Monday, August 15, 2011

My tumor lists

Things my tumor took away from me
  • The strength of my eyes
  • What little sense of direction I had
  • A bit of short-term memory, but I continue to take that back
  • About a half-thumb size chunk of brain, but who's keeping track
  • Half of my long, lovely hair (with the other half to go soon, October 1st to be exact)
  • All of my paid sick days at work
  • $1,500+ in cash to cover my health insurance out-of-pocket max for the year (but that's ALL, amen for awesome insurance!)
  • The chance that I could live into my 80s and 90s, like many generations of my family
  • My ignorant, naive, relatively stress-free life

Things my tumor gave me
  • Closer and stronger relationships with my friends and family
  • An appreciation for what is important in life (health and happiness)
  • Less stress from the small stuff, and more ability to let things go
  • The opportunity to raise nearly $6,000 with my team for brain tumor research and patient support (and still counting!)
  • A fashionable and versatile wardrobe of hats
  • A 4-week vacation from work (kidding, kidding... mostly)  ;)
  • A soon-to-be super cute longish pixie haircut (a la Michelle Williams and Ginnifer Goodwin)
  • Nearly a foot and a half of hair to help make free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to medical circumstances, via Pantene Beautiful Lengths, once I make my final chop
  • A newfound appreciation for GPS and iPhone's Google Maps
  • A badass scar with a basass story to go with it
  • The motivation to do the things I think are important in life
  • An updated life to-do list: be healthy, be happy, travel, live abroad, dominate brain tumors, listen to great music, give love to the people that are important to me

Seems to not be such a bad trade, I'd say.

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