Living Life

I have not been present lately on my blog and that is because I have been joyfully living my life. The only reminders that I have cancer are those three blue pills I take every morning and a few side effects that have become my new normal; among them is some fatigue and joint issues. This winter I have had sinus issues that come with a bloody nose every day. I am dealing with nail issues on three of my toes (Jublia to the rescue) and one particularly bad bloody infection on one of my fingers. But it sure beats the alternative. LOL.

According to the NIH blood work from January 2016, I am still in complete remission. I will have a physical today with my local GP. My bone marrow biopsy is not scheduled until this summer.

You see I have been busy living my life. I am the grandmother of a precious new granddaughter named Ruby La Verne Harris. I was touched so deeply when I found out my son and daughter-in-law named her after me. It is one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. I will be forever grateful.

Every morning when I wake up and sit up in my bed, I count the many blessings in my life. I am painting my blank canvases. I am flying around the country telling my story to cancer patients, caregivers, medical personnel, and cancer drug representatives. My husband and I have gone to see our grandchildren play basketball, gymnastics, swimming, and perform the lead role in a school play. I went to a line dancing class and could actually move. I was having so much fun doing stand-up comedy and now another comedian and I are putting together a Frick and Frack stand-up comedy routine for cancer patients. She has blood cancer too.

I received a text today from one of my favorite university graduate students. I was the chair of her graduate committee. I got her through her Master’s Degree and part of her doctoral degree when I was diagnosed and left the university. She and I connected because she was one of the few female grad students in an engineering and technology environment. Hana is from Dubai. I met her when a dear friend (another professor) brought her to my office to talk to me, because we were both creative souls. She was a senior undergraduate at the time and wanted to apply for graduate school. She was devastated because another professor told her that she was not graduate-school material. I am proud to announce that she was just awarded her PhD. Hana texted me this message:

“Hi Dr. Harris! I just defended my PhD and passed! You are the first one to know I passed -- before parents, before friends! You are the reason I made it here today! I didn't update anyone that I was defending today -- not even parents -- because I was freaking out! I wish you were here today ... Thank you for believing in me.”

Hana just filled my bucket.

On another note, I am getting my kitchen and bathroom cabinets refaced. This may sound like a trivial thing to say on a cancer blog, but think about what this really means. This means that I have things in my life that are giving me joy and I don’t think about cancer all the time. At this moment in my life I feel free and alive. It has taken me a long time to get to this point. Life is beautiful. I am going to enjoy every moment while I can.