Taking Care

Growing up in a broken home had its many disadvantages over the passing of time. One of those unfortunate things would be finances and the lack there of. As a result, many non-essential items and issues would be pushed to the back burner instead of being dealt with because of the inability to pay for those things. In essence, there were many times that we would hold off from going to the doctor in order to see if the sickness would pass or heal on its on time. When I turned 14, I witnessed the unrelenting disease that ate away at my daddy. For several months he battled a courageous and very painful disease that completely turned his vital, energetic, and healthy body in to a broken and beaten man. As scary as this seemed to me, I realized how important it was for me to take care of myself and be as healthy as I could be with my body. This brings me to my most recent experience and realization.
Most women do not look forward to when they turn 40 for many reasons. . .sagging skin, wrinkles, slower metabolism, etc. . . And the dreaded MAMMOGRAM! I have heard many horror stories about this screener for breast cancer, and I have never looked forward to it. However, after going to the doctor and discussing it with him, he felt like I needed to create a baseline or benchmark for when I do turn 40. I agreed with him. So, I went with much apprehension. Having three kids, I was not all that bashful when it came to unveiling everything and getting it in place for the xray. Not a big deal to me. As the machine began to compress, I was waiting for the pain to begin. . .nothing happened. Wow! I thought. It was not really that bad at all. I can handle this. The painful part was not the test. . . It was the waiting part. . .Waiting for the results. When they came, unfortunately, it said that there was something there that needed further testing. My heart sank. Now, I had to make the trip to the hospital, which I really do hate. After a much more in depth xray, I was found to have nothing more than some extra tissue that showed up. Relief! I know that I dodged a bullet there, and I am so thankful. After going through several bouts of cancer in my immediate family, I am really frightened to think about that for myself. So, for now, I will continue to listen to my body, take good care of myself, and thank the good Lord for my health, and the ability to continue on with my life. . .healthy!