Happy Birthday To Me!

Can you believe it has been a year since my surgery!? It is amazing that a year has gone by already. I am just really grateful to have another birthday. There were many times that I wondered if I would make it 38 but here I am going strong. I am now shooting for 40. Do I dare to dream of 50?

Most of you know how much I love my birthday. I call it my own personal holiday. I pretty much celebrate for the whole month of August. Going home to Michigan was part of that celebration. I have only been home a few days and now I am heading to the Jersey Shore to celebrate with my good friend Roey. We both share the same birthday of August 21st. Now I do have a couple years on her but she graciously never brings that up. Now that is a good friend.

The interesting part of my birthday is that it doesn't just mean good times anymore. My birthday now coincides with scan time. Yes, that is right it is already time for those pesky scans again. When I arrived home from Michigan I had received in the mail a confirmation of my next scan. It was supposed to be Monday the 18th. Whenever I get a scan I usually get the results two days later which would have been Wednesday the 20th. As much as I am expecting good news from these scans I wasn't willing to chance this years birthday. I guess you are probably figuring by this point that, yes I did change the scan to Wednesday 8/20 in the early morning. Right after I am heading to the shore with my friends and I am going to enjoy this weekend. I am not going to receive my results until Thursday the 28th. Last time I was not expecting good results. My cough had been non stop and I knew that it couldn't be good. This time I will be shocked if things don't look better. My cough gets better everyday. It is not gone by any means but I feel like I am winning this battle.

Last year I wanted nothing for my birthday except to wake up from open heart surgery. I actually didn't wake up until the next day. : ( This year I just want to be present and alive. I want to live in the moment, swim in the ocean, be with friends and Ryan and just plain soak it all in. I will cherish my 38th birthday and look forward to 39. Thank-you all for making this a life worth fighting for. Big Love,

Kristine