HIP SURGERY ON MONDAY

What a way to start the week, total hip replacement! I am not happy about it, but I guess that I am prepared. The good part is that I will be the first surgery of the day - that way I'll get the surgery part over with fast. The bad part is that the physical therapy can be grueling and it will tie me down for about six weeks. Sort of unfair, I was finally getting some freedom and driving again and also staying at my own house. Now, all that will stop again. Oh well, not much that I can do about it, but work on my recovery and heal as fast as I can. Just one more obstacle to overcome.

Oncologist Visit and Ugly Doll

I saw my oncologist this week - just a follow-up. She is very pleased with my recovery (I guess that the brain issues and hip issues and upcoming surgery are not very important to an oncologist). Okay, sorry, I know that I am being negative. I have lots and lots to be thankful for and with all that I went through, I am lucky to be alive and doing as well as I am! I know and understand that. I also try very hard to celebrate all the good things in my life, but sometimes being told that I am "fortunate", just gets old and annoying!

Anyway, I digress. My office visit went well and all my blood work was good and I have now "graduated" to only seeing her every three months. I will also have a brain CT scan in March - after the hip surgery, I can no longer have MRI's. So, lots of good news. I gave Dr. Rao a little present - it was a clip on Ugly Doll. Ugly Doll's have sort of been my "thing" since the whole cancer stuff. I'm not exactly sure when I said it or to whom, but at some point, I was feeling low and my hair was falling out and skin peeling and I said "I feel like an ugly doll". The reply was "well, Ugly Dolls are adorable". So, to me, Ugly Dolls have been a symbol of recovery - yes, I might have felt "ugly", but I really was "adorable". I have given Ugly Dolls to some co-workers, family members (Hannah loves them), some favorite nurses and a few friends throughout this cancer ordeal. I would have liked to buy an Ugly Doll for everyone in my life, but then I would need to have gotten back to work and be making some overtime for that! Dr. Rao is not normally a very demonstrative person - she is very business-like and matter-of-fact. I was surprised to see her almost (almost) tear-up when I gave her the little Ugly Doll. She said that she was going to put it on her purse. While I was checking out and making my next appointments (Not until March - yeah!), I heard her telling her staff about the Ugly Doll and how cute it was! Made me feel good. It was a good day all around. I'm not bragging - but for now, I am one-up on cancer!

"The Ultimate Goal of All Goals is Happiness"

"The Ultimate Goal of All Goals Is Happiness" - I read that quote by Deepak Chopra in today's newspaper. There was a short interview with Chopra, a self-help guru, regarding New Year's resolutions. It is funny, but I have not really thought about any resolutions this year - one would think that I would have had a lot of them after the year that I had (or more like year and a half!). I know who Chopra is, but don't think that I have ever really read any of his works or heard him speak or anything, but what he said in the interview intrigued me greatly. He said that "what people most want is happiness". He referenced research on happiness and said that it shows the following things: "Happy people always look for opportunities where others are seeing crisis. Happy people have meaning and purpose in their lives. Happy poople are creative, and happy people know how to make other people happy. They're very good at building relationships, not networking but building authentic relationships." I am going to ponder that for a while, but I guess that I now know what my New Year's Resolution is - to be happy. I am just not sure what exactly I need to do to achieve happiness, but I will work on it! If I figure out the answer, I will let you know, but for now, I will at least seek the answer.