The "New Normal"

Even with all of the awful news of the past week, life still has to go on, especially with kids around.  So despite everything, we still had a very nice late fall weekend here in Wisconsin.  I thought I'd share a picture of the four of us pumpkin picking at one of our favorite places:

I think more than anything, I'm trying to enjoy every moment of family time, since I have no way of knowing when I will feel this good again.  And I guess that's the hardest part of this whole situation.  It's very difficult to feel so great and so normal right now but to know that very soon, I'm going to be feeling awful, and may not feel like myself again for a long, long time.  It's very hard to come to come to terms with that concept, and at this particular moment, it's what is making me the craziest.  I've never been a person who gets sick often or who has any major medical issues, so coming to grips with the fact that I'm going to be spending so much of my time in doctor appointments, obsessing over my health, taking all kinds of medicines, and not feeling well is really, really hard to accept.  Particularly when I feel so great right now.  But I guess accepting this is all part of the process and somehow this will become the "new norm" in our lives. And I'm trying to keep up with the 4 principles that the surgeon told me are critical to my success in this process: eating well, sleeping well (poor Ed has to pick up my slack on that one, thanks to our crazy boys!), exercising, and staying connected (I treated myself to an iPhone this weekend to help with that goal).

This week will be filled with several appointments and tests, but only two of them have been scheduled at this point (for late Tuesday) so I don't even know when the rest will be. My hope is that by the end of this week, we'll have a better picture of what I'm dealing with and what my treatment plan will be. Until then, we're in limbo.

I really, really, REALLY appreciate all of the positive thoughts everyone is sending my way.  I can't even begin to tell all of you how much it means to me, as well as to my family. My blog seems to be going "viral" - it's had 700 hits since I started it last week which is just incredible to me! I'll continue to keep all of you posted as I learn more this week.