Since my last post I’ve been grateful to travel to both Florida for my granddaughter’s 1st birthday
and to Northern Illinois to see my family and friends for Thanksgiving!
When I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in April 2022, I had 3 goals (thanks to the encouragement of my dear friend Brenda Z) and that was to experience my granddaughter’s birth, celebrate my 10 year anniversary to my husband and ride my mountain bike again! Considering the seriousness of the metastasis into my lungs, we all knew that only a miracle would allow that to happen. I was on oxygen and very weak in 2022!
But I was still grateful for every moment God gave me, for however many more days or hours.
And here I am 19 months later…now celebrating my granddaughter’s 1st birthday,
coming up on 11 years of marriage
and getting ready to live my life in our WonderVan full time with our Northstar canoe and mountain bikes strapped on for the next adventure!!
Both John and I flew into Florida’s sunny weather for the party where we thoroughly enjoyed the time with our loved ones and were grateful for the sunshine and 75-80 degrees. What an answer to so many prayers to love and be loved by these treasures!
Then back in Ohio for one day and we got to sup with some friends and found an excuse for John to wear his new authentic Lochcarron Weavers Scottish kilt! For those of you with curious minds who are wondering, yes, he wears it properly. 😘
Then on to the chilly north where we visited lots of our favorites. We started a new tradition by dressing in black on Black Friday and dining at Rockford’s new fine dining restaurant that provided for us the best dining experience John and I have ever tasted in our lives at my niece’s beau’s restaurant called SALT.
I also experienced Thanksgiving in a whole new way…Vegan/Whole Food Plant Based. Thanks to everyone for supporting me but especially my mama
who bought lots of organic veggies, my niece Theresa who offered to make me her vegan ratatouille and my sister Melissa who is on the same eating healthy journey as me
and my precious friend Wendy who generously
blessed me with freshly picked garden greens including her delicate and delicious mache… it was an easy and enjoyable, guiltless, life giving weekend of culinary foods and juices!
Even though I made 3 batches of fudge with my Aunt Ro,
I was very disciplined and had none of the delicious Salted Caramel liquor nor any pieces of the chocolate peppermint, chocolate salted caramel or chocolate peanut butter fudge! Not an easy decision considering how scrumptious this iced holiday beverage is!!
As for my why? The reasons have been a long time coming. I’ve made many health changes since being diagnosed with breast cancer over the past 6 years. But I have wavered back and forth between healthy food choices and not so healthy ones. However after my last echocardiogram,
I received a call from my oncologist and was informed that my heart is starting to show signs of damage from the medication I am getting in my infusion, particularly the Traztuzumab (Herceptin). While it can be life saving from cancer, it can cause heart damage too. Gratefully, there’s a medication that can help reverse the damage. So although I’m getting yet another infusion tomorrow, I’ll meet my new doctor who is a specialist in this area. Dr Adam Potter will be my oncology cardiologist starting December 6. So that’s what tipped me over the edge of radically changing my eating habits. I think many of us struggle to make changes in our eating lifestyle unless or until we are faced with a diagnosis that scares the bejeebers out of us! Thankfully there are a few others in my life who chose to eat radically and make it easier on me to choose well. Lys H, Wendy T, and Kelly I. for you I am grateful. When I listened to this radiation oncologist share her explanation of eating Whole Food Plant Based, that’s when I switched in my mind. It was a moment of intentional decision making. I simply decided and informed those in my inner circle and asked them to support me. Gratefully everyone is understanding. Does it mean that I’ll never ever EVER touch animal products, like cheese, eggs or meat again? Does it mean I’ll never take a sip of an alcoholic beverage again? Does it mean I’ll never savor a delicious sweet sugary dessert again? No, it doesn’t. But it will be far and few between and not my norm. My body will thank me and my loved ones will thank me as it will make me live longer and healthier than ever with this crazy diagnosis!
As for my Gratitude Bell, I know many of my friends and family have purchased one from Bevin Bells and hung theirs in a special place to ring it. What an honor!!! This one is very special to me. My hygienist friend Karen D bought and hung this. Her beloved husband went home to Jesus about one year ago after fiercely battling cancer!!
In a couple weeks I have my first Gratitude Gathering Event put on by my former sister-in-law Debbie where I’ll get to support her Artisan Christmas Gathering and art show. It is still my dream to see these in every cancer treatment center for those of us with stage 4 so if anyone wants to help me promote this cause please buy one for your local cancer treatment center and ask them to hang it next to their Victory Bell. Share this with them and hopefully tomorrow I’ll get to ring MY Gratitude Bell at The Stephanie Spielman Comprehensive Cancer Treatment Center when I get my next infusion. If that happens, I’ll post another blog very soon sharing it!!
So a blessed and grateful day to everyone reading this.
PS I have never heard from Brandon Lake who wrote and sings my favorite song, Gratitude. I mailed him a Gratitude Bell a few weeks ago but I have no idea if he received it.
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