It's been a year of going to a gazillion medical professionals: general surgeon, plastic surgeon, lymphedema specialist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, otolaryngologist [ear, nose & throat], psychologist and general practitioner. It's been a year of procedures: MRI's, CT scans, mammography, ultrasounds, and blood draws, to name a few. And then there have been the surgeries: bilateral mastectomy including insertion of tissue expanders [with a 2-day stay in the hospital], insertion of chemo port, removal of chemo port, and drainage of fluid build-up in the breast. And let's not forget the chemotherapy and the radiation therapy.
It's been a year of physical pain, sometimes more than I could ever have imagined, in different manifestations.
It's been a year of emotional pain, frustration, anger, depression...
It's been a year of learning and growing.
It's been a year of finding out who my true friends really are, and letting go those who aren't.
It's been a year of joy, of being thankful for being alive, and for all the amazing people [and my cat] that have enriched my life and kept me going.
And lastly, but most importantly, it's been a year of coming closer to my God.
