Audra Coldiron

Tuesday I'm scheduled for my next MRI. It's been over a year since the last one. Oddly enough they had in their records that my last MRI was January 2009 but didn't contact me to schedule it; I had to contact them. It has been on my list of things to do now since the new year and I just now remembered it last week sometime.

I suspect I just couldn't remember to do it because I almost force myself not to think about my condition. I stay extremely busy and noticed thatI allow myself almost no time to let me mind wander. It is most definitely a defense mechanism I've come up with. When my mind wanders it invariably reaches the same point and there it stays until I break down.

One beautiful winter Saturday about a month or so ago I took a walk to our mailbox with Irie on my back. We had gotten a couple piece's of our neighbor's mail and I decided to finally walk across the street, drop of their letters, and introduce myself. I can understand why the post office continues to mix up our mail: We are 6335 Powellville Rd., and they are 6335 Purdue Rd. and literally live across the street. We had driven past this modern log cabin style home in many stages of construction for a long time. As many time as I'd driven past I never noticed anyone outside.

I knocked on the door and a small blonde woman around my age holding a 7mo. old boy with a 5 year old girl clinging to her leg answered the door. I was shocked! I hadn't imagined that there might be someone my age with 2 kids around the same age living there or I would have introduced myself much sooner! She was equally shocked, invited me in, and we chatted for quite awhile. We discovered we had a lot in common included building our own houses. She showed me around their beautiful home and I was feeling so lucky to have finally made the time to walk over there.

As we got to the bedrooms she pointed to a room that belongs to her 11yr old stepdaughter. I asked her how it was having an 11yr old and she explained that they have good days and bad days especially because the girl suffers from a suspected attachment disorder. Vanessa explained that her mother died when she was 3. The 5 year old interjected, "She had blonde cancer." I immediately thought to myself, "Oh, no, don't be what I think it is..." and Vanessa corrected her. She had Brain Cancer.

I immediately confessed that I have it too and asked many questions about the tumor that Vanessa couldn't answer and told me to ask her husband, Scott. Upon meeting Scott I I figured it would be kind of rude and awkward to ask such detailed questions about his late wife without divulging my information. I told him I have brain cancer and proceeded to ask questions. She had a tumor type I hadn't heard of but that is no surprise since there are hundreds. I did recognize the "Astrocytoma" part, but that's it. Anyway, they discovered the tumor by a grand mal like me when she was 37. I was 33. 3.5 years later the tumor returned. In 6 weeks upon that discovery she was dead.

This next MRI will mark 3.25 years. I can't help thinking will there be someone in the future who describes Irie as having an attachment disorder? Part of me thinks I made a mistake by having another child after my diagnosis. Does anyone recover from loosing their mother at an early age?

We had back to back blizzards here on Maryland's eastern shore as you might have heard. I heard it has been the snowiest winter on record for Philly, Baltimore, and D.C. In the middle of the night during the first blizzard Mike woke up because all our battery backups were screaming. The power had gone out hours before and they had been powering our computers for a couple hours until they went dead. He woke up the rest of us, announced that the power was out and that we'd better all bundle up because it was going to get very cold.

Everything in our house runs off electricity. You are suddenly very aware of how dependent you are on the stuff when something like this happens. No coffee? What?? No hot meals?? Really?? No HEAT??? NO WATER????!!!!!!!! Our next door neighbor had electricity and he told us our neighbors across the street in the log cabin (Vanessa & Scott!) had one of their trees fall on their power lines and catch on fire. They blacked out their entire street, most of Powellville, and us. In fact it pulled our wires of the poles and out of the transformer. With that news we were not hopeful that the power would return anytime soon.

Before learning the cause of the power outtage I texted Vanessa who said their power was off too. When I found out it was their tree that caused it I mentioned we have no alternative souce for heat save one tiny propane heater that can only run for 4 hours at a time. She invited us to come over since they have a woodstove, a gas range, and a generator. I told her we'd love to but were stuck in our driveway so Scott came over in his 4 wheel drive truck and rescued us. They offered a bed for the night and we gladly accepted. 36 hours later the power was restored. We got to know our neighbors well and I was very happy I had decided to exchange their mail a couple weeks earlier! :-)

Hip Klips are selling very well. So good in fact, we have been out of inventory for most of this month. We would have bseen fine between orders if we hadn't got a 50% defective batch and Chinese New Year hadn't thrown a monkey wrench in the plans. One thing is for certain though - we are expanding fast and possibly need a loan to hire someone. Aside from business getting our books together for Tax Time, we're having a meeting with The SBA on Tuesday right after my MRI. He'll give us some recommendations, I'm sure. Right now we are re-designing our display and getting other much needed things done before our next Klip shipment comes in the first week of March and we have to work at break neck speed to get all of these backorders form Jan. and March out! To make matters worse it will just be me for the first week because all is going to the Keys for the family yearly vacation. Mike has decided we don't go :-( This year I'm not complaining.

That's all for now. I've GOT to go have my coffee in my nice warm and eat some hot breakfast... :-)