Monday, September 10, 2012

A new chapter

I don't have cancer.

Phew!

I found out quite a while ago, but haven't found the time to write. We live in Portland, OR and August in the Pacific Northwest feels like living in fast-forward. It's finally beautiful out and we all know we only have a few weeks to have as much fun as possible! It's amazing and glorious and extremely exhausting. :)

So in the midst of that summer craziness I had a biopsy done on my thyroid nodule and later heard back that the cells were perfectly normal. I'm supposed to continue to monitor the nodule with regular ultrasounds but my doctor didn't sound worried.


During the past few days the sun has still been shining but I can feel the air cooling and know that fall is coming soon.

This summer has been one gigantic transition for our family. It was only a few months ago that we started Ellie on Ketotifen. She's experienced a huge turnaround and is just the happiest, healthiest kiddo. She's sleeping, eating, pooping, playing and even pretend reading. I am so happy. Having a healthy child is truly the most amazing gift in the world and I know well enough to be grateful for that every day.

As if experiencing Ellie's transition to health wasn't a big enough deal, we are also planning a move. My husband had an opportunity through work to relocate to Los Angeles and after a lot of consideration, we decided to take the leap. We are excited and scared and every emotion in between.

I think about this blog much more frequently than I post to it these days, and I wonder if the blog has run its course. I started writing it to share our experiences on the GAPS diet, and then continued writing even after we left GAPS for a diet more targeted to Ellie's needs. Now that Ellie is healthy I wonder what else to write? I definitely don't have interest in writing about my own life, and I realize the life of this blog is probably over. That's the funny thing about the internet - things seem like they should be sustained forever because the internet is always changing, always fresh and new. But in real life chapters begin and then they end.

I wonder a lot lately about my own next chapter. Healing Ellie took every ounce of energy and focus I had. What comes next for me? Will I have another child? Am I being called to write a memoir about our experiences? Or is it well enough to leave what happened in the past? 

The chapter where I had a sick child who could only eat 28 foods is over. Hallelujah. Now my family starts a new chapter. Who will we be in this one? Who will Ellie become? I don't know, but I do know that she will always be influenced by what we were able to do for her when she was so young.

4 comments:

  1. Annie,
    Thank God that you and Ellie are healthy and you are cancer-free! I enjoy your writing very much and would like to hear about your move, your next career step, family, LA and Ellie and Ian's next steps. Facebook provides a tidbit and your writing is more-satisfying than a snack.
    Hope you will continue writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary Lou! I appreciate the encouragement! :)

      Delete
  2. Ithanks for recording your journey. I found your blog while searching for allergy information for my daughter and your information was so helpful. I also considered GAPS but realized that it would not work for my daughter, many of her allergies are anaphylactic and nuts, coconut, and a bunch of others. Our doctor just mentioned Ketotifen so it has been helpful to read your experience with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bekah, I am SO glad you found our story and that it was helpful for you. I agree that GAPS/Paleo are unrealistic if a child has extreme limitations within that framework. Unfortunately GAPS just isn't flexible enough to accomodate for those limitations and the implication in the book is that eventaully all those allergies will go away, which isn't always the case. We ended up working closely with a nutritionist who helped us create a more targeted diet for Ellie and that was ultimately the right answer. I hope Ketotifen is as helpful for you as it has been for us.

      ~Annie

      Delete