Upward Stride
Thankfully, I have started to hit an upward stride. Since Sunday, I have felt better day by day. For me, this equates to two things: less laying in bed and more eating. While I continue to rest, I have slowly started to get out of the house to do little things like run errands or attend meetings. Fortunately, my eating has picked up in the past couple of days. Instead of eating two meals a day, I have begun to eat three meals. Mind you, the portion sizes are not huge, but its a big improvement. Even more, I have started to snack a little bit between meals.
Yesterday, I attended my first school board meeting since undergoing chemotherapy. To be honest, I was unsure how my body would handle a meeting. However, I trusted that I would be able to get through the hours ahead. Ironically, the meeting was one of the longest meetings I have had since being on the board. I arrived around 6:30 and left around 11:30. Still, it was a great feeling just to have some normalcy. As odd as it sounds, I feel at home at these meetings. It may be hard to understand, but it also gives me a chance to leave "the cancer world" and focus on the school district.
Also, this meeting marked the first time that the board members, school district employees, and community have seen me since shaving my head. I am glad that I shaved my head in anticipation of the hair loss. It has given me a chance to naturally transition into baldness- if that's possible!
I know I have repeated this over and over, but I could not be more thankful for the support of the board members and school district employees. At the first meeting of every month, the district honors two employees for "Golden Shamrock" awards. Employees are nominated by their peers for this once in a life time award. This is a big deal for an employee to receive this award. Last night, the first recipient was a guidance counselor from Karrer Middle School. I have heard her name, but never formally met. After receiving the award and giving her speech, she began to go through the regular routine of shaking the hands of district officials and school board members. When she came to me, I put my hand out like regular to shake hands. However, she took my hand and pulled me close for a hug. As she hugged me, she whispered into my ear, "God Bless you Chris. We are praying for you." I could not have been more moved than at that moment.
Well, today was my birthday, and I am one of those people who do not like to make a big deal out of my birthday. I would much rather attention be focused on someone else- not me. I was talking with my friend Eric, and he asked, "Its your birthday... and you have cancer... what's that like?" I could not help but laugh. He quickly followed, "Cuz people have been treating you like its your birthday for the past month. I'd say sign me up-except for the cancer part." When life gets too serious, its important to have friends like Eric.
All in all, it was a good birthday- except for the USA baseball team losing to Canada.
Yesterday, I attended my first school board meeting since undergoing chemotherapy. To be honest, I was unsure how my body would handle a meeting. However, I trusted that I would be able to get through the hours ahead. Ironically, the meeting was one of the longest meetings I have had since being on the board. I arrived around 6:30 and left around 11:30. Still, it was a great feeling just to have some normalcy. As odd as it sounds, I feel at home at these meetings. It may be hard to understand, but it also gives me a chance to leave "the cancer world" and focus on the school district.
Also, this meeting marked the first time that the board members, school district employees, and community have seen me since shaving my head. I am glad that I shaved my head in anticipation of the hair loss. It has given me a chance to naturally transition into baldness- if that's possible!
I know I have repeated this over and over, but I could not be more thankful for the support of the board members and school district employees. At the first meeting of every month, the district honors two employees for "Golden Shamrock" awards. Employees are nominated by their peers for this once in a life time award. This is a big deal for an employee to receive this award. Last night, the first recipient was a guidance counselor from Karrer Middle School. I have heard her name, but never formally met. After receiving the award and giving her speech, she began to go through the regular routine of shaking the hands of district officials and school board members. When she came to me, I put my hand out like regular to shake hands. However, she took my hand and pulled me close for a hug. As she hugged me, she whispered into my ear, "God Bless you Chris. We are praying for you." I could not have been more moved than at that moment.
Well, today was my birthday, and I am one of those people who do not like to make a big deal out of my birthday. I would much rather attention be focused on someone else- not me. I was talking with my friend Eric, and he asked, "Its your birthday... and you have cancer... what's that like?" I could not help but laugh. He quickly followed, "Cuz people have been treating you like its your birthday for the past month. I'd say sign me up-except for the cancer part." When life gets too serious, its important to have friends like Eric.
All in all, it was a good birthday- except for the USA baseball team losing to Canada.
posted by Chris at 11:00 PM
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