The Numbers ...

The last 10 months or so in numbers looks a bit like this

1 mammogram

4 ultrasounds

6 biopsies

Four ct scans

I bone scan

Four specialist doctors

ten tattoos

And 5 squillion blood tests

In fact it is a miracle I have any blood left when I think of it

2 operations

16 rounds of chemo

31 jabs accessing my cath port thingy

42 doctors appointments

And so many amazing caring nurses that I couldn't count them

3 radiation planning sessions

with impressive dismounts

I have been sneezed on by the dog 345 times

And been trapped and unable to escape his toxic farts 23 times

There have been 27 doses of radiation

 and 12 or so X-rays

which in combination with the radiation has made me glow ever so slightly

I have waited in waiting rooms for the equivalent of 2 years

And taken more medication than I knew existed in the western world

At least 7698 people have examined, drawn on, cut into, and generally played with poor lefty

I lost and regained my hair four times

Lost 726 eyelashes

Ok maybe not but those suckers turned up everywhere

Lost 2 eyebrows

And gained back one and a half so far

Have cried more times than I can count

And laughed more often than I would have expected

And been laughed at a lot more times than was possibly warranted

Have eaten 5324 slices of Vegemite toast

And drunk 8265 smoothies

Slept for 634000 hours

Watched 5 million hours of TV

Read 9870 trashy magazines

Dreamt of George Clooney more times than I can count

And chocolate twice more than George

And George and chocolate together three more times than that

 I have received a huge box full of cards and letters

Emails, gifts and paintings

Extraordinary virtual tea parties, not to mention actual tea

And chocolate...

I have been inundated with incredible positivity

And people have taken the time to share their own cancer stories with me

To support and care for me in ways that have made me cry a river of tears

at the sheer generosity of spirit that has surrounded me through all this

I have not had one day when I didn't feel cared for and nurtured

Which means for the last 300 days or so 

I have felt so grateful to have such an amazing circle of people holding me up

It is actually pretty easy to look past the awful when you have that sort of support

There are still a few numbers left to deal with

There are years of appointments, port flushes , scans and medication

But from next Monday night when I have my last radiation session I enter a new phase

When life will start to half resemble what it used to be

And I can embark on my new normal which is very cool

and I am feeling pretty overwhelmed by just how freaking cool my friends are

Being so close to the end of the of the crap stuff has made me sit and assess

Just how lucky I have been through this, and how ready I am for this phase to be done

So I feel impatient to get moving forward

To start getting stronger and to get back to being creative daily

So to help me along with that I joined Sketchbook Skool

And these pages are my start

It has felt wonderful to get my daily drawing habit going again

But there is one last, and very important number... 22

22 years ago today I married Sinus man and he is still making me laugh and taking care of me

It has been quite the ride... 

I love you Matt ....xx