Live Life to the Fullest

There are so many things I want to share. 

So let’s set the stage a little.  On Oct. 21, 2010, my 22-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  Since then he’s been through four surgeries, three rounds of chemo, four weeks of radiation, with a few ICU visits thrown in for good measure. 

I quit my job, started my own business, and discovered strength within myself (and him) that’s pretty incredible.  24/7 for the last eight months I’ve been mom, nurse, entrepreneur, wife, and daughter, in addition to speaking daily to my ex-husband and his mom.  Cancer has a crazy way of drawing everybody together, despite the past.

Some of the things I want to share include:

My dad is 83 years old, and for the last few months he’s established a beautiful routine with my son.  He drives from West Hempstead to Babylon once a week, picking up my son at 6 a.m. and taking him out to breakfast.  Then they come back and play 500 hundred rummy for a couple of hours.  It’s a beautiful relationship to watch.  We should make the time to ensure that our children have loving relationships with their grandparents.  Life is short; maximize every moment.

I have really wonderful friends.  It’s amazing how many people not only asked if there was something they could do, but just stepped up to the plate and did it.  Sometimes it’s the people you least expect who turn out to have your true interests at heart. 

Entrepreneurship is in my blood.  I was at the same company for twenty years, and when my son got sick and I had to step down, I received two weeks severance and two months medical.  Not quite what I would have expected considering all I did, but it’s what she saw fit to do.  So I set up my own shop, and the new clients are coming fast and furious.  I rented office space right in the Village and set it up half for me and half for my son (his half is cooler – with a big recliner, refrigerator, and flat screen TV).

I don’t ever judge anyone anymore and I certainly don’t take anything for granted.  Two more things you learn when your kid is diagnosed with cancer.

The doctors at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola are incredible, and the entire team at the Cancer Center for Kids at Winthrop (Dr. Mark Weinblatt, Dr. Phil Scimeca, the other doctors, nurses, Child Life folks, etc.) is utterly amazing.  The doctors at Good Samaritan in West Islip, less so -- they yelled at my son in the ER, decided he had a migraine, and sent him home.  Three weeks later he was having emergency surgery at Winthrop.  Hmmm.

So if I don’t blog as regularly as I’d like, it’s because I’m a little busy and pre-occupied – and the thoughts and ideas are just trapped in my head among all the things I need to focus on each day.

Enjoy your day.  Kiss your kids, your spouse, and your parents.  Play with your pets.  Smile and wave to your neighbors.  Don’t procrastinate and put things off.  Be thankful that we get to rise each day and go to sleep each night.  And do your best to live life to the fullest.