Confessions are good for the soul... Or are they?

Last night I was sitting in the house and enjoying a sip of wine... Maybe a whole glass but who keeps track of these trivial things.  An advertisment came on the TV about April being daffodil month for the Canadian Cancer society and it got me thinking...

I call this month Cancer Awareness Month. It's my phrase instead of hanging off a flower that dies in 2 weeks.  Kind of a shitty reminder that many don't survive the battle.

Back to my story. I sit, sip and contemplate what Cancer Awareness means to me.  So I tweet asking people to remember the significance of this month and for them to consider doing something to help the fight.  I don't ask them to give money or time, just consideration. Thoughts change attitudes, attitudes change to actions and actions leads to change.

My fingers hang over the keys...  Anyone who reads my tweets know that I am the expert in the ridiculous and the foolish. So do I take a serious minute and open myself up to people I know but more interestingly, people who I don't know? Yep, I went for it. A wine decision.

Fourteen years ago I was sick, very sick but I refused to acknowledge or address it.  Every day was awful.  Every day was a grand suckfest and every day I lost my sparkle. Days became weeks, weeks became months and still I struggled.  Finally my dad called, blustered about and ordered me to see a doctor.  Appointments, tests, grumblings and finally they had the word... Cancer.

I won't bore you with the logistics of treatment.  Chances are good that you know someone who has run the gamut. Suffice to say that the decisions I made were ones that impact me daily.  But here I sit...

Is this a sob story?  Nope, not even a little.  I made out easy, there were people on the oncology floor without family, without options and eventually without hope.  Those are the courageous, who look at the options, see they have none but decide to take on the battle anyway or gracefully bow out of the tussle.

Back to the tweet. Once I confessed (in 140 characters no less) people were generous and curious.  Maybe it was the curiousity I wanted, for people to understand that all cancer doesn't end at a gravesite. Thoughts by people lead to a solution for me and that 14 years later I am perfectly able to tweet bullshit daily (or hourly).

And I have a sparkle...

Lori

(pitcherplantnl)

4 comments :

  1. Sparkle is good. I love that you ended it like this.

    In my life, I had a grandmother who lived with cancer my entire life. That's a long time to live with it. Yes, she also died from cancer, but she easily could have died from old age then too. Cancer doesn't have to be about death all the time. But I don't really want to say those words because I haven't experienced cancer personally. My job is to listen to the stories.

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  2. Thanks for sharing Lori, lets hope more and more people are like you and survive this terrible disease

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  3. I applaud you for stepping outside your comfort zone and sharing your personal story of cancer. We already thought you were pretty damn awesome. Now we KNOW :-)
    Sparkle on sister.

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  4. You certainly do!!

    ~Donna

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I really appreciate you taking time to comment. I read them all.

Thanks ever so much!
Lori

 

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