Where to Begin? or end for that Matter.
Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 01:07:52 PM PDT
Yesterday my daughter passed her driving license test. I am excited and happy for her. Many of her friends failed the first time so she was a little nervous as we drove over to the DMV in the torrential downpour. I kept my feelings to myself as I maneuvered the car to the DMV thinking jeezus, why couldn't it be clear and dry? I was totally jittery for her as she sat waiting for her turn to take our car for the test drive. As I watched the DMV tester ask questions and get her to operate components of the car before they left for the driving test, my heart was pounding and I felt woozy. I called my dh who launched into unrelated conversation and I was so nervous I wanted to hang up on him.
Alongside this sweet milestone, is another, albeit much more significant one, and that is Treigh's victory over bone cancer. After 12 months of chemo beginning last January and ending recently, followed by a 9 hour surgery the first week of February, she is now cancer free. I returned from San Diego a couple of days ago. Treigh was able to come home for good last week! No more LA apartment for Cedars Sinai appointments, no more chemo, no more operations....just sweet (and challenging) recovery and getting her well-being and life back. Amazing. Thank you all for cheering her on through this wonderful site -- all the good energy has helped enormously along the way.
It's hard to capture feelings and thoughts as I swing between tears of joy, relief and sadness. I can't fully grasp nor describe what I have witnessed Treigh experience along with each of our close family members, all on their own journeys with regard to Treigh, our support for her and love for her.
Though we did not have cancer, at times we felt as if we did. I remember this same phenomenon when my mother and father had cancer and my brothers and I battled our way through their illnesses alongside them. What a toll it takes on everyone involved, especially family.
I have thought a lot about what it means to have a serious illness and how that plays into a family's life. The need for economic support, emotional support, physical support. In fact, without the support Treigh received I imagine she would be in a different set of circumstances today. It boggles my mind that there are countless members of our society who have no family, no economic means, no health care, virtually no support. It is inconceivable and imo, feels criminal in this day and age in the United States of America. How is this happening in this country?
I watched a portion of a news special on TV just yesterday regarding soldiers returning from the Iraq war who are not getting follow up medical care they deserve. I want to SCREAM about this. Of ALL the people who deserve good, reliable, state of the art care, who more than the young men and women fighting in that f** war? Or any veteran for that matter. Jeezus. I will take pen in hand to write a letter to our representatives about that and send it along with the one I'll write about tougher laws for sexual offenders against children. Sexual crimes against children are inexcusable and should carry serious sentences without loopholes for bargaining.
I called KGO today as I listened to Ronn Owens interviewing one of the founders of commonsense media. I wanted to applaud the effort that this organization has made to inform parents about the content of media that is foisted off on us and especially our children. A headsup to all that commonsense media is a wonderful site to access for information regarding programming and content. I forget how to insert the site here...but goggling it should bring it up easily. Maybe this will work http://www.commonsensemedia.org/.
I sure wish Al Gore would run for President. You can see that my mind is like a running faucet. I feel like a super ball bouncing off the walls, my thoughts just richocheting wildly. I guess it's part of the way my life has been for the past 14 months, half in my life and half in the life of helping and loving Treigh and her family. I have felt scattered a lot lately.
Sorry for the ramble and the randomness...but...by the way,
How can we get Mr. Gore to run?
