I Am on Cloud 9 Even Though Things Aren't Perfect

I am on Cloud 9. I know the 16 people who regularly read my articles probably want to slap me for using that cliché. Last week was a tough one on my family. I learned a dear friend had spinal and liver cancer. I have known her forever---literally as she went to church with my mom and dad and knew them at my birth. I was heartbroken as I am when I learn anyone has cancer.

The next day we received the call I had been dreading for weeks. Owen and Hannah have Cowden Syndrome-just like their mom. Their odds of cancer have skyrocketed and they aren't even old enough to know what cells are.

I jammed a scrap booking cutter into my finger later in the week and needed stitches. Like the genius I am (please note the sarcasm), I decided it would be a lot of fun to go fishing the next day. I took my four year old daughter through the trail to arrive at a bench with the perfect place for fishing. My pants were falling down so I had to drop everything eight times on the way down that trail. My daughter carried her soda and that was all.

Thirty minutes after arriving, I was still trying to untangle the lines on the poles. My daughter wanted to go home. She screamed for an hour until her dad finally came to get her. They were gone, I had a working pole-all would be great, right?

WRONG. I wore the wrong shoes and kept getting my shoes stuck in the mud and my foot would come out of them. I didn't realize it at the time but my back was turning beat red. The whole situation was not very pleasant. I caught four good sized fish and a snapping turtle. Then my husband decided to call and tell me he left our daughter's fishing pole at the playground. He left it two hours before so I hoped it would still be there. It was still there.

The harrowing fishing experience and the diagnosis of my children were bad in themselves but I am choosing to focus on two positives that came out of this week. When my friend had her operation for biopsies, they found no cancer! My aunt had a colonoscopy this week also. Because my grandfather died of colon cancer at age 49, I knew she was worried. Her test results came back perfect with the exception of a garden pea stuck to her intestinal tract we have been teasing her about.

I love they received good news but the less than perfect side of me is jealous. I will have a colonoscopy in June and I know the results will be different. I may not have cancer but polyps form on the esophagus all the way down with this condition. It is bizarre how my fight for life is no longer focused on myself. Genetic diseases may be a dime a dozen (sorry for the double cliché) but rarely do they carry such a cancer risk at such a young age. Cowden Syndrome is in the same family as Proteus Syndrome-the condition the Elephant Man had. Over time it will become worse rather than better and it has been difficult finding the positive in the situation. I am working on finding this positive. I understand my life could be worse and do not want pity. I write these articles to educate and give experience-not for any other reason.

*Source: Personal Experience. When a lot of your life is tied up into things like this, it is inevitable*