Blessings

So the last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster around here....
November started off with the devastating news that my dad had stage III laryngeal cancer and was going to need surgery to remove the tumor. He needed a complete laryngectomy which resulted in a permanent tracheostomy. The wonderful news after his surgery was that they removed the ENTIRE tumor and we later found out all of his lymph nodes were clear, he won't need any further treatment!!

While it's been difficult coming to terms with all of this, my parents have always been very healthy and I guess I've always taken that for granted. The hardest part aside from thinking about your dad having "cancer" is the thought of never being able to hear his voice again.... I have many many many good memories of singing along to old rock n roll music with my dad.... But I've had to realize that I will always have those memories...nothing can take those away... He is recovering very well, incredible really when I remember that in the recovery room after this MAJOR surgery he was smiling, laughing and gave my mom, brother's and I a thumbs up (and the middle finger!). He has completely relearned how to talk....and while it sounds different than it used to..... I'm so very very grateful for having my dad around for another 30 years so he can watch my kids grow up and have their own kids....

One of the only good things about going through something like this is how much it makes you realize what's really important in life... How unimportant the little things are and what to really spend most of your time and energy on... I have the best family in the world!! With all of our dysfunctional idiosyncrasies I wouldn't change a thing!!!