My apologies.  It has been far too long since the last post, but I do have a good reason.  We returned to the US in July 2016.  In October of that year, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.  During the next 15 months, I under went three surgeries, 16 chemotherapy treatments (four of which were 5 hours long), and 30 radiation treatments.

Here I am during my first treatment. I starting loosing my hair hours after the first treatment, so I shaved it off! I wore a wig for about a month, but then decided I wanted to show people I was healthy…I just didn’t have hair.  My motto was “I’m not sick..I just have cancer.”

But what do you do while attached to the infusion machine for hours on end?  Answer….crochet!

I hadn’t crocheted for over forty years!  I made ten farmer market bags during my chemotherapy.  Of course…those of you who know me well, know I love to workout, and I wasn’t about to let a little thing like chemo get me down. So what did I do while going through chemo?  I trained to become an indoor cycling instructor. 

I also ran a 5K (I came in first in my age group!) The beer at the finish tasted soon good.

I had an amazing health care team, and am now in full remission.  

I am the Associate Dean of Teachers College at Ball State University in Muncie, IN.  Recently, I presented research at a conference in Tempere, Finland (more on that later).

I plan to post much more frequently, so please keep following.

Take care and keep filling your life with experiences rather than things.