Saturday, July 25, 2009

This is in your HONOR


This is your light - I'm waking again in your HONOR

This is what was written in an email sent to me by my cousin Teddy. Teddy has been walking/running in my honor in The American Cancer Society's 'Relay for Life' ever since my lung cancer diagnosis. He participates in Puerto Rico where they call it 'Relevo Por La Vida.'

He had always communicated when he would be walking but this year he did something different. He sent me a picture of my light!


This left quite an impression on me. I got goosebumps when I opened the email.

Words cannot express the tremendous honor I felt and still feel to this day by this picture. This is only a 'candle in a bag' to some. This candle just shined for a short while on this earth - just as I will in this lifetime. This candle symbolizes
the light that I still get to shine on this earth because I AM A SURVIVOR.

These are the rewards in life that are immeasureable!

Teddy this post
is
IN YOUR HONOR
Thank you for celebrating my life,
Alma

Thursday, July 23, 2009

4.5 years - Pain = weakness coming out of your body

I am sitting here reviewing my blog and I noticed my 4 year cancer free anniversary post. Last Monday it was 4.5 years and I am happy to say that on Tuesday I started jumping rope. I was doing 30 second intervals every few minutes. What a joy! To think of surviving lung cancer is one thing but to be skipping rope, using oxygen with pulmonary fibrosis is just priceless.

So Wednesday I played volleyball and I must say that the new Helios Marathon has really turned my life around. I could play and not cough nearly as much as I have in the past. When my oxygen levels get low, I cough. With this new system I get a constant stream of oxygen which enables me to perform better and feel better. I have not had such a sense of "normalcy" going up a flight of stairs in years.

Anyway, on Thursday morning about 12:30AM I got a charlie horse to beat all charlie horses ever. It was over 6 - 7 before my muscle calmed down and softened some. I was screaming in pain. I finally got a grip on the pain and tried to massage the muscle. Well I finally got it to a state of tolerable pain when I realized I had to go to the bathroom. Of course, I had drank a lot of water since I was playing outside in the heat but not nearly enough water to prevent a major muscle cramp. I could not put much weight on my leg. I went to the bathroom and went back to sleep.

About 4AM I got to a coherent level of consciousness and decided to rub some mineral ice on my calf. I thought it was in my bathroom but luck have it, it was not. So I hobbled all the way to the other bathroom and back. I massaged my calf and continued to nurse it all day. The next day I was about 80 to 85% normal and today I am about 95 to 97% back. Tomorrow I start working out again but I may wait a few days before I start jumping rope again.

Quote of the day:

Discover your way forward.

Whatever it is you choose to do, or to be, or to create, go ahead and begin.

Take some initial action, and that action will quickly feed other actions.
Though you may not yet know everything that must be done, you do know of something you can do right now.

So do it, and get yourself started.
The first step will enable you to see what the second step is to be.

The second step will begin to establish powerful momentum.
Discover your way forward, and uncover joys that you would have never guessed were there. Learn and grow and build and create your way to whatever destination you have chosen.
No situation is ever hopeless.

Because whatever the situation may be, the moment you start to take action, you change it.
Begin to act, and your world begins to change.

Keep going, and your life takes on more and more of the flavor of your dreams.
-- Ralph Marston

Celebrate Life,
Alma

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