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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Monday, September 7, 2009

Mom’s perspective


A very special person that we have had the opportunity to know while being here at DHMH, Eva, suggested that I do this and this morning I decided that it was time.
There have been some comments made to Hillary “that she spends too much time on her Blog and not enough time with her son.”
Let me give you some insight on how Hillary works, but first I will give you some back ground.
Hillary is the 2nd twin that due to a difficult delivery shouldn’t even be here much less be as bright as she is—thank you Dr West and the team at VRH. Being that the girls are “mirror image identical twins” Hill is the left twin and wanted to be left handed. Because during college I had 3 classmates that were left handed that were forced to practice dental hygiene right handed I would not allow Hillary to be left handed. She’s a left foot gymnast and soccer player but not left handed. This as it turned out was the best thing we could have done as in here early years of her education I saw the signs of Dyslexia.
Yes, she is Dyslexic although due to the advice of the doctor who diagnosed her, we never disclosed this to her educators as we had already started to “train her brain” and “all her school would do is label her and give her excuses”
You see we Dyslexic’s see the world differently, we see things in 3 dimension, are very creative and most importantly tend to have a very high IQ’s. We have two of our three children that are Dyslexic and yes you can blame this on the mother this time as I am also Dyslexic.
Because of this learning difference Hillary has a photographic memory, she speed reads and can type faster than most people can hand write. I have watched her post on her blog—she never edits.
Most Dyslexic’s have trouble with spelling this is where Hill is different—she has overcome this issue. It takes her no time to do research and post on her blog, it allows her to “make a difference” and gives her an outlet during her past 3.5 years of treatment. She spends her time on her Blog when Xander is sleeping, using his DS, or in school. When Xander wants to spend time with Mom all stops.
Thank you Eva for making this suggestion on my posting as it allowed me to show all of you the special qualities Hillary has and how she uses them posting on her blog. Needless to say I am watching Xander very closely as I see the early signs of Dyslexia with him—his deductive reasoning is much more advanced than should be at his age, he can be playing with his DS and follow a conversation without missing a beat. This is not disassociation> He writes his name in mirror image as her mother used to do and I know I’m his Grandmother but I believe he also has a very high IQ.

6 comments:

Heather said...

ugh. the whole "spending too much time on the computer" lecture is so old.

not only is it quite easy to surf the web, write a blog entry, etc. while spending time with the children or even cooking dinner...

but has it not been pointed out to the people lecturing, that if they are noticing someone's blog posts, that they too must be online wasting their time as well?

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of mean-spirited people! Unless they have walked in your shoes, they have nothing to discuss! I always tell my students that they have enough on their plates to manage; they don't have time to be stirring someone else's plate. Those people need to get off your back. Geez!

Stay strong, girl! Keep on keeping on!

Carol

linda keenan said...

that anyone would make this ludicrous accusation is appalling. hillary is doing a service to herself, her family, yes, her child, and all of us by sharing her story. this just drives me to distraction.
frankly i am amazed that hillary has continued to blog after a few of the vile comments i have seen. i hope you are reading: you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Brynn said...

i completely agree with linda! all of you caddy people need to find something better to do with your time. you have no idea what this family is going through...nobody does! didn't your parents ever teach you that if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say it at all?? hil, jon and x have enough stress in their life without people talkin smack! hillary is a great mother and would do anything for Xander! LOVE YOU HIL!!!

Dennis Pyritz, RN said...

Special invitation to leukemia bloggers. This month’s Book Club selection at www.beingcancer.net is by leukemia and transplant survivor, Evan Handler. Handler is a noted Broadway and television actor best known as Charlotte’s boyfriend/husband in Sex and the City. He has also appeared in Lost, The West Wing, and Studio 60. This funny and poignant book covers his diagnosis with AML, his remission, relapse, and treatment with bone marrow transplant at John Hopkins and Memorial Sloan-Kettering. You can order a new or used copy of the book from my site. Discussion began today and will continue for the next three Mondays in September.
Take care, Dennis

Anonymous said...

I echo some of the other comments, but would add that anyone who thinks Hillary doesn't spent every moment she can with her son, hasn't spent any time with Hillary. All you have to do, is see them together & it is clear that child is the center of her life.

So I'd suggest instead of tearing down, the nay sayers spend a bit more time trying to make a positive difference. In spite of struggling against a formidable foe ... Hillary continues to try to make a difference. She cares deeply about her family & especially her son. And she feels strongly enough to put herself out there. I suggest that is a model for us all.

To Nancy, I say nice post ... & to Hillary, I say You Go Girl!! I'm proud of you.

F