Category: Be Brave

This is Nicole’s wordsmith of a husband Saul. Just wanted to give everyone an update on Nic’s health status. First, and most importantly, it was confirmed her lymph nodes were cancer free! She is currently resting at home after twenty four hours in the hospital. Between the sedatives necessary for surgery and the pain medication she is taking it is ... Read More

What does one do when one is going to get a body part cut off the next day?

Hmmm… well, here’s what I did.

1. Pray.
2. Drink Coffee, eat toast and then feel like you might vomit b/c you ate food.
3. Hire someone to clean your house. (Thank you Bonnie & Debbie! You are the BEST!)
4. Get a massage.
5. Become a total DIVA and get your hair ... Read More

I am Saul, Nicole’s loving husband. Prepare for posts that are not as elegant or stimulating as my wife’s entries. I will be posting updates as at times during and after her surgery. As you compare and contrast our writing styles and grammar please keep in mind that kindness is indeed contagious. That includes you, all former English and ... Read More

Sing this song with me: “You can’t always get what you want… you can’t always get what you want… you can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, you might just find, you get what you need.”

My husband tells me it’s by The Rolling Stones. I’ll have to take his word for it. I’m too tired to ... Read More

I’m supposed to be writing a column on kindness right now. There are so many stories of kindness floating around in my brain, but I can’t seem to catch hold of any of them long enough to actually write about them. I just keep thinking about tomorrow (my pre-op appointment) and next Tuesday (my mastectomy).

I’ve called The James twice to ... Read More

I’ve been putting off reading anything that has to do with breast cancer– and what to expect post-surgery. I don’t want to know about anesthesia and tubes and scars. Everyone’s story is different, so why bother hearing a horror story about a woman who woke up mid-surgery?

I’ve been rolling with the what-you-don’t-know-can’t-hurt-you theory. But then my new friend, Kim Wagner, ... Read More

I seldom swear. I used to. A lot. Then I started to feel kind of dirty whenever obscenities would come out of my mouth, so I stopped. Maybe that was God’s way of saying to me, “Can’t you find a better word?” Or maybe I’m just getting older. I don’t know…

Anyway, this weekend, standing in the middle of McDonald’s (thankfully, ... Read More

Never window shop for something you have no intention of buying. In an effort to stop researching breast cancer on the internet (which makes me sad), I started researching cars (which produces no emotional reaction).

Wouldn’t you just know it? I fell in love with a 2004 Audi convertible in Cincinnati. It was too far away and too expensive, which made ... Read More

I made it through my first public speaking event post-cancer diagnosis! I’m sure it would have been much better had I had a professional speech writer, but since none of you offered your expertise in that area, I muddled through on my own.

I talked about being a kid and visiting my mom’s husband in prison and about becoming Miss Wisconsin ... Read More

I get to speak tomorrow for the first time in almost a year! My friend’s dad is in Rotary and was in charge of picking the speaker, so I’m pretty sure I’m part of the friends & family plan, but I’ll take it!

Now I just have to figure out what to say…

Before moving to Ohio, I loved speaking. I felt ... Read More