#100
September 21, 2014
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When I started this page in 2012, I never anticipated that I'd make it to the 100 post mark, but here I am. I am going to treat this post as a brief update. My disclaimer is that this is a very personal post, and has very little to do with with celiac disease, so if you follow my page for celiac and/or non-celiac gluten sensitivity information only, then you should probably stop reading now...
It's been a hectic last few months for me, in all regards, and my celiac disease passion, advocacy, and writing efforts have really fizzled out. Here’s what’s been going on, in a nutshell:
I had a recent breast cancer scare. In early August I found a painless lump in my left breast during a self-exam that I had never noticed before. I went to see my primary care provider after about 2-3 weeks, as the lump persisted and slowly grew in size, who ordered a mammogram and ultrasound. I was ordered to wait 2 weeks to have the testing done, just to make sure that it wasn’t a fibrocystic change related to my menstrual cycle. Even though I knew that the odds were in my favor that it wasn’t breast cancer, I was extremely anxious and scared. I kept imaging the worst-case scenario of leaving behind my husband and 4 kids without a wife and mother. Fortunately, the lump ended up being a totally harmless lump of dense, fibrous tissue. The entire experience really made me step back and examine my life and priorities and made me reflect on how grateful I am for my family, friends, and my health. It gave me a much needed reality check.
We have added an addition to our household. My 14 year old niece has moved in with us for this school year, and although she is a great kid, I totally underestimated what the transition from 4 to 5 kids would be like in terms of groceries, laundry, extra-curricular activities, etc. The blessing is that we are getting to know her better and she gets along really well with our little ones. And she babysits!
I went through a series of job interviews and I’ve signed a contract for a new job that will put us back near my husband’s family in Boston. We will be moving next summer, in 2015, right after all of my kids finish school. I will still be working full-time as a Neonatologist, but in a totally different type of hospital setting, and I’ll work less weekends and nights. I hope that this will be the last move we ever make, at least until our kids are raised and out of the house (but as I’ve learned, you never know that the future will hold).
I have continued to train for the NYC marathon on November 2nd in which I will be running on the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Team Gluten-Free. My training runs have been going well and I hit the 16 mark last week. Running has truly helped me to maintain my sanity over the last few months (along with some very supportive family and friends). As of today I am $430 away from reaching my goal of $3500. If you are interested in donating, you can do so via this link to my fundraising page.
I applied for the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center’s Annual Preceptorship Program in December. I have no idea if I will be selected or not, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to apply. If I do get selected and have the opportunity to participate, I will learn a lot of new information that I can hopefully share on this page with you.
I hope to be back soon with a Fall 2014 journal club. In the meantime, many thanks to Shannon for her guest post last week about being newly diagnosed and for helping me to keep my page afloat. I hope you all are doing well and I wish you a Happy Autumn!