One last round of thank yous

 

Finally, a booby meme.

I am about at the end of the road on this blog (more very soon on that) so before I go, one last round of thank yous.

First, to Anna, who was everything during this. Everything. She was the first person I told, she was the person I texted from the hospital (and also the person who convinced me that cartwheels were ill-advised while I was in the hospital, no matter how great I felt). She took my photos, she wrote on this blog, she listened when I was at the end of my rope. She was the first person to offer to get on the phone to help solve things when I hit walls. Despite having a full life of her own, she took this all on.

She also organized and delivered a gift basket; she reached out and coordinated so many people to contribute to this. The love and support I felt was incredible. Pillows, ice packs, candles, blanket, my first racerback tanktop, an aerial Barbie (!), a really challenging puzzle that was so much fun to do, and so much more. And a card signed by so many people I love. 

So to all the friends from the Aerial House who contributed, texted me, called...thank you so much.

Immediately post-op, there wasn't a lot I could do, and Stephen was trying to do all the cooking -- finally he asked for help. Patrick and Lindsey sent us food, Beck (and Clyde) brought us dinner (and Beck stabbed me lots of times and it was glorious, and brought dinner several times and veggies from the garden and all sorts of things) and Victoria came over and cooked obscene amounts of food for us so we wouldn't need to cook for what seemed like a month.

Alec, Kelly, and Nathaniel have been a near-daily source of joy. I love you all and I can't wait to train with you again. I miss you so much. Shortly after surgery, Alec took me to get my hair washed, which was a luxury that I can't even describe.

Laura and Sarah helped me navigate so much of the stuff I had no idea was even coming. I took their word as the final word on almost all things.

My brother (a real doctor, not a fake doctor) offered to get on a plane to help me post-op. He also helped me navigate anesthesia and other hospital bs. It was nice to be able to have him help set my expectations, even if his specialty is quite different...and know what magic words to say to the anesthesia team.

Mom has surprised me by facing this with more humor than I ever would have imagined.

Matt showed up with a book on going through this whole thing from him and his family that was honestly something that I read cover to cover at various points through this whole thing and both terrified me and helped me.

Emyli told me about all sorts of things I didn't know, like that I could get all manner of things back post-op, and then made sure I was able to get the things back that I did want. If I can't have laser boobs, I might as well have the titanium that was once in there.

Deirdra, Wesly, and Shawn all showed up with non-alcoholic beverages for me so I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on things. Ralph, also a fan of the NA beer Shawn brought over, made some helpful recommendations. I still miss my cocktail ritual, but can appreciate these beverages too, and am just transitioning to new habits. Like it or not.

Doug sent me missives from Sweden and vacation all over Europe, with amazing photos and exactly the sort of humor we have always enjoyed for the last 20 years. Those emails were always a bright spot, plus I learned how to say "end" and "exit" in Swedish.

I'm sure I'm leaving things and people out.

So many of you emailed, texted, called to check in, and then gave me the space to not reply or reply when I had the energy (especially early on, when this was new and a little overwhelming). Many of you hit me up with questions that were thoughtful and great. You've been supportive, invited me to things, understood when I couldn't show up, but still kept on offering to show up and inviting me to things. 

One of the things I was warned about early on is to be prepared for people to say stupid things, even if they mean well. I steeled myself for that. Instead, the main thing I have found is that people are eager to share their own experiences -- cancer seems to have touched so many people's lives -- but to do so in a supportive way. I don't doubt that one day, I'll face a an off-putting comment (I'm definitely looking at trade shows as a historic place for comments like these in general), and I have no idea what I'll say when I do, but not having to do so for this long has given me time to get very comfortable in my skin, and less likely to be thrown.

I have an army of support and I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you all. Thank you for everything you have done to support me in the last few months. It has been a really weird time.

More soon.