If I made a list of the different times from Ecclesiastes 3, I’d probably be able to cross of quite a few of them since the last time I updated my Journey page on Facebook. We’ve been so busy as a family, and I am able to do so much more independently in the past ten or so days.
- Starting to go out on my own — driving, running errands and shopping
- Spending two hours a day organizing the basement and fighting a battle with mice. (The photo of me in a mask is me wearing my combat suit.)
- Made it all the way from the State Building to the entrance of the County Courthouse on my knee scooter.
- Successfully treated sore from my leg rubbing against seat of said scooter with Frankincense and Myrrh
- Pizza night at church and then a wonderful time of worship with country/gospel singers https://erniecouchandrevival.com/home.shtml
- a family adventure at the Steamtown Historic Site
- Walsh family game night
- Fireworks at the courthouse with the Walshes
- Watching The Sound of Hope with my parents at Cinemark and dinner with them at Longhorn
- Two sessions of being Pat’s sidekick as he spoke to middle school children at a summer program about internet safety and gateway behaviors.
- Assisting Pat in installing a new dishwasher
- A wonderful 4th of July party with neighbors on the mountain
- A graduation party
- Late night family talks
- Lots and lots of reading and writing
- Lots of listening to the beautiful music that correlates with the novel I am writing
- Lots of talking to my cats and playing catch with Iris and her Lambchops toy
- Conversations with many friends and family online and via phone
- Saying goodbye to Jimmy Connors and a wonderful, bittersweet family dinner (Former mayor of Scranton and Pat’s cousin who performed our marriage ceremony)
The next stop on my Synovial Sarcoma journey is my appointment with a oncology radiologist in Dunmore on June 22nd. I will find out when radiation will start and how many weeks I will have it then. There are only three small areas around the flap that still haven’t healed. I can walk without a limp now and I’m eager to try a jaunt on the treadmill — however, I still don’t have permission. I still have to put my foot up on the purple trench after about 2 hours of having it down, especially if I’ve been walking on it. It gets quite swollen and will turn either yellow, purple, red. I still haven’t figured out why it’s different color at times.
As for my spirits — I’m doing pretty well. It’s pretty neat how God provides comfort and encouragement through His word and His people. There was one day that marked the first time I had been home alone in a long time — and I ended up having a little bit of a crying jag. Probably less than five minutes, so don’t worry — ha ha! It wasn’t just about having cancer, it was a bit of sadness about my kids being grown up now and life moving so quickly. That night I talked to someone whose spouse had later stage cancer and a flap taken from the thigh similar than mine — but it was so much worse than what I’ve gone through. Twenty years later and that spouse is still here. She emphasized the need for positivity and to keep going with work and such. That conversation was such an encouragement to me but also a source of much wisdom. I’m very grateful.
Most of the time, I almost forget that I have synovial sarcoma. The only reason I remember when I am outward and upward focused is because my leg feels weird. Every now and then during quiet times, that feeling of this change in my life being surreal happens. And even fewer times than that, I feel some fear. But I can’t even say that fear is bad because it drives me to do three things: 1. More research on what I can do to help prevent a reoccurrence 2. Read the Bible 3. Pray
I hope all of you had a lovely first week of July. I hope that you are doing well physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Don’t be afraid to reach out if you aren’t.
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