“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.^[1]

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)

WORDS THAT INSPIRE ME
💪 FUCK CANCER 💪

🌺 How I got my MOJO back 💪
I admit to hitting a low point. It really does take quite a lot to shake my indomitable will. After 6 straight days of nausea & projectile fluids shooting uncontrollably out of every orifice of my body, I drove myself to the Emergency department yesterday on the advice of my primary care doctor. My work-up included a new CT Scan which revealed 3 things:
1. The large tumor in my abdomen has grown measurably since my previous scan on 4 June. I have named this turd “Sneaky Bastard”
2. Now there is an ulcer in my stomach. Whee!!! More fun!!
3. Ascites – this is fluid in my abdominal cavity which causes bloat, shortness of breath & General Discomfort. Basically I look like & feel & waddle like I am about 10.5 months pregnant. As if Cancer isn’t sexy enough on its own, Heyy, Boys, look at me ; )))

So I was already feeling rather disgruntled & discouraged when I arrived to my scheduled Chemo treatment at 9am today. A standard check of my blood pressure reveals it is shockingly high. My Oncologist explained we would have to postpone the treatment for a week until my blood pressure is under better control. I tearfully begged & pleaded to be given a chance to get it lowered & proceed. You see, my way of thinking is to blast as much Chemo as possible as quickly as possible at my mortal enemy Sneaky Bastard. But my Doctors must weigh this against how much my weakened heart can handle. However, she brilliantly agreed to let me try. I was given a private room and WITH THE SHEER FORCE OF MY WILL I got my BP down to 124 over 83 which is fabulous for me. Okay there might have been a tiny bit of help from Lisiniprol & Ativan & a short nap, but the point is, within 1.5 hours my BP was within acceptable limits. My Chemo treatment proceeded without further delay. I also went home with additional anti nausea Meds & more importantly RENEWED STRENGTH! I am determined to defeat Sneaky Bastard. This turd does not know who he is dealing with! I am going to shrink him & crush him with the sheer force of WILLPOWER! (And Chemo of course, I’m not crazy!)

The point of this story is NEVER GIVE UP! Sometimes you have to skate through rough patches to get to the smooth ice.

Thank you to my Wonderful Team of HCP’s at Hematology & Oncology & Portsmouth Regional Hospital. These dedicated caring people go over & above the call of duty everyday. How lucky can I get? 💜💜

Thank you to my amazing friends who have held my hand, cried with me, laughed with me when I shit my pants & just don’t have the word quit in them either. I am so truly blessed. I’m looking at you Coleen Magowan
🙏🌺💕

Thank you to strangers & kindred spirits who have reached out to me from every corner when I expected it the least but needed it most 💞

Love ❤️ makes the world 🌎 go around!

Look out Sneaky Bastard, I’m coming for you & I am loaded for bear.💪

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.