Baldies' Blog began originally in the UK by a 26 year old journalist with a blood cancer on a mission to inform the world about bone marrow donation.

He has since died, and I took on the cause of making cancer care more transparent for everybody.

Cancer is a disease that will touch everybody through diagnosis or affiliation: 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed and 1 in 3 woman will hear those words, "You Have Cancer."

I invite you to read how I feel along my journey and
how I am continuing to live a full life alongside my Hodgkin's lymphoma, with me controlling my cancer, not my cancer controlling me.

I hope that "Baldies' Blog" will prepare you to handle whatever life sends you, but especially if it's the message, "You Have Cancer."

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Friday, November 28, 2008

Holding It Down for The Hometeam


No more Boston vs. NYC.
No more Sloan & Kettering vs. Dana Farber.
Definitely, no more Red Sox vs. Yankees.
Those decisions are too difficult to make right now.
I have made a decision, however.
I’m going to hold it down for the home team.
That would be DARTMOUTH HITCHCOCK MEDICAL CENTER.
I’ll include the college in on this too.
Dartmouth men’s soccer just beat out BC 4-2 in a shoot out. They’re on their way to Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament.
So there.
Lebanon was named the most recession proof town in the country by Forbes.com.
I like the way this sounds.
I’m rooting for the underdog because they have limitless potential.
They have David’s House. They have my first rockstar care team.
I have trusted them with my life.
It really, genuinely, bothers me that they’re 41st in the country in cancer treatment.
They should be in the top ten. Immediately.
I’d like to infect them with the “competitive spirit” I hold on to. I play to win.
Maybe, this has helped me get this far.
I used to treat codes like I sport. I was in it to win it. When I practiced, I’d take the defibrillator and holler “BOOM” whenever I hit the chest and make the mannequin jump.
Yes, crashes and codes require practice, generally on mannequins.
Death is not fun, but cheating it is.
Codes or intubations or crashes are certainly not as fun when you are the one on the bed.
If I can think during these periods, and a lot of times I can’t due to lack of oxygen, crazy heart rate, and panic, I would be asking to push my own meds and paddle myself.
I don’t like that someone else gets my job. Mostly, I don’t like that I am on the wrong side of treatment.
I think my attitude has gotten me this far.
Hopefully I will get me farther, right along with NEW HAMPSHIRE!
We have the creators of Timbaland. Ben & Jerry’s is close enough, and they used to donate a lot of ice cream.
We have mountains, hiking, biking, ski areas, lakes, boating, and broom hockey. How could you not love it?
DHMC now has a “Patient Online” feature. Check this out at https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/patientonline/
I have more ideas to extend the online patient network for improved continuity and ease of care for everybody, but I’m too tired to talk about this.
For all the good news associated the my down home cancer center see http://www.cancer.dartmouth.edu/about/factsheet.shtml
DHMC could be a transplant destination. I’m all for the luxury experience of treatment.
Dana Farber is in the process of expanding its “Pavilion,” the penthouse suite of care for the rich and famous.
Barbados has fertility get aways that boast a marked improvement in outcomes from their stateside counterparts.
Everybody underestimates the power of relaxation in healing. If I could afford being treated at a spa, I would take it. I’d call it my cancer vacation.
For now, I would settle into staying in the country.
But since I can’t, I’ve chosen to hold it down for the home team, and don’t you forget it.

1 comment:

Frank said...

We're all thinking about you Hill ... & pulling for you. I love the feisty attitude ... & the spunk!! You ROCK girl!!

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that attitude of your's carries you through these challenges.

Hang in there ... & stay strong.