I\u2019m a planner. When I was 38 I realized I couldn\u2019t keep up with my then 3 year old at the park. Her high energy antics wore me out in no time. It was then that a friend mentioned Crossfit to me, and that led me to the decision to be stronger and healthier at 40 than I was at 38.\u00a0 Along with joining a nearby Crossfit gym, I also began to color my hair (hide the random grey hairs appearing more frequently than I wanted to admit to). It was the beginning of my battle to own being \u201cForty and Fabulous\u201d!<\/p>\n
Fast-forward to my 40th<\/sup> birthday. It was amazing! Surrounded by my friends, I celebrated being 40 and also celebrated the way I felt and looked. Life was good. Damn good!<\/p>\n Being 40 unfortunately is lending itself to be the most challenging year of my life\u2013 emotionally and physically, than I ever expected. Shortly after my birthday my Mother became ill and began her own battle with her health. After about 5 months she went through surgery which resulted in complications that kept her in the hospital for 10 days. I thought I had it. I thought I was on top of the stress. I\u2019d gone to 3 massage appointments in 6 weeks to help me relax. I continued to crossfit to relieve stress and help me get the deep, re-energizing sleep I needed to keep moving forward, and stay strong \u00a0as my Mother\u2019s \u00a0sole support. I thought I had it, I really did. Then, just as she cleared the hospital and headed to rehab I got the flu. Then after a week of the flu I developed full blown pneumonia and was knocked out of commission for an entire month of December. I lived on the couch. I didn\u2019t go to work. I didn\u2019t see anyone. I just worked on regaining my ability to breathe and be me again.<\/p>\n I\u2019m tough. I healed. Life moved on. A new year began.<\/p>\n I had my annual OB-GYN check-up\u00a0 the end of February 2015 and, being 40, had my first mammogram. BAM! Right out of the gate I earned a call back for a follow up mammogram. Then a follow up biopsy. Then I was told I had stage 1 breast cancer \u2013 one small, 1.0 cm tumor and a second, 5 mm tumor. Further testing showed that I was Her2 positive. In the space of a month I went from a healthy \u201cForty and Fabulous\u201d to a breast cancer statistic. I suddenly had more appointments and biopsies and tests than I could imagine. Doctors were talking about chemotherapy, putting in a port, surgery with a possible full mastectomy and rebuilding my chest and the Patient Navigator was giving me helpful insight about the chemo class I should attend at the local hospital and helping me make an appointment at the local cancer wig boutique.<\/p>\n Are you kidding me?! What happened to me?! Life happened. No one can plan for it and this certainly wasn\u2019t in the plans for me.<\/p>\n Given my wild and crazy start to 2015, I\u2019ve chosen to write a blog\/journal to share my experiences with anyone else who might find it useful.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got a lot of tools on my tool belt to help me get through this and if they can help you or someone you know, please share my stories with them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m a planner. When I was 38 I realized I couldn\u2019t keep up with my then 3 year old at the park. Her high energy antics wore me out in no time. It was then that a friend mentioned Crossfit … Continue reading