“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wordsworth
There was a time when there were few bloggers writing about Myeloma, in the not too distant past. I was one of the few caregivers who started to write about my experience, and then as I’ve mentioned recently, there was Susie Hemingway, Caregiver Extraordinaire, Published Poet, Gardner, Cook, Mother, Sister, Grandmother, Friend.
I’m happy there are many more now. In that vein, I wanted to mention that my blog roll on the right is not all the wonderful Myeloma bloggers out there now. There are more. So check my Resources page and see some of the others and then there is one site that has them all.
Each blogger, be they patient or caregiver, daughter, brother, friend, has it’s own unique voice. There will be some that you gravitate towards and others you only visit once in a while if at all. The good news is, once you find one or two of us, you will find the rest of us. The beauty of the internet, tapping into the incestuousness of it in a positive way. Those I list on my front page are friends I’ve made online and/or in person. Corresponded with, keep up with. Or they are just uniquely valuable that you need to know about them. It is not a commentary on those who are not on my list. I follow many more. I just like to keep my blog clean and uncluttered as much as I can and get you started on your journey by sending you to some bloggers that have a particular point of view, focus, information. From there you will find many others who will offer you their insight.
If you are new on this road, take a breath and take some breaks from your research. Know that there are those of us out there who understand your fear and lack of information on what to do. Sadly, you will most likely need to decide a path before you understand fully the disease, it’s options, the debate in treatment, the drawbacks of each. Stay focused on treatment choice first and then come and explore us a bit more to get the nuances and perspective you will need. Do the best you can. No matter which choice you make in treatment, doctor, or facility, there will be those who don’t make it and those who do. I’ve seen folks live well and long with a local doc who isn’t so aggressive or even knowledgeable, and I’ve seen the best facilities with all their research and knowledge lose patients I thought should make it through. Do your due diligence, pick your poison, as the say, and have no regrets. Blame, shame, and regret are horrible feelings to harbor. Myeloma can breed lots of these feelings and more. Do your best to not succumb to them.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst, keep moving forward.
Anyway, please visit my Resources page for more information on places to explore and visit in your journey. Enjoy my blogging friends on my blog roll. Be sure to leave comments once in a while when you visit folks. It’s a pretty warm and wonderful group and I am incredibly enriched to have made their acquaintance.
You are not alone
