamin B Complex. I have only had 3 mouth sores since then. When I awoke with "that feeling" in my mouth, I doubled the doses of each, and ate oatmeal at least twice a day. I made the oatmeal with extra water, and let it cook longer, so it was gooey and slightly slicky-sticky. Mouth sores healed within 24 hours each time. I will add that I take mega doses of Folic Acid, which cancer patients should not take - Methotrexate kills cancer cells by interfering with folic acid uptake, so folic acid supplementation will interfere with that aspect of the treatment. But Methotrexate also suppresses parts of the immune system - which is the problem with autoimmune diseases. So folic acid can be used for the side effect of mouth sores and hair loss without losing therapeutic value.
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