"She Must Be Something Special."

"She is. Celebrate her." - Kobi Yamada

She is my mother, my sisters, my aunt. She is ALL the women in my life.

Below is a picture of my mother and sisters showering me with love and affection as an infant...the same outpouring of both is still happening today and likely in equal measure, only now I am able to truly realize love's 'immeasurable' depths.

Cancer is forever life-altering, and this first week after my surgery has so far rendered me practically helpless, more so than any other time in my life I can remember, with more pain than I could have ever anticipated. With an estimated 5 more weeks to heal before chemo, I'm trying to find the humor in this situation, even if it's only once or twice a day and for only a few seconds of rib aching laughter, shared with my mother, sisters and aunt in the most awkward, helpless, intimate, unenviable (yet strangely enviable in some ways - more on that later) moment. A moment only to be quickly forgotten with 1000 mg Vicodin taken every 4 hours to blame.

In turn, I anticipate the chemotherapy to be chock full of more of the same - love and laughter alike.

She must be something special. She is. Celebrate her.