Now that I am stretching my physical limits, I'm noticing some unpleasant things. Swollen feet have arrived. At the end of the day, when I remove my socks, my fat little ankles look like sausage links from where the socks cut in. I even bought a larger pair of shoes, which feel big at the beginning of the day and rather snug by the end.
And I have dizzy spells. At the last scan, after laying on my back for 15 minutes, I was going pale and woozy. The weight of the babies presses on the Vena Cava, a major vein of the body, cutting off the blood supply as it tries to return to the heart from the body. My blood supply was being cut off by the very weight of my own body. Amazing. They turned me on my side and waited for the colour to return to my face.
Fat feet. Fainting feeling. Ever bigger belly. And the continuing fear of the stretch mark fairy payign me visit. I am literally counting the hours until Friday at 5pm.
But I had a kind of a gift arrive through email that is helping me to feel thankful and made me take a fresh look at my so-called tribulations. A brave woman named, Heather, emailed as we both have blogs about our travels through motherhood. Mine, a sometimes rambling winge. Her's, a harrowing story of life and death, confronting cancer in the midst of bringing a new life into the world. Click here to read Heather's blog
Heather's blog tells the story of her fight with mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the lungs. At a time when she should have been bonding with her baby and getting used to being a mother, she was forced into a battle for her life. 6 years later, and she is still here, a testament to the amazing resiliency people can find where they least expect it.
My sausage feet, frankly, pale in comparison to the things Heather went through. I imagine I will still winge now and again. Even now, I have come in from work and dived straight under a blanket on the sofa. I'm hoping Thom will make dinner appear at when he gets in, as my rumbling tummy says the twins are hungry, but I am too tired and feeling too sorry for myself to move. But despite my slug-like qualities, I am thankful, and Heather has reminded me of how much there is be happy about. I hope you'll have a look at her story and it enriches your outlook, too.
Nice reflection - keeping everything in perspective. Life can be very hard even during times that should be very happy ones. Dad has a kind of partner in cancer much like this young mother. At about the time Dad found out about his cancer, Amy found out she had lymphoma when she was about 6 months pregnant with her 3rd child. She had a large growing mass on her chest and couldn't take any treatment to stop its growth without harming the baby inside. She bravely chose to wait until the baby was born to take chemo. Thankfully, her sister was a perfect bone marrow match and she has since fully recovered with a great chance of beating cancer. We have a pretty strong bond with her and always will.
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