Check In : Labor Day Edition!

Friends,

Been a while... I hope to start checking in more frequently after a long summer break. Here's a catchup:

Cancer:

I had a PET-CT scan on June 29th (my 29th birthday!), and it was CLEAR. AGAIN. Hell yes! My doctor was appropriately pleased but not ready to give me a high-five yet. Since I have sneaky refractory cancer, he is holding off on the celebrating until at least the 1 year mark (I will get a scan in early January). There is still a 50-50 chance of relapse. Not sure what to do to up my odds other than wearing sunscreen and avoiding binge drinking... both seem easier as I age. We are keeping in my port until then too (I told him I would keep the port forever if it helped to not jinx me!). My recovery is going well- I am feeling 100% awesome, I have gone to the gym every day for the last 4 days (and plan to go again today). My blood counts are so-so, though. It turns out that radiation really takes a whack at your bone marrow-- my WBC is only 2.5, which is above danger levels, but significantly below normal (should be 4+). My red blood count (HGB) came up to 12 -- which is the bottom of the normal scale for women. It increased since the last test though - I think thanks to my newfound love of juicing vegetables for pleasure. My platelets are sticky but not sticky enough- only 125K when they should be 175K -- I think this might explain the little bruises on my legs. My doc says that every healthy young woman gets bruises on her legs because we have thinner skin there and every little incident causes a bruise. He dared me not to stare at women's legs for the rest of the week (impossible!). So, I am continuing on my exercising and juicing crusade now that I have mini goal of bumping up those counts (in addition to the long-term goal of not dying).

Work:

It is going well- I am working on several projects: 1) I am jumping into the immigration fray and framing it as a gender issue-- harsh immigration enforcement destroys the lives of women and families. I am heading to Atlanta at the end of the month as part of this effort, participating in a delegation of women leaders (yes, apparently I am a leader!) to witness the testimony of women and children there, and we are holding a press conference the next day. I am really excited about this work. I believe that people should be treated like human beings and deserve the human right to care for themselves and their families- in our increasingly unfair global economy, immigration is inevitable, yet we treat people like animals or criminals. It is morally wrong and I am happy I have a job that lets me say so.

My second project is related to the forthcoming (we hope!) reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which is the landmark legislation that protects victims and ensures they have access to the legal and social services they need. It also has provisions for international prevention and prosecution of traffickers. My role in this effort is to write and visit congress and share the social service perspective of the anti-trafficking field in the United States. In truth, NGO's need more money (surprise!), and survivors need more services and protection (surprise!). So, we will continue to try and improve this bill year after year.

On the personal level:

I recently moved to a fantastic new apartment, all by myself, in my beloved neighborhood of Mt. Pleasant. I love this neighborhood, I love my new home. I love being alone and having all the physical, mental, and emotional SPACE to think, meditate, relax, and otherwise enjoy myself without limits. I am assured that if I enter into another relationship that this selfish period will need to end, so I am holding off on dating for a while. I am really enjoying the solitude and see no reason to abandon it.

Finally, here is what I read in the newspapers today:

Washington Post:

"How Every Marylander Benefits from the DREAM Act"

The Comics Section (duh)

"What's in a Name, and What Isn't" (about namesakes-- e.g., "Machiavellian," "Jeffersonian," etc.)

New York Times:

"The Limping Middle Class" (by Robert Reich)

"Finding Work-Life Balance" (in the Jobs Section)

HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND! Go thank a union member!