October Remembered

I know that October is a fun time and everyone looks forward to Halloween. I have decided to make this blog's focus for October a little different. Early in October, I found several lumps in my right breast. Now, some of you may know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so it seems appropriate to me that all this happen to our family during this time period. I went to several doctors, had a mammogram, a diagnostic ultrasound, and finally surgery to biopsy the "real" lump found in the left and the suspicious tissue in the right. After this ordeal and trial, I am now recovering with the knowledge that the doctors and pathologists found no cancer or pre-cancer. It makes recovery infinitely easier.

For all you ladies out there, I cannot stress enough the importance of self-exams on a regular basis and yearly checks from the doctor. If this had been a cancer situation, the only thing that would have made it bearable would be the knowledge that I had caught it early.

On another note, I have enjoyed seeing the great multitudes of family that I have not had the opportunity to see in quite a while. Although the funeral scene is not my favorite for reconnecting with family, I can't ignore the pleasure it gives me to see all the cousins well, creating beautiful families of their own, and knowing we are all connected in the eternal round. Thank you all for being a part of my family. So to let everyone have a glimpse of my family, my children are practicing for the first every Nielson bobsled team. They decided if the Jamaican Olympic team could practice in the bathtub, so could they. Notice their uniforms still need a little work. (Remember that two of these children are over six feet tall!) What a joy children are when we are not wanting to ground them all!