 The best laid plans... Yeah, that whole thing.
I spent last Friday night and part of Saturday getting my life and creative space in order. I cleaned, decluttered, organized, all with great expectation for what my first full week of summer was going to look like. Because I've spent the last two summers recovering from multiple surgeries and basically doing nothing but the important work of healing, I was looking forward to this first Monday of summer to dive into a new schedule, new work, and new creative pursuits. That didn't happen. I won't go into all the details, but the short story is this: Saturday late afternoon, I felt a little off. Saturday night, I felt worse. Sunday morning, I had full blown signs of an infection that had turned most of the left side of my chest from collarbone to waistline, sternum to armpit, bright red, swollen, and very sore. I called my doctor who sent me straight to the ER where I was quickly admitted and where I've spent the past few days. Thankfully, the infection didn't make it into my blood, and the IV antibiotics have gotten me to a place where I can go home and heal up there, likely sitting in my usual spot on my back deck with a few canines close by. While I am beyond grateful that this little scare didn't result in news of recurrence, which for any cancer survivor is always the concern, I am frustrated by having life interrupted once again and by the realization that summer will once again look a little different. The oral chemo I'm on, the fact that I've had 4 bouts with infection in the past year, and the severity of this particular one in the area where I've had multiple surgeries and radiation, means now taking a few precautions that, to put it simply, I don't like. Thankfully, I will still be able to do much of what I had looked forward to this summer - writing, working with creative people, and planning creative events that have purpose, meaning, and are just downright fun. I just might need to keep figuring out how to do it at a pace that keeps me healthy. I thought I'd learned that lesson, but maybe I've got some more learning to do. I can clearly see my friends nodding their heads. Yeah, yeah... I hope your summer is off to a fabulous start, if indeed yours has already begun. If you're still anticipating that and dreaming of all that the glorious months ahead will hold, I hope all your summer dreams come true. But if you're like me, and at one point or another life takes a turn, maybe we can both learn together that even though OUR plans may get interrupted, THE plan is still going as it should, teaching us things we need to learn all along the way.
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