Skip to main content

Lung Leavin' Day 2014 - What's YOUR fear?

One of the things that I love about blogging is the opportunity to interact with my friends and fellow bloggers. Because of my blog, a fellow blogger Heather Von St. James reached out to me with a special request -- to spread the word about a day very special to her, a day that forever changed her life. After reading her story, it resonated with me. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma when she was around my age, having just given birth to a sweet baby girl.

One important thing cancer taught Heather is the importance of acknowledging these apprehensions that prevent us from living life to the fullest extent. 

8 years ago on February 2, Heather underwent a risky surgery to remove a lung... and it worked! She now celebrates her "Lung Leavin' Day" with her family, when each year they get together and write their fears onto plates and smash them into a bonfire.

I love Heather's approach to life and about verbalizing her fears and literally smashing them into a billion pieces. And burning them up. Take that, fear. *fist pump*

Want to participate virtually in some good-ole fashioned plate smashing of your own? Go to her virtual Lung Leavin' Day page, type your fears on a plate and smash it to oblivion. I participated.

Want to read more about Heather and her experience with mesothelioma?

-Interview about Lung Leavin' Day with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance: http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/staff/lungleavin-day-2014-our-interview-with-heather-von-st-james.htm

-The surgery she underwent to remove her lung: http://www.mesothelioma.com/treatment/conventional/surgery/extrapleural-pneumonectomy.htm

-General mesothelioma information: http://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to be a Housewife (Without Feeling Like a Slave)

Now, don't get the wrong idea here... I'm not sending a passive aggressive message out there to men (do men even read blogs?) that women hate doing house duties. We love it - right, ladies??? (wink, wink) And I'm not complaining either. (Although I do despise laundry, I love a clean house; so it's a double-edged sword.) One thing I'm BIG on is positive thinking . Sometimes, it is hard to be positive if you are feeling overwhelmed with dishes, laundry, cleaning, cooking... oh yeah... LIVING IN and maintaining a home. So, I thought sharing my thoughts on this topic could maybe help some disgruntled wifeys out there. 1) Don't hate, delegate - I'm a huge fan of starting young with manageable tasks around the home. There are a bunch of lists floating around the interwebs of chore lists for kiddos, and a lot of them are pretty dang silly (one suggests letting a 2-3 year old put dishes away, um no!)  -- but my favorite one is from Kids Activities Blog.  2) B...

Tips on Survival with a Sick Baby

Any parent can tell you that life can be turned upside by a sick child. Sleepless nights, lots of crying (you and the baby!), routines are thrown out the window... it's just for the birds. And to make it even worse, you as a parent are playing a guessing game of what is ailing your child specifically in some instances. So, I don't know about y'all, but this winter season has been a real fun one for Boo. We have had 4 ear infections, a stomach bug, and RSV. I don't even know how to quantify the runny noses, because it has been constant. I know that I am lucky that she is otherwise healthy, so I will go knock on a million pieces of wood now. I have learned from experience (at least 5 trips to the emergency room and 2 hospital stays unfortunately) that earaches/throw up/fever hits in the middle of the night 9 out of 10 times, and at least the first time, you are GROSSLY unprepared. I hope this blog post can change the second part for some new parents out there. (Edit...

Maybe It's Just Easier To Be Lonely

As a busy, working and social mom of two young hellions, I am constantly teetering on the balance of completely and utterly (and not fabulously, might I add) losing my sh-word. Man, what a starter. What an intro! Hello, welcome to my blog. My name is Tara, and I’m completely crazy. I use the term “hot mess” way more than socially acceptable; in fact, there are times that I use the phrase, in reference to myself, and I can literally HEAR someone’s thoughts of annoyance in me. But, I digress. But, it’s true! I’m about one bad day away from flipping out hardcore. Part of it is my innate nature to be involved in *everything.* Combine that with my inherent disability to saying “no,” and it’s a recipe for… you guessed it… “hot-mess-ness.” Totally a word I made up and use… a lot. As I look at my planner (that I am obsessed with - who else have to have their lives written down somewhere or else they have NO IDEA what they are supposed to do that day?!), I realize…. “Dang, I am...