January 22nd has become a very special day to me. Not only is it the 2nd anniversary of writing my weekly blog but also I walked out of the doctor’s office yesterday after my final follow up after my reconstructive surgery. I feel so free. But, the next thing that came into my mind is the thought that I could never have done the blog at all without my husband, Kirk, and I don’t know how I would have ever made it through the last 2½ years of cancer surgeries, treatments, doctors’ appointments, etc. without him.
When Kirk first talked me into doing the blog, he designed a beautiful website for me and over the last two years he has continued to update it and move me into the social networking age. He made it easy for me to learn how to navigate these sites and how to interact with all of the wonderful people that I have found there.
For anyone returning here, you will quickly notice that Kirk has created a completely new website to inaugurate the start of my 3rd year of blogging and to present other new features that we would not have been able to provide on the old site. As this site is a team effort in every way, we will continue to bring new and exciting features in the future as the site evolves. I hope that you will find the navigation around the site to be easier than ever while offering new options for sharing, if you so choose. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am for what he has created and how grateful I am for the support that he has provided in giving me this venue.
A diagnosis of breast cancer for the second time was the catalyst for the blogging. But from the very beginning of this battle, Kirk was right by my side. He supported the choices that I made in what I elected to do without as much as one word regarding any of them. He was there by my side through the surgeries and the recoveries when I returned home. For all my personal reasons, I made it clear from the beginning that I did not want to remain in the hospital for even one night after any of the surgeries. Therefore, it was Kirk who attended to my every need and even came up with ideas like giving me a special gift card so that I could shop online as soon as I was up and about. That was sure motivation to get me moving and it definitely was a great diversion from focus on just the surgery and thinking about what might be in the future.
They call what he did “caregiving” but that does not even begin to describe what he truly gave and continues to give. The care was such a small part of it. There are no words to describe the love, the support, the creative ideas, the listening and yes, the care that he gave to me and what that meant to me and I believe, ultimately, to my recovery. I think that I need to create a new word for this but I knew then as I continue to know now that I am the most fortunate woman in the world because I have him for my husband and I thank God every day for his being in my life.
Do you have someone special in your life who supports you? COMMENTS
Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.