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Health & Fitness

Cancer is like WiFi

Do you ever feel that way? I have been feeling that way a lot these past few weeks.

Many of you know that I’ve just returned from the hospital after three surgeries. The first one was 7.5 hours and resulted in what I called Ugly Boob. To the rest of the family it was called “Don’t Show That To Me!!!” except for my mother who had to take it on the chin to change the dressings. The second two surgeries were shorter and a lot more fun with a younger, hipper doctor who indulged me by piping in hip hop music during my backward count to sleepyville.

So, I’ve been convalescing at my parents’ home which, frankly, has made this whole adventure worthwhile. No barking dogs, no eleven people, no pig who likes to rearrange kitchen furniture at 3am, no “Hey Mom, where’s my [fill in the blank]?” calls from twenty rooms away. It’s actually been quite nice. I have my “command station” which is the kitchen table for morning coffee with laptop and journals while watching deer graze in the front acres. Then, I move to my “writing post” which is under a lovely portico by the pool, interrupted by the charming dances of chipmunks dashing around the grass in search of goodies.

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But there is a problem.

The WiFi.

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Sometimes it works which makes my world simply perfect at that moment. Other times…nada. Nothing. Kaput. Zip.

If you are like me, a tech gal, you’ll understand that nothing drives a tech person more insane than not have access to the Internet.

Isn’t that a little bit like cancer? Some days, you feel like you could conquer the world. Plop me on Mt. Everest and I could climb that bad boy in record time! Challenge me to a dance-a-thon and you better be prepared to lose, my friend. Ask me to write a novel or two and the words fly from my finger tips, over 90 letters a minutes. Life is not just good…it’s great.

And then my WiFi goes out. I might even have all bars but it moves so slow that I can barely stand it. That’s how I feel. Without any warning, my bars disappear and my personal WiFi disappears. No amount of rebooting can find the signal. It’s frustrating because mentally I am alert and willing. But physically…well, my signal simply is gone.

For all of you, those going through this lovely adventure (said with sarcasm dripping from my voice) as well as those who already have experienced the dip in personal WiFi bars, I have a suggestion. We can’t call Verizon or Comcast or AT&T to complain. So I’ve decided to accept those moments as a warning…a warning that it’s more than lost bars. It’s a time to recharge. When you find your bars disappear, force yourself to take a nap. Lay down and recharge your personal battery. The more we do that, the stronger our charge and connection will be later.

Try it and let me know how you fare. My bet is on a stronger connection…  

Visit www.facebook.com/PinkUmbrellas to continue following my journey with breast cancer. 

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