GG
I am sitting in starbucks near St. V's. At lunch I finished 'Thanks for the Mammaries' book by Sarah Demmon, an Indianapolis survivor. My bosses' wife gave me this book. She works with the author. It is a good read, and as such, I bough a copy off of Amazon. I like to see people get paid for their work. Plus we can have a copy to pass around. It sure taught me a lot about chemo, breast reconstruction and other related things.
It gives me a lot of info on what to expect at each appointment. First thing it did was make me realize we will not have all answers today. This initial appt with a breast surgeon will not answer our question of 'has it spread anywhere else'. That comes from follow up tests, or so it seems. Makes sense.
I got a Moleskine notebook (pink in color) to be my note taking platform during all this. Not my journal, but just notes, timelines, documentation, questions, etc. I hear this is essential.
Jill's mom will be there to take the emotional front line if needed so I can take notes, ask questions, etc.
So here at starbucks I have spread out on a table: laptop (with some related sites open), pink journal, book, and some print outs.
Jill and I have both read up on telling kids. I am not looking forward to this, but I am not dreading it any more. Reading on it has helped made me realize they are just as much a part of this. They look to us for stability, but they also trust in us. Keeping things from them could make things worse. Now we will present this with a strong and positive front, no doubt. And we will not flood them with technical info or stats. And we will answer every question they have from moment one until . . . well until the questions stop.
Jill has spoke with Holly's school counselor. And maybe teacher (if not, I think she will).
To everyone who we have talked to - thank you. Thank you. thank you. Already it is so clear we have a great support staff and people who care. That speaks to how wonderful my wife is. She is my everything.
More soon. I will update this blog this afternoon or evening, as I know people are waiting to hear what we hear. If you do not get a call from Jill or I and just read this stuff on this blog, we are both sorry. Literally every minute we think of other people we care about and need to contact. Some may think Facebook is not the right avenue for this type of thing (I disagree FYI) but I know of no other way to get this out to those who would want to know. I suspect we will go fully facebook public in the next few days.
Pray for us if can. Send advice is you have it. Just think positive if that is your thing.
I often sing some song lyrics that mean something to me - you rise, you fall, you're down, and you rise again. They have more meaning to me now.
I am a breast cancer survivor myself. My thoughts and prayers are with you all during this scarey journey. I am available if there is anything you want to ask or even vent over. The journey is so tough. Remember, the God on your mountain top is the God in your valley. Lean on him.I used facebook some to share information. I found it overwhelming to repeat the same info many times a day, so facebook was a simple way to tell the masses. There is no handbook, no rules, you create your own story. And you can share that story anyway you feel comfortable. With A Hopefull Heart,Michelle Ray
ReplyDelete