WORDLE WEDNESDAY

It's Wordle "Word Cloud" Wednesday! (To participate, see the last paragraph.) I had an interesting week that involved a dinner where I had to be "on" and a dinner where I got to be "off." (Guess which one was more enjoyable.)

Yesterday, I saw my plastic surgeon for my three-week post-surgical checkup. He is pleased with my progress, and...

SOLO SOJOURN

Each time I am about to have surgery, I make a solo sojourn into the mountains. I take no prisoners, no compadres. I have to do this alone. (Just like surgery.)

It's my attempt to quiet my chattering mind, but it also gives me a calming memory from which to draw upon during the various periods of anxious waiting, waiting, waiting that I experience on surgery day.

First, there's the waiting for water I cannot swallow because it's after midnight. Or the cup of joe I smell in the morning as my husband sips it while reading the paper before we leave. I am too nervous to focus on words.

Then there's the waiting in the passenger seat of our car as we drive to the hospital in the inky pre-dawn light...

A TALE OF TWO SHANNONS

I want to give a shout out to two Shannons. Both are breast cancer sistahs that I met online. They don't know each other, but were recently "introduced" online via yours truly. (I met one of them in person earlier this year, and hope to meet the other one day soon.)

Shannon #1 lives down South and is six weeks out from surgery to correct a botched reconstruction.

Shannon #2 lives up North and is in surgery today, also to correct a botched reconstruction.

Both of these women had completed their reconstructive journeys...

WORDLE WEDNESDAY

It's here! The first Wordle Wednesday.

And I am feeling so much better! In the past two days I've released myself from the mental, physical and emotional shackles of surgery and have actually gotten out of the house! I've spent time with friends, eaten sweet confections, visited the beach, and even taken photos of a local 9/11 memorial. All that adds up to a vastly different word cloud for me today than the one I posted just two days ago. (Ah, The Power of the Wordle!)

I invite you to join me ...

WEEKLY WORDLE

I am feeling so much better! I had to kick my fever to the curb first, though. Once it was gone, my mood lifted, I regained some much-needed energy, and I could feel myself starting to heal... BIG sigh of relief over here.

I've decided to post a weekly Wordle. What is a Wordle? It's a word cloud generated from, well, words — your words. It's a great way to give expression to what you're going through at any given moment...

EXCHANGE RATE

Have you ever walked yourself into surgery? As in, walked with your own two feet from the pre-op area (where they strap the pic line onto the back of your hand) into the OR? Neither had I. 

The hospital where I had my exchange surgery last week is "trying something new." Instead of being wheeled in on a gurney, I had the pleasure of walking (with a nurse) in my faded gown and anything-but-sassy, mustard-yellow, hospital-issued socks down an icy corridor — straight into the operating room. 

Once inside, they untied my gown and asked me to climb onto the surgical table. I was pleasantly surprised — it felt so soft, like a pillow-top mattress covered in warm flannel. (Turns out they just got new table pads. Score one for me.) As for the "trying something new," I reckon that just means less gurney guys in the wee small hours of the hospital morning.

Prior to my stroll into the OR, while waiting for the day to commence with my husband, we spoke to the very pleasant anesthesiologist about my vomiting tendencies. She assured us she would minimize the chance of this happening.

And so, after 19 long months, I finally, finally have the final surgery to remove my tissue expanders and replace them with permanent implants...

BEING CAMERA READY

(Copyright © 2012 The Big C and Me)

Last night, on our way to a Labor Day celebration dinner with friends, I looked up at the sky and suddenly asked my husband to take a quick detour to the top of a nearby hill. I simply can't pass up a good-looking sunset.

It always pays to be camera ready.

My first camera was a Minolta SLR. Got it as a high school graduation gift from my family, and I loved it. Used it frequently, and for years. Until I dropped it at the Emmy Awards.

Now before you get too excited ...

CELEBRATING THE ORDINARY: Day 7

(Copyright © 2012 The Big C and Me)

Today is the final day of Marie's JBBC Challenge, and I have to admit this photographing of ordinary things has been one of my favorites. Got my creativity flowing again. (Thank you, Marie!) So to close out the week, I'm posting my favorite end-of-summer recipe for Zucchini Bread. Enjoy!