i am getting to pay it forward

my husband took such good care of me three years ago, when i had my surgery/RAI for my thyroid cancer. even after i went back to work, he just pitched in there with the cooking or some other household chores. well, on monday i am paying it forward, as they say. my husband had to have a total hip replacement. he is doing well, and i am impressed by his determination to get better. he doing his physical therapy exercises, taking his medication( they have him on a blood thinner, for one thing), and wearing those inflatable leg "pumpers" for lack of the correct terminology. it seems strange for me to be the caretaker now. not that i am not so happy to do this for him, but our roles have been reversed!

one thing that i have noticed is that is not easy being a cancer survivor. there is of course, the new normal that everyone experiences. there is the constant testing and worry about the cancer coming back,too. that was  an attitude changer( for me, anyway). it  made me appreciate my life, and all my loved ones even more than i did before i got sick. who knows how long any of us have on earth, and i for one plan to make the best of things!

the problem  that i am trying to figure out, is how to be "normal" and deal with the reality of my situation. no one could possibly understand this, except for another cancer survivor. that is why i try my best to keep this blog going. i try to have good information about pertinent subjects, but also i benefit from the contact that i have with other thyroid cancer survivors. i do not live in a large enough town for a support group. honestly, even if i did, my work schedule would probably make it impossible for me to go with any kind of regularity. lets face it, i have a difficult time going to zumba! and everyone knows how much i love zumba.

so in my case, and for now, the patient has become the caregiver. i try to remember all of the things that meant so much to me, and made my life easier. not that my husband has cancer. his hip will improve, i am sure, and he will be out walking, out hiking, etc, me in no time. but for now, i get to see it from a different perspective. a good thing, i think.