If you have ever gone to the doctor you have probably been sent off for some sort of medical scan. Maybe a simple x-ray or a noisy MRI. But do you know what the scan is and why the doctor chose that one? Below are 5 common medical scans and their uses: X-Ray: In 1895, […]
Time seems to both drag and speed by when you are waiting for test results. Most tests have some amount of anxiety associated with them because they are after all a test. But waiting for health test results does especially weird things with time. Tom’s appointment is at 10:00am. We’ve done the trip so many […]
Dawn was just beginning to break as I got out of bed. Sleep had been scarce, and I needed a shower to get me going. I took a deep breath to help calm my thoughts. It has been 40 days since Tom’s last doctor appointment. I hadn’t really counted until today. Today he gets a […]
The page a day calendar sits nearly empty on the counter. It started the year full of empowering messages meant to inspire me. Just like life, some days were better than others. I can remember when the calendar was full of pages and the year was new. Each day a page is torn off one […]
We were sitting in the waiting room again, but this time was different, this was the last one. The last chemo treatment in Tom’s regimen. I look over at Tom and can see the toll this has taken on him. His face is thin, and he looks tired, he gets winded easily and there are […]
I heard him sit up on the edge of the bed. “Are you alright?” I asked softly, trying not to startle him in the dark. “I can’t sleep, I’m shaking again” he replied. The last time he had the shakes was when he stepped down the dosage on his pain patch. He went through withdrawals. […]
There were several days of mail in the box when I opened it. So many things had been going on lately and getting the mail just wasn’t on the priority list. These days the mail didn’t bring many good things, bills from doctors and EOBs from insurance companies made up the bulk of it. Just […]
The familiar chirp of my cellphone signaled a text message. For a minute the message didn’t make any sense to me. It was from the scheduling department of Arizona Oncology. “Reply YES to confirm your family’s 5 appts starting at 11:00am” Both Tom & I had appointments the same day, we would both see the […]
I had planned this trip months before we received Tom’s diagnosis. It was the annual gathering of an international organization called Gather the Women. Because of my work with women’s empowerment and the monthly circles held at the Peaceful Spirit Enrichment Center, Gather the Women had invited me to join and serve as a regional […]
I’m not a techie. I can get my email, dabble in social media and post a blog on my website every week because someone taught me how. My phone is smarter than me and I just figured out how to use a hotspot with my laptop. But I am a health nerd. I love learning […]
Tom stood looking in the bathroom mirror, “draw a smiley face on it” he said. Always seeing with an artistic eye, he was referring to the white gauze bandage at the base of his throat that he wanted us to draw on. He thought it would be funny to have a smiley face peeking out […]
Hearing Tom be diagnosed with lung cancer was more devastating to me than my own breast cancer diagnosis last year. I can see myself as broken, but not him, he’s invincible. He’s strong, smart, kind, funny and caring. He’s my hero. It felt like I had been punched in the stomach. He handled it with […]