Onwards and Upwards No. 32
Hello my healing team,
I hope this update finds you well.
I am comforted when I reflect on the fact that it has been 5 months since my last bone marrow biopsy, and I have not had any significant treatment for my myeloma since August 2014. A whole 21 months. Whilst I have been a regular pedestrian in the hospital, I feel fortunate that the treatment I receive is manageable.
Last week I had another bone marrow biopsy. The cancer cells measured in my pelvis have gone up from 4.2 to 4.9%. This is another pretty good result showing a slow down from the doubling in numbers that was previously occurring. Whilst this had me a little excited, I was quickly brought to earth by the fact that my neutrophils (white blood cells that are effectively my immune system) have been consistently dropping over the past 10 months. Normally, your neutrophils would be expected to be 2-3. Mine are 0.9 which is significantly low. We are not certain why this is occurring, however, as the cancer becomes more prevalent it displaces my bone marrow and reduces my bodies ability to produce good blood. Whilst I am ok at the moment, if this reduction continues, my immune system will become compromised and I will be susceptible to infection. Bloody great hey!! It seems I may be on a slippery slope towards my next stage of intense treatment.
So how do I mange myself going forward?? Whilst I am not really sure what the next six months look like, I have made one definitive decision. I will say YES………..
I was recently listening to a TED talk given by Shonda Rhimes, a very successful TV executive. Whilst she was extraordinarily successful, she came to a point in her career where she hast lost her ‘humm’ or her mojo. She found she was becoming automated in what she did. She was drawn out of this situation by her kids who were seemingly starved of parental attention. She found that she got her ‘humm’ back by shelving her own self importance, reprioritising her life, and saying YES to her kids. Actually, she set aside one whole year and said YES to them every time that they wanted her time. She rewired and improved her life and in turn, reinvigorated her career.
I am going to take a leaf out of Shonda’s book. I will say YES and prioritise.
- I will say yes when my kids ask for me to come and play
- I will say yes when Sarah needs me to be present (or for a hug)
- I will say yes to initiatives that help my community
- I will say yes when I receive an opportunity to connect with people, both those I know, and those I don’t
I will say YES.
It is not going to be easy to say YES all of the time. I may even slip up occaisionally. However, I expect that the more I say yes, the happier I will be, the happier the people around me will be, and I will use this positive energy to smooth out the challenging bumps that lie in the road ahead.
Who do you need to say YES to in order to bring happiness and priority into your life??
Take care
Geoff
