Hello Friends,
Sorry I have neglected my little blog for so long! I even forgot to update my amazing news from my last biopsy at Vandy...It was completely Benign!!! I've been doing so good! I had surgery on January 29 for the Essure procedure to sterilize my fallopian tubes and then I had an Endometrial ablation (I have been battling anemia). I recovered well from the surgery and began running two weeks ago. I've been tracking my runs on the map my run app. So many new exciting things are happening in my life and I'm so pumped to share them with you all!
You may remember me writing a blog a few months ago titled Changes. To summarize it a bit, I was offered a position through the company I worked for to travel an hour from home to a new facility. They would pay my mileage, No Weekends, No Holidays, and most importantly NO CALL. It sounded like a great opportunity, so I took it (that was Nov 2011). Fast forward to November 2012, I was told the new facility would be a hospital (not an imaging facility) and I would have to accomodate the physicians with 24/7 call. This meant I would have to carry a pager everyday of my life all while living an hour away. The kicker was when I was told I couldn't go back to my old position although I wasn't told these changes upfront and I had more seniority and more credentials.
I'll never forget the day I almost wanted to just walk off the job because things were getting so bad. It was December 5, 2012. I told my husband we needed to pray because I couldn't continue working for this company with the unreasonable amount of call they required and all the lies. I got online and typed in "Ultrasound jobs" in the city and state where I live. Just two hours prior a position at a facility just 3 miles from my house was posted. I stayed up until 2am writing my resume and applying for this position. After applying for this position there was another nearby job open up and another. I had three opportunities and they all three offered me their position. I am so thankful for God opening these doors and so thankful to be starting my new job this coming monday. The hard part was leaving my co-workers who have become like family to me. I miss them already! Sometimes, the bad things that happens in our lives can motivate us to knock on doors we wouldn't have ever thought to knock on before. And these doors can open up amazing blessings!
It was scary leaving the place I've worked at for nearly 9 years! My first fear was getting slapped with a pre-existing condition and not getting insurance coverage. I found out the rule is you must get coverage within 63 days of your last day of coverage. What if my new insurance company doesn't allow me to go to VAndy because it's out of network? What if I can't even find a job? What if they hold the fact that I've had cancer against me? Well, that would be discrimination, but still it scared me. At this point I wasn't about to let my history with this Beast stand in the way of me grabbing one of these awesome opportunities. Besides, I've worked hard to be where I am today with my BS, RT(R)RDMS(AB)(OB)RVT(V). During my physical for my new job the cancer issue came up and the Dr looked at all my scars and where the lymph nodes were removed. She said "you are lucky to be alive". I said, "yes, I'm very thankful and I'm doing great with no active disease." I said, "I'm the healthiest girl you'll meet! I run 3-4 days a week and I eat as healthy as I can." She cleared me for work Thank God!!!
The next exiting thing is...I'm training for my first ever Half Marathon. Me and my best friend since Kindergarten are running the race together. The awesome thing is It's for St.Jude's cancer research and It's in Nashville! The race is April 27, 2013 and my next followup appointment at Vandy is April 29. This weekend my long run goal is 5-6 miles. I plan on increasing my mileage 1-2 miles each week in preparation for the race. My goal for the half (13.1 miles) is Just to FInish it. Although running it in 2 hrs would be fabulous, I only have 10 weeks to train for it. I'm just looking forward to Showing Melanoma Who's Boss!
Blessings to you all and Happy March 1st! Be sure to do your monthly skin exam and Share the love and spread the lotion!
About Me
- Alicia B
- I'm a Jesus loving girl who is blessed with an amazing husband and two beautiful children. At the age of 23, while pregnant with my firstborn I noticed a dome shaped nodular area on my left hip. It started growing larger and eventually started bleeding. After the birth of my baby girl and my 24th birthday I decided to get the ugly bump checked. The result was Stage III nodular Malignant Melanoma that had extensions into my lymph nodes. I completed a year of Interferon chemotherapy. a year later I became pregnant with my second child. After his birth I developed two more melanoma primary tumors-- stage 1 2010, and stage 2 in 2011. Since then I have made it my mission to advocate and educate to bring about melanoma awareness in hopes that it could save others from this deadly disease. Thankfully, I am very healthy and doing very well! I have No Evidence of Disease and I'm showing Cancer Who's Boss by staying fit and healthy. I plan to blog about my adventures in running over cancer during training for my first Full marathon Fall 2014. Remember to love your skin, protect your skin, and check your skin. Share the love and spread the chemical-free lotion!
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