My 10 yr Cancer Anniversary

Today is my 10 year DD (diagnosis day). I know I'm not very good at sharing my health status, or managing my social media, but there is such a beauty, and safety, when you slow your external life. Not much has changed with my health, I'm still navigating cancer, and jumping through health hoops, trying to follow my intuition, and fighting for what I feel is right for me. There have been plenty of scares, disappointments, bad news, and I have turned down several treatments as I continue on this journey. Currently I'm hoping that an experimental drug will keep my tumor at bay.

I am sorry that I can't be as open as I used to be, but I want you all to know how grateful I am for your kindness, support, and patience over the past 10 years. I remember hoping for 5 years. Then hoping to survive the 4th brain surgery. I truly can not believe that I am sitting here, 10 years after being told that I had a "massive brain tumor" and that the doctor "wasn't sure if I would live."

Especially today, I keep thinking about how grateful I am to be here on Earth, in this human body, able to smell the spring flowers, to see the little sprouts popping up from our vegetable garden. I can't believe that I'm here - that I'm alive. There is so much wonder and mystery in this human experience, and I get to be here to witness and participate. What a monumental joy!

Since these are unusual times, with necessary adjustments to daily life, instead of celebrating with friends and family, I woke up at my usual 6 am, wandered toward the kitchen to start the kettle for our French press, expecting to get a few moments with Dan before he would head out for work, but instead, the house was lit by candles, with handmade cards. It was magical, and romantic, and very unexpected. He had taken the day off, to celebrate our life together. To acknowledge the hard work that I (we) have put in, the sacrifices I (we) have made, the memories that we have created, the life that we get to relish in.

As an immune compromised human, I'm scared of any threat, let alone this pandemic, so I have been in self quarantine since February. I rarely even go for walks because the few times that I've tried, there's inevitably random runners that sweat past me causing great anxiety (valid or not). But, as I was watering our vegetable garden this morning, all of a sudden there were SO many car horns! And as I rounded the corner, I saw a literal parade from my girls in the Edmonds Walking Group (see the video below). Dan barely managed to grab his phone to record part of it. These ladies are angels. I honestly don't know what my life would look like without them. I learn so much from their prospectives. We laugh, they give me a lot to think about, and they're gracious considering I'm opinionated and often naive. They have taken care of our house, and our pets, during brain surgeries. They even mended our garden, mowing the lawn, making everything better. These women treat me as an equal, and help me feel strong and capable even when I feel that I'm not. I love that we take care of each other. And as they paraded by our house, three times in a row, beeping all the way, I laughed gratefully, as my heart continued to mend from all of the hidden pain that I've tried to ignore. 

I don't know why I get to live this fabulous life, but I'm so very grateful!

Update on Isabel Bueso

Thank you so much to all of you who have spread the word about my friend Isabel's situation regarding her immigration situation. In fact, there are currently almost 200,000 signatures on her change.org petition! In case you aren't familiar with my sweet friend, here's her episode from the show My Last Days, which is how I met her in the first place. I will also post my episode at the bottom of the page.



Here's a little update...

SEP 12, 2019 — 

Isabel went before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform today to tell her story and to continue pushing for Congress to find a solution to protect her life and the lives of thousands of people affected by USCIS’ denial of medical deferred action petitions. Speaking before a panel of Congresspeople, Isabel urged “This is not a partisan issue. This is a humanitarian issue. I ask Congress and the Administration to come together and right the wrong of this change in policy.” Watch the full testimony here starting at 28:25.

Our campaign to #SaveIsabel continues to gather momentum and we are gaining the ear of many powerful people on both sides of the aisle in Washington D.C., but we still need your help to make sure that we are able to achieve our goal. Currently, members of the House are working to pass a bill to protect Isabel. We are also hoping to find a path forward that will help all families. In order to make sure we are able to get this legislation through, we ask that you please contact your Representative and urge them to support the push to #SaveIsabel.

Many thanks,

#SaveIsabel

OCT 17, 2019 — 

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced a new bill, S. 2612, for Isabel and her family to become permanent residents. This is remarkable and is a direct result of the public support shown to Isabel and her family. We are all grateful to Senator Feinstein and Senator Graham. Congressman Desaulnier previously submitted a similar bill for Isabel in the House, HR 4225.     
 
The support for Isabel also lead to US Citizenship & Immigration Services’ reopening the denials and reinstating the medical Deferred Action program.  However, there is still no official word on the medical Deferred Action extension approval for Isabel or any of the other 420 people who received medical Deferred Action denials in August.  A House hearing on this topic was cancelled today due to Committee Chair, Congressman Elijah Cummings' passing. We are hopeful that the hearing will lead to the resolution of the medical Deferred Action extensions by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. 
 
Thank you again for all your help. Your support has helped us #SaveIsabel.