I missed all of you over the holiday season and I hope you had time to slow down, enjoy family and friends and count your blessings. 2013 proved to be a challenging year with many unexpected life events. It definitely gave me reason to pause and reassess my perspective and goals. I am embracing 2014 as the year of renewed hope and focusing on family and friends. For those of you that know me, I make a daily commitment to my health and nutrition so luckily, I don't have to add that to my goal list. How about you? What will you be placing as your top 3 priorities? How will you accomplish them? I am confident that you will achieve whatever they are. Let us all remember to wake up each morning and count our blessings.
I last left you with an update on Bonnie, just prior to Thanksgiving. Thankfully, the family kept their Thanksgiving holiday celebrations to a minimum and had a nice, quiet dinner with just the kids. It was a good time for Bonnie to continue to practice "relaxing and resting".
On December 12th, Bonnie had surgery to repair a thumb sized whole in her chest, which was a result of previous surgeries and was in a spot that was not able to heal properly. The surgery was successful. Christmas came and went with time being spent with friends and family. She was able to enjoy chocolate again and alcohol wasn't so bad either. The best Christmas gifts she could have received:)
Unfortunately, the day after Christmas came with a high fever. As we all know, this is a red flag, Defcon 5 warning sign. She immediately went on antibiotics and was able to avoid another trip to the ER or a stay at the Scripps Spa. This was great news, as it would not have been fun to end a challenging year there.
THE BEST NEWS OF ALL: Bonnie is now considered CANCER FREE!! What this really means is good news for the rest of us: if she starts to use cancer as an excuse for something, please feel free to call her out. That lame excuse won't work anymore!
At this point, Bonnie is seeing Dr. A periodically for check ups, as well as her other team of doctors. She will not have reconstructive surgery until the end of summer. The time in between will be spent focusing on healing, improving strength and her immune system.
Since we don't anticipate anymore surprises along the way, I will be radio silent until we get a little closer to reconstruction. Since Bonnie's body rejects foreign objects and is no longer a candidate for implants, the reconstruction surgery will consist of a tummy tuck/breast reconstruction called DIEP Flap surgery. This is a 10-12 hour surgery, so there will be lots for me to keep you updated on. I will be in touch again as the conversations start up in regards to same.
Bonnie has requested that I be sure to THANK everyone for all of the cards, well wishes, gifts, flowers, Natalie's all time favorite, Edible Arrangements, signs, dinners delivered with love,
phone calls, emails, texts, YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT AND FRIENDSHIP shown to her and family have meant the world to her!! You are all such an amazing group of friends!
I will leave you with a few more pictures to enjoy. Wishing all of you the best in 2014, Stay healthy and committed to your goals!
Love you all,
Heather
