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When Life Hands You Lemons, Write a Blog - by Michele Mann

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PLEASE Don’t Kill Me

November 26, 2014 By Michele Hundley 2 Comments

Good Health is the Best Gift

I can’t help but notice that the amount of people that are viewing my blogs have gone down.  I’m going to guess it has something to do with the lack of humor that once filled my blogs.  Or maybe it’s
the fact that my leukemia has gotten to be old news.  I guess I just need to blame it on the transplant and all the drugs that are messing with my baby brain.  Do you think that could be the issue?! Anywho, If you
don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.  There were never truer words for me until this year.  I’ve come to realize that most people can’t understand this either unless it has happened to them or someone very close.


Missing Lucy


One of my favorite blogs, In the Life of a Gremlin & other short stories, I talked about my wonderful cat and the changes that have happened since my diagnosis.  You can read more in that blog but basically I had to wear a mask, gloves, and couldn’t kiss or squeeze her like I normally do.  It was just painful.  As mentioned in TRANSPLANT…YOU GIVE ME FEVER, we were at the first milestone of 100 days.  (Which, turns out, doesn’t mean too much.)

I miss not having her when I need her the most.  She has always
been there for me and strangest thing…she started humping the
leg that had the leukemia in it.  Was she trying to make me well?
I’d like to think so.  I’ve loved her for 10+ years and I will
continue to love her forever.  I’m a proud cat mom.

I may or may not have mentioned this but we had to find some amazing and willing friends to take care of Lucy once I had my transplant and up to a year.  Unfortunately, for me, my type of transplant does not allow for her to come back before the year mark.  Anyone that owns an animal, knows they’re like family.  It’s hard enough if you have to be away from them for any reason.  I’d already been away from my kitty for more than 100 days.

We have found that some of my doctors are more strict than others which has started confusing my family and I.  At the end of my appointment, as always, the doctor came into my room.  He knew I had asked one of the nurse practitioners if I could have my cat back.  I missed Lucy so much and not only do I love her like crazy but it’s now been 115 days since I’ve had her.  Most people know and understand that animals are not only therapeutic but also offer comfort in times of need.

Reality Sucks


Alright, here we go, it’s the end of the appointment.  My Dr. said, “Oh yeah, there’s something else you wanted to talk about.  You want your cat back.”  I started pleading and explaining and almost doing so in tears.  The thought of not getting her back until the year mark of July ’15 is mind baffling to me.  Well…that didn’t work.  He cut me off rather abruptly and gave me a stern talking to.  It was, to say the least, unexpected but perhaps necessary.  He reminded me of the bacteria that she can carry and how she can be dangerous to my health.  Also, how they have done so much in order to save my life this year and I should be more grateful.  Really??!  I had no idea I had stopped appreciating the fact that my medical team was doing everything they could to save my life.  The reality…I believe I had started taking things for granted.   Why did I think this?  Because we had just started enjoying living a little, using our common sense, going to restaurants and other places at odd hours.  If I had stopped being grateful for my life, then you really need to stop and take stock of your life.  Do it for you.  Do it for me.  Do it for your spouse.  Do it for your family and friends.  For me, I had forgotten that my life is still in jeopardy for up to a year or longer.  That is my harsh reality and maybe I deserved the reality check I was given by Dr. Patel.  The holidays are a wonderful reminder that we should all be thankful for what we have.

Look how life can change in just the span of one month.
Don’t forget to cherish every moment and love what you have.
Rules Galore

Months ago the doctors said if I’m doing well and my immune system is strong, we can start to do more things.  As stated in my previous blog, I was in and out of the hospital with fevers recently. Someone in my condition, this can be very dangerous. I suppose this is why my doctors have gotten a bit more restricting with my freedom.  Lately, I have become a prisoner in my own house.  What does this mean?  I can’t go anywhere 99% of the time so my house is where the visits happen and the rules are very strict.  They’re not my rules.  You can not visit if you have been sick within the past 2-3

weeks.  Or been around someone who has been sick for that amount of time.  Or have had any immunizations or antibiotics.  This has probably been one of the things that has had me laughing, almost in tears, angry and downright confused with how some people don’t want to understand these rules.  I mean come on, it’s flu season!  I get it.  I love you and I love that you want to visit so badly.  But please          
stop trying to kill me.  (That is how serious it is.  I have no immune system right now!)  We will see each other when the timing is right.  I realize how unfair this is for you (Michele being facetious), but please consider everything I’ve had to endure this year.  Trust me when I say there are much worst things in life to deal with.  If I’m ok with these rules so I can survive, then please be happy and understanding about that and know that this too shall pass.  (REMEMBER, I AM HOUSEBOUND RIGHT NOW.)   For all of those who have understood everything, thank you.

Now, on a serious note, I would like to take the time to Thank my wonderful medical team at the Florida Hospital and Florida Center for Cellular Therapy for all that they have done this year for me. Never in my entire life did I think I would get cancer at any point, much less at such a young age.  A special “Thank You” to my Dr. I’ve had the whole time, Dr. Khaled.  He makes me laugh, he wishes he looked as good as I do when bald, and he even has a song dedicated to me ‘The Man’ by Aloe Blacc.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL THOSE WHOM I LOVE INCLUDING MY WONDERFUL FOLLOWERS!!  

  

      

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Filed Under: Fighting Cancer

About Michele

I'm a makeup artist and cancer blogger. www.BeTheMatch.org saved my life. Before I got sick, I didn't even know the organization existed. After I got sick I found out there was no adult donor in the registry anywhere in the world that was a match for me (a riskier cord blood donation was my last chance). Please visit their website and join the registry for free to save a life like mine.

Comments

  1. Brandy Burridge says

    November 26, 2014 at 7:09 pm

    i love you! i wish your kitty could live in a bubble so you could have her around!! it's not her fault she has bacteria! i just wanted to let you know that you are such an inspiration in my life. shine on!! <3

    Reply
  2. Michele Mann says

    December 13, 2014 at 2:37 pm

    I love you too girl! Haha, me too. I dropped off some of her kitty food and litter the other day with her adopted parents and just seeing her hurt so bad. I miss her like crazy 🙁
    If I'm an inspiration to you, then you should know you are the same to me. I love how dedicated you are to your new healthy lifestyle. Keep it up. That's what I was doing before all of this and never felt better. If you ever move back to FL, you've got a partner in crime.

    Reply

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