Chai (and the Amgen Tour)

As many of you know, Chai (pronounced  like “hi” with a guttural “h”) means life in Hebrew. According to a mystical tradition in Judaism that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the letters that make up the word Chai, Het (n) and Yud (‘) add up to the number 18.

This morning, I had surgery number 18. This spiritual number represents good luck (and life) and that’s a very appropriate description of how things went this morning.

Pat and I checked in at 5:30 am for my surgery.  The waiting room was incredibly busy with more than 50 people waiting for surgery. But – as I walked up to the front desk, the attendant greeted me by name – without me introducing myself. I was stunned. She told me that she knew me because I had been there so many times…. Oy!

At 7:15 am I was wheeled into surgery, I was in the recovery room by 8:05 and we were walking out of Stanford by 9 am. Heck – it went so well that I was able to get in a full day of work!

Surgery number 18 certainly lived up to its name - Chai – bringing me a better and longer life!

Oh – and for those of you who want to spend Mother’s Day with our family at the Amgen Tour’s Breakaway Mile, the link is now open for registration at http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/breakawaymile.  As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I have the great honor of being the Breakaway from Cancer Champion in Sacramento. I would love love love to have you all there with me for a marvelous day!

Muddy Shoes

At religious services last week, in preparation for Passover, our Rabbi told a story of two Jews who were part of the departure from Egypt. As they were crossing the parted sea, all they could focus on were their muddy shoes. They kept their heads down, complaining about their shoes as they waded through the mud. Once they made it to the other side, they found their fellow travelers dancing with joy. They then queried why the others were dancing. The response was, of course, that the parting of the sea was a miracle that had saved their lives and enabled their escape from almost certain death by the hand of the Egyptians who were quickly approaching. The men then realized that while they had been focused on the mundane and insignificant problems of their muddy shoes, they had missed the bigger miracle that had just occurred.

As I listened to the story, it hit me how easy it is for me to act like those men with the muddy shoes. I get worked up about a pain here or there or a minor delay with getting treatment, not seeing the bigger picture. There is a miracle happening right here – in my body. I am alive.  But – not just alive, thriving.

Earlier this week, the world lost another incredible cancer warrior, Michelle Taylor Shutzer, who had been battling colon cancer for the past 4 years. I was devastated once again. Although I had never met Michelle, we had been posting on each others’ blogs and Facebook pages, supporting each other on our cancer journeys. Having cancer can be very lonely and to share the experience with others who are going through similar challenges makes it just a little less lonely.

When I learned about Michelle's passing, I called Pat from DC (which is where I’ve been for the past week for work) in tears. He once again brought me back from despair by saying “Eve – it’s not your story! You’re in DC right now and you just went skiing last weekend. You’re not dying!” 

And he was right.  Last week, as I was flying down the slopes at Tahoe, breathing in the breathtaking beauty around me and hearing my daughters’ laughter in my ears, I did recognize how incredibly fortunate I am.  And yesterday, I was out and about looking at the exquisite cherry blossoms which were in full bloom in our nation’s capital.

Unfortunately, too often, I get caught up in muddiness of my shoes and don’t realize what a miracle it is that I am living. In Michelle’s memory and in the spirit of Passover, I am going to renew my commitment to recognizing the miracles and beauty all around me and stop looking down at my shoes.

On Thursday, I’ll be heading back to Stanford for surgery #18 – changing out the stent in my ureter. Fortunately, this should be an easy outpatient surgery. But – if I could ask once again for all of you to send a few prayers my way – I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt having them!

Chag Sameach!

Help Us Make the Magic on May 3rd

Today, I took the girls to a reunion for Camp Kesem. As we were leaving, they turned to me and exclaimed that Camp Kesem was the best camp in the whole world and they couldn’t wait to return this summer.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Camp Kesem, it is an amazing camp for children who have a parent who is living with cancer or has passed away because of cancer.  It is an incredible place for kids to be able to be around others who understand what they're going through.  

Camp Kesem is a completely student-run organization that puts on a free, week-long summer camp for children whose parents have or have had cancer. They provide children, ages 6-16, with the opportunity to escape the worries they face due to their parent's illness, create a support network of peers and counselors, and rediscover the magic of childhood.  This is truly a blessing both for the children and for the parents who face an incredible amount of physical as well as financial stress with a cancer diagnosis.

On Saturday, May 3^rd, the Camp Kesem UC Davis counselors will be presenting their annual Make the Magic fundraiser at the Veterans Memorial Center in Davis starting at 4 pm. The goal this year is to raise enough money to send 120 children to camp. The cost is $45.00 per person, and includes a sit down dinner, silent auction, live auction, and dessert auction.  (The price goes up to $50.00 after 4/19/14). I should add that I attend a lot of silent auctions and this one is one of the biggest and best that I’ve ever seen.

If you are interested in participating, you can either register directly (see below) or - better yet - let me know and I'll put together a table (or 2).

All you have to do is click on https://campkesem.secure.force.com/events/CnP_PaaS_EVT__ExternalRegistrationPage?event_id=a19i00000011yhWAAQ and select registration for Make the Magic!  Even if you can’t come, please consider gifting the seats to someone else, and be sure to spread the word to family members, friends, and others in your community. (please note that the $50.00 price on the registration page will change to $45.00 if you register prior to 4/19/14)

 Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or to let me know that you'd like to join us for this very special evening.

Oh – and as for the latest on my cancer journey – I’m finally back on my fabulous PDL-1. Hallelujah!