Chemo in Louboutins

The closest thing I have to poppies – 11/11/13

Today is Veteran’s Day in the US and Remembrance Day in the UK.  It is also the year anniversary of my final chemo (November 5 to be exact).  What I survived pales in comparison to what real veterans have seen and experienced, yet cancer is always described in military terms.  You even call yourself a survivor, if you make it once more unto the breach dear friends once more…

I was photographed by Rankin because I was a survivor  – but did I battle, struggle, fight enough to deserve this prize?  Or did I sit there with an IV in my arm while watching Game of Thrones one day and Once Upon A Time the next, wearing my fancy shoes?  Sure it wasn’t pleasant, but was it hand-to-hand combat?  Was I as courageous as everyone tells me?  Was it real honest-to-goodness bravery?

Is it because it seems so insurmountable that we can compare it to war?  Is it that we are fighting an unseen enemy who is trying to kill us every step of the way?  Unlike soldiers, we are not trained for combat.  That is why some people specifically seek out others who are going through the same thing – to muster up a corps battalion. I preferred to do it on my own…well, I had you all and this blog so I was never really alone.

The doctors, nurses, medical staff are the ones fighting to save us.  They are in the trenches trying out new weapons of mass destruction, so that we can live on to wear those shoes, scarves, wedding rings we already have and to be around to add new ones to our collection.

Let’s thank all those who are on the front line for us this special day!