On The Other Side - Part 3

~~~~~ATTENTION~~~~~

It was me. I did the lies.

I should have explained better about my cancer treatment plan.

I DO need chemo, just not injectable chemo. Not the balding/barfing kind of chemo. I am very fortunate not to need that kind.

I will be taking oral chemo for 10 years, starting in early 2023.

Then infusions for bone density stuff, every 6 months for 2 years.

I'll be 106 by the time I get done with this.

Anyway......Back to The Other Side:

People are good.

I have so many good people around me.

• My husband, who came right into the shower with me, my first day home, and gently washed, conditioned and combed out my matted hair, washed the hospital guck off me and didn't barf at the sight of my bloody incisions, my weepy drains, or my weepy weeping. He also gave me the injectable blood clot meds. Kept my ear buds charged. He carted my stuff upstairs, downstairs, out to the car, into the car. He listened to me crying about how I didn't want freaking cancer, and how it wasn't fair that our lives are never going to be the same. And you know what? He's still here, and still loves me. He doesn't like to admit it, but he is a good man.

• My dad, who went up and down stairs for me a million times when I needed water bottles, who ran to the store for bread, or wine (gotta keep my mom lubricated), who made sure I had coffee in the mornings, and keeps the yard looking great, all while being the gopher on the never-ending construction project, who would sit and talk to me for hours about the Yankees, the Rangers, the Giants and the Knicks. I love you daddy. Thank you.

• My extended family, Bob & Elaine, and my sister-in-law Mandy who dropped off food from Lasse's to give my mom a break from cooking my first day home from the hospital, had a walker for me to use and a wheelchair to borrow for when I couldn't walk. Thank you. You are good, kind and loving.

• From my Pucci cousins, this:

*not my actual likeness

Cracked me up every time I walked by the door! Ginger barked at it every time she went outside, like she was seeing it for the first time. She's a butthead. What a SUPER fun way to cheer me up!! Thank you Uncle T, Mark, Eric, Melissa, Alec, and Michael.

• My amazing friends who stopped by with flowers, coffee cakes, entire dinners - homemade chicken cutlets!, had delicious soup delivered, brought me Baby Yoda slippers and a shawl, sent me a grabby thing from Amazon so I don't have to reach, brought over an entire wedge/pillow sleeping system to use when I'm back in bed, gave me Crumbl cookies that I did not share, sent me chocolate covered strawberries that I also did not share, made me a basket of take-to-the-hospital stuff that I still use daily, added me to their prayer lists, sent me cheery cards. All so appreciated. Thank you, friends. While I got a shitty deal in the not getting cancer department, I hit the jackpot in the friends department.

I'm so fortunate to have good people who care, in my life.

So I want to personally invite all you good people (and even the bad ones, *wink wink* IFYKYK) to my party.

My great friend Nikki is having a Boob Voyage Benefit

for me on November 12th, from 5pm - 9pm

at Odie's Place in Hamden

This is a celebration!

This is a "don't you die on me!" party!

This will be a fun night of food, drinks, music, laughing, drinking, raffles, cookies, drinks, and good people.

Nikki, along with my great friends and my family are working so hard to make this night a freaking blast.

This will also be raising money for something that I care very much about:

One of the most important parts of my after-care was getting a compression garment. This is something like a bra, but not a bra, that is custom-fitted, with a prescription, at Smilow Breast Center by a certified mastectomy fitter.

I expected that insurance would cover some or all of the cost. I found out it is not covered by any insurance, even though it is mandatory for healing. Let's rewind that and play it back:

It is not covered by any insurance, even though it is mandatory for healing.

WTAF insurance companies? Come ON!!! Mine was custom fitted to reduce swelling, compress the areas where fluid builds up and to leave the top area (where all those little veins and arterial connections were made) loose and roomy. Not your average bra, right?

I was prepared to lay out a lot of money for this thing. I mean, I need it to get better after surgery. Not getting it wasn't an option, no matter what it cost.

Well, guess what? The so very kind and gentle woman at the Smilow Boutique (who is also the certified mastectomy fitter) said that she receives grants and donations so that each person who needs this garment gets one. Let's rewind that and play it back:

She receives grants and donations so that each person who needs this garment gets one.

I thought this was just about the best, most kind, thing I'd ever heard. So naturally, my mother and I cried in the fitting room for 10 minutes.

Breast cancer, likely all cancer, makes you vulnerable. Your life isn't in your own hands. You've got to give up control. Things cost things. I want to be someone who takes away that vulnerability, even a fractional part of it, for someone else like me.

I know a lot of my friends do Race for the Cure, and Swim Across the Sound, and I know those charities get major donations, and get major things built and taken care of.

We need those kinds of charities, for sure.

But please consider this small boutique, that also custom fits wigs and head coverings for chemotherapy patients, the next time you want to make a donation to something that will make a tangible, real-world difference. This isn't a gift shop, this is a specific store that sells products and provides services to people with cancer.

Click here to find out more.

So again, I invite you to come hang out with us Saturday, the 12th, at Odie's Place in Hamden.

See the flyer below. Tickets can be purchased through just about anyone in my family, my BFFs (IFYKYK), the bartenders at Odie's, or through the Venmo on the flyer. It's gonna be awesome! This is really an open invitation. If you're reading this, YOU. ARE. INVITED.

See you On The Other Side!