Pow! Right between the eyes ~ Joe Walsh

My mom always urged me to take care of myself. When one of your kids has multiple specialists they see more than yearly, it's easy to let your own stuff wait. She reminded me that having Daniel makes it even more important Not to let things slide. She was, of course, righter than right.

I started bleeding right after the beginning of the school year. I'm a nurse who works in an elementary school diabetes clinic, and I know "my" kids blood sugar rhythms almost better than my own. So, I did not have time for this. I did not want to call in a sub. I told myself it was probably a hemorrhoid. The script my doc gave me for a colonoscopy had already expired, so I called for another, and figured I'd get it done over one of our breaks.

In late October I panicked. I freaked out a little, and the initial meeting with a GI specialist was scheduled, which resulted in a colonoscopy booked for November.

It's cancer.

I'm home now after major surgery last Thursday. There were some snafus, and I had to be operated on twice. Once on November 25, then again December 12. We're just waiting for the pathology reports now, but there is about a foot of my intestines gone.

I've never been prouder of my oldest girl. She is mini-me, only at least 1,000 x smarter. She, along with our caregiver, have taken care of Daniel so that Rich can focus mostly on me. God, I love that kid. Without her, I'd be pretty screwed right now.

And now, more than ever, my thoughts of a community are strong. We cannot do this alone. I've been taught that in a big way.

I have much more to say, but I'm groggy from medication. But damn, mom, I apologize for not listening to you. I will try to do better. No more putting things off or diagnosing myself. That's just really, really dumb.

Thanks for reading, whoever is out there.