General Update: The Good News and the Not-So-Good News

Not-so-good news: A bear killed another bear this week at Katmai, and Fat Bear Week was delayed.

Good news: Fat Bear Week voting is now open! Some of these bears are looking rather rotund, shall we say?

Not-so-good news: I have not been drinking the prescribed amount of water pretty much since Day 1 thanks to a water pitcher manufacturer not knowing how to properly notate how much a quart is. I kid you not, we took our pitcher, which has 1, 2, 3, and 4 quarts measured out on one side. I'm supposed to drink 3-4 quarts per day. Somehow or another, I began questioning whether the lines were accurate on the pitcher. We pulled out a separate quart-size mixing bowl, filled it up, and poured it into the pitcher. One quart of the mixing bowl equaled 2 quarts in the pitcher. 👀

Good news: Thanks to some friends who can do math better than I can, I ditched all of it and just figured out how many Yeti's I need to drink in the course of the day (because I rarely go anywhere without it). Ever since then, I have had significantly less symptoms. 

Not-so-good news: Hallmark makes some sickeningly sweet, cringe-worthy movies.

Good news: Hallmark makes some decent, tear-jerker-worthy movies. See also "The Real West." I was a fan.

Not-so-good news: When I started losing my hair due to radiation, I thought I'd be helpful and expedite the process. I pulled out whole chunks of hair. I'm realizing now this may have been a bad idea. I have a rubbery bald spot in the area where I pulled out those chunks, and the hair isn't growing back. Yet.

Good news: My hair is growing back elsewhere on my head. Slowly.

Not-so-good news: My pre-cancer shoulder pain is back. It feels like I have chased down nearly every practitioner east of the Mississippi trying to get this shoulder sorted out. It's been going on nearly two years, and I'm reaching my wits' end.

Good news: The rest of my arm has moved up to a solid 3-star review on Yelp.

Not-so-good news: I have 11 more cycles of chemo to go.

Good news: I have one already behind me, and I didn't spend it on the bathroom floor. Round #2 starts tonight.

Not-so-good news: The days are getting shorter, and I don't want to get out of bed in the mornings, which means I've also gotten lazier. I just want to stay under the covers and hide. 

Good news: Fall is here and that means so are topaz apples!

Not-so-good news: I still get very anxious about having a seizure and harbor a lot of trauma around the memories. I was in tears just talking about it the other day during my follow-up appointment with the seizure specialist.

Good news: I haven't had any seizures since May 30.

Not-so-good news: The world is incredibly sinful and broken.

Good news: God is incredibly good and sovereign.

Not-so-good news: The devil doesn't play fair. He came to steal, kill, and destroy. I feel it in my body. I see it in the destruction and devastation my friends are facing in the wake of Helene, and I see it in the lives of loved ones as they struggle to navigate a harsh world filled with broken minds, broken marriages, and broken bodies.

Good news: God is a way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. He can (and will) make all things right. I've seen him do it time and again in recent weeks.