Team Awesome
Wow, what an adventure going to Huntsman! By the way, I think my favorite nurse may read my blog. Hi Vicki! When I stopped by Huntsman she seemed to know I had been having a tough-er time this weekend, I couldn’t figure out why she might know until I thought about it later… My surgeons and crew have my blog address, they refer people to it on occasion that want to know about the reconstruction I had (even though I had...
Operation Mandi’s Birthday Wish
I have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster this week. Last year I was occupied with surgery and still building up strength. This year I have had a deep gnawing feeling in the bottom of my gut. My birthday and the New Year is now tied to cancer in my brain and I can’t figure out how to untie the knot. As much as I want to say I have been fine I have been having panic attacks and have relived the emotional turmoil I felt...
Dear 14 Year Old Me
Kristi Harrison is 22 years old and from the UK. She wrote me and told me about a project that she is working on for her friend who is battling stage IV breast cancer. She set up a foundation called Life Changes Foundation, they are starting fundraising in January 2013 (they are currently working on a website, for now she is communicating via their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/lifechangesfoundation). Her current project is...
The Moments and The Adventures
It has been a whirlwind of a month! I had another trip scheduled to New York City just a week after hurricane Sandy hit. They managed to get the conference center ready in time and the conference wasn’t cancelled so we opted to go ahead and go on the trip (also hopefully helping the NYC economy). What is funny is that I always seem to have travel mishaps when I go to NYC, but this time they just didn’t phase me, I sort of...
Exercise and Books
Exercise So.. I have been pretty good about sticking to a routine of doing yoga or pilates for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Which has been great. It has elevated my mood and I feel much stronger. The part that has made me sad is that I put on FOUR POUNDS. I managed to maintain my weight throughout treatment, but I suddenly found myself gaining weight. The weight gain is most likely muscle (I was MUCH weaker than I thought). Due to...