#knowyourbody

There’s nothing quite like a Saturday with no plans.   So here I am on this gloomy day, unshowered in the middle of the afternoon, laundry in the wash with a Starbucks in hand, bingeing on Food Network, TLC, and HGTV.  I really only blog these days when something really speaks to me.  Today, after 19 days in the hospital, my friend Jen’s husband Aaron got to go home after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke.  You guys…..he’s my age!

I have obviously had a lot of experience with cancer in my life, but cancer isn’t the only terrible thing that can be detected by a doctors visit.  Only you can know your body, and know what is normal for you.  OR maybe know your spouse, or kids.  It turns out, Aaron has a blood pressure issue…. but never when to the doctor.  Now he will certainly have lots of followup doctor visits, a boatload of therapy, and a new diet that includes a very limited amount of sodium.   The good news?   He was very lucky that Jen was home at the time of the stroke, and that she is a school teacher, so she is off work for the summer to help him rehab.   Oh, and they have been cleared to take their family vacation, and surely deserve a week at the lake after the crazy of the last few weeks.

While Aaron and Jen’s story prompted me to blog this weekend, they are not the only example of what this thing is about.  There are many lessons that I have learned in a relatively crappy way over the last 5 years.  The top lesson being that no matter what life throws at me, I am BLESSED.  I have had my heart ripped out and my world turned upside down.  Through all the trauma, I remember that the friendships I have built will last a lifetime.  I have been brought closer to friends from my life prior to John, closer to friends who were with me throughout John’s sickness, and made new friends after his passing.  The second lesson….LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

If you “don’t go to the doctor,”consider going for a simple checkup.  A little blood work, and exam, about one hour of your life, can literally save your life.  Maybe you have to take a pill to control blood pressure, maybe you have to take a pill to control cholesterol, maybe you are perfectly healthy!

A simple nagging cough is how we found John’s cancer.  An intestinal parasite is how my brother found his tumor in his lung. Cathy had a headache, was sick to her stomach, and not acting like herself…..then spent two months in the hospital.  A lump found in the shower, a baseline mammogram, an annual mammogram.  I know FIVE women who are close to my age who have been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  Two of these women have lost their battle, one is actively taking chemo, one is on maintenance medication, and one is a few years cancer free.

My point is this.   Don’t just get complacent.  Get your annual preventative testing, see a doctor on occasion, if something isn’t normal, get it checked.  Hell, my previous doctor ran a bunch of tests before giving me anxiety medicine.  (And thank God he did! Whew!).  Only you can take care of yourself, and JKL!