as to why I've been so quiet lately.......
That I ran away with a bar of peppermint bark dressed in a crepe paper skirt........
That I ran away with my new assistant to live a life of party hats and cheese......
That the CEO of Tomfoolery ran the business into the ground with his blind insistence that decorative Lego cat collars were going to be the next big thing to hit the craft industry......
Well, it was none of the above. Although, I do have to admit to giving some thought of spending the rest of my life with peppermint bark. But, like with the Count, it's only exciting just once a year.......
As it turned out, due to a papercut in my finger, my lymphedema arm got a massive infection resulting in a three day hospital visit hooked to an antibiotic iv. While I was there, they discovered I had a cracked rib which then resulted in a flurry of test to see if my cancer had returned....
It was right there and then I wished I had run off with him.........
In the end, the infection is being controlled with some heavy duty antibiotic, the tests all came back clear for no reoccurrence, I discovered that Ativan is your best friend in situations like this and that the best Christmas gift I got this year was an early one......"no sign of metastasis" on a computer screen.
When I'm feeling better I'll fill you in on the details..... like how the stereotype of the cute EMT/Firefighter is no stereotype. It's really true. Really. And despite being wheeled into the ER wearing flannel pajama bottoms, pink socks and a Pirates of the Caribbean sweatshirt, I couldn't help think if I was just 20 years younger.......
How when the doctor came in to tell me that my rib was cracked, I honest to hot glue thought he had me mistaken with another patient....bless his busy little ER heart.....he was going to be so embarrassed....
How the Nurses at Kaiser Rock the Casbah!!!!!! They are the best! With the exception of nurse Shelly in the ER, who looked and acted as if she had no rush to be anywhere....except in front of the computer and avoiding me, the nurses and doctors there were the best. If my co pay wasn't so high, I'd book another couple of nights there to be with them.....
How nurse Shelly's attitude made me immediately and legally change my name to Karin "Squeaky Wheel" Chaos.
How when faced with the prospect of a reoccurrence, your brain has the uncanny ability to immediately filter out all the bull crap in life and focus in on the minute important details. I can honestly say that when you are faced with something like this, the mind unlocks a padlocked door that takes you into a room where you have a talk with mortality. You argue, you fight, you cry. You make promises to eat more broccoli and less peppermint bark. You ask "why me?" and then immediately think "well, why not me?"
What occurs to you is how tenuous this time on earth is for all of us. So my Christmas gift to you is the following:
1. After looking at your Christmas to do list, cross off half the items on it.
2. Once you have done that pick only two things that really mean something to you.
3. Take a look at those two things and pick one or the other.
4. After picking the most important thing on the list, you now have all the time in the world to spend with family and friends.
5. Declare it the best Christmas ever!
Talk to you soon! Karin
