Living on Borrowed Time

I know. A very heavy second post on a blog that is supposed to be light and airy. Well, it's the truth, and as long as I keep living my life with this in mind, I know in the end that I had set out and completed what I am/was supposed to do. I have stopped "doing" for the sake of doing, and started "listening". There is a path out there for all of us, and there are clues, signs, forks in the road, you name it, pointing to us to your ultimate purpose on this planet.

I trace the beginning of the path of my existence to have started when I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive tumor when I was 17. The whole ordeal, which is a post in itself, lasted a year, but I am happy to say that I have been free and clear of disease for 19 years! I periodically Google my diagnosis to see if there is any more information out there. Searching the internet can be both good, and bad. I now know the odds: 66% survival rate if caught in time. Sloan Kettering only saw 16 cases between 1982 and 1995. St Judes only saw 8 during that time. I was diagnosed in 1990. If I didnt fall, we would never have found it and I would be part of the statistic "not caught in time".

Overall, I am doing well. The biggest issue I have is that due to all the surgeries and radiation treatment, I get very bad cellulitis infections quite often. Back in the day, there were no long term studies on the effects of removing lymph nodes, so there was no known way to prevent the lymphadema and infections. Now, compression banding is the norm following lymph node resection. For me it's too late. So, I don't go anywhere without my antibiotics and do everything in my power to be proactive and prevent infections: antibacterial soap, clean towels and no paper towels (bacteria), try to sleep and eat well (boost resistance).

How does this fall into place as a path I must follow? If I didnt go through this (and continue to do so), it would not have led us to our son.