My final chemotherapy treatment was very anti climatic. I didn’t ring a bell, pronounce I had won, and skip merrily from the hospital . I left quietly, just like any other day. I was incredibly happy to be done with blood work, injections, and infusions. I was overwhelmingly grateful for my healing. But I was also scared. Scared that once active treatment ended my disease would come raging back in full force.(Not exactly how it works, but tell that to…
Winter blues got you down? I feel you. I don’t like to be cold. But I live in Canada so it’s kind of inevitable. It happens every winter. At some point I just feel blah. It becomes a little harder to wrap my head around my illness and to focus on all the wonderful things I’m grateful for. So I did what comes naturally to me when faced with a problem….I read. I read and learn about whatever issue I’m…
Mackenzie was diagnosed with Amyloidosis when she was only 23 years old. After receiving an autologous stem cell transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN she is now in complete remission! Mackenzie’s Mission was founded to help spread awareness of this disease and to raise funds for research. In 2018, the first ever Play FORE the Cure golf tournament, plus donations throughout the year, raised over $164,000! Through their website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel, Mackenzie’s Mission continues to create…
Parenting is hard. When you’re chronically ill it throws even more complications into the mix. I recently spoke with some chronic moms about what it’s like to parent when you’re sick. The consensus: It’s tough! But….think about all the good you can teach your child. You have a unique perspective and can be a real life role model. You can teach them how to overcome! How to be resilient, how to make the best of what life throws at them….
Thank you so much to Mackenzie’s Mission for putting together this Faces of Amyloidosis video and for including me in it. Spreading awareness of this rare disease is crucial. It leads to earlier diagnosis which leads to saving lives. Once thought to be the disease of elderly men, a diagnosis of Amyloidosis is becoming more prevalent in younger men and women. Doctors need to recognize this and test if symptoms are present even if the patient does not fit the…
When I first heard that I was going to have chemotherapy I pictured one drug, one very strong drug that was used to treat cancer. I envisioned myself bald and extremely sick with side effects. I was quick to learn that this was not the case for me. As I have come to understand it, chemotherapy is a broad term used to describe a variety of treatments and generally involves a combination of medications. (I’m certainly no doctor and a…
I recently asked for help. Help from other chronically ill moms on how to handle this whole sick parenting thing. How can I take care of my kids on the days I can barely take care of myself? I got a lot of wonderful suggestions and feedback. Here are some tips from some real life sick moms on how to manage your self care so you can care for those kiddos too!