My Melmoirs

      An unexpected phone call this morning from one of my dearest friends prompted an afternoon of deep thought.  I couldn't help but spend the entire day thinking about all of the people I know going through their own personal challenges this Thanksgiving.  Some are family, some are close friends, some are acquaintances, but all of them are people I think about often.      Their experiences run the gamut of separation, break-up, loss, a child in the ICU waiting for an organ transplant, a first Thanksgiving after losing a spouse, and a few that can feel the hour glass ticking on holidays spent with their loved ones.  The empathy I felt today was overwhelming and I can't stop thinking about them.  I also can't help but think of all the strangers I'll never know who will spend this Thanksgiving in a hospital room, mourning a loss, feeling alone, or clinging to a box of tissues.  While I am lucky enough to be healthy and happ...

     ...this girl!  As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, many take stock of things/people they are grateful for.  I mentally keep my tally year-round as I find it keeps me humble.  My gratitude list could go on for days, but one of the top things that stays at the forefront is my safety net.  It is comprised of those nearest and dearest to me and is a group so dynamic and eclectic that I consider it to be a cosmic phenomenon.  It is not people that I have found along the way, it is people who have found me when I wasn't even looking; divine intervention perhaps?  I digress.        I call this collection of very special people my safety net because they allow me the freedom and unconditional love to be my authentic self without caring what anyone else thinks.  They have given me the confidence to stand up for the things that I believe in (even though they may not share the same beliefs,) they provide an honest and tru...

     I consider myself to be a very 'present' person, but sometimes my world feels a little off-center and I find myself needing to regain balance.  I've been wanting to start a meditation routine for over a year now, but find myself getting easily side tracked.  Well today the Universe sent me the push I needed and I've signed up for Deepak Chopra's 21-day meditation challenge.  He says that if you stick with anything for 21 days, a habit is created, so I'll give it my best shot.  He also mediates for hours every day, but I'll be happy with 5 mins.  Here's the link if you're curious...  https://www.chopracentermeditation.com/Bestsellers/LandingPage.aspx?BookId=172

     On Friday (11/02/12) I had to go back to the hospital for another ultrasound of my left blood clot.  It confirmed what I had already thought - that in the past six weeks my body had been working to dissolve the thrombosis (clot) that had grown in September, only to start re-growing in the past two weeks.  Both my vascular specialist and I agree that the new growth was caused by the same 'inflammation storm' that happened back in September. What I mean by 'inflammation storm' is that everything seems to go haywire at once (ie. clot pain, intense joint/muscle pain, sinus headaches, chest tightness and hemoptysis, which is bleeding from my lungs.)  As soon as I got home from my appointment, I had another episode of hemoptysis; the second one in less that two weeks.        A few days prior to the U/S, my pain level was so intense that I could tell the clot was growing, so I  asked my rheumatologist for a prednisone course. ...