I took the summer. I started to take things for myself in the spring, but when I got to the summer I took it all. The entire summer. I took it as mine and didn't look back. I've been on this reluctant journey for a while now. I wasn't happy when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I wasn't angry either. I was something else. Frustrated, maybe? Relieved to have answers but lost as to how to proceed next. I sought out support groups and studied everything I could get my hands o

We always start in the same place. Here. We can't start there. Only here. Where we are. The place we occupy in space and time when we make the very important decision to start. And I am here. I've been here a while. Years. Some days the start is difficult—nearly impossible. And some days the start is calm and sweet, filled with peace and possibility. This was originally going to be my "year-end" end blog post. It was going to discuss all the things that I learned in 2017 and

If you've been following my journey with health issues at all, you probably already know all the things. But I'll recap quickly for the newcomers and forgetters. *I have gained 100 pounds in the last ten years despite healthy eating and consistent exercise *numerous doctor's appointments were a bust until I went to a rock star endocrinologist *I have a benign brain tumor that causes my hormones to do the wacky *my treatment began last November *my thyroid is also being a litt

I had my 6 month check up today with my endocrinologist. First of all, can I just say I really like my doctor? Like, this guy knows his shit. And he listens. AND TAKES NOTES. So all through my appointment he was asking me about symptoms I had only briefly mentioned during our initial consultation. Things I had completely forgotten about. Because, you know, brain tumor. So here's the update. Since I know that's what you're all really here for. The tumor is responding as it sho