This time last year, I was awaiting a surgery during which I was sure I was going to die. I tried everything I knew to attempt to separate my fear from my intuition, but they still slither inside me, intertwined. I was waiting to have my kidney removed, to have my bladder resected. I was …
Definition: anxiety over upcoming text results. A term widely used in cancer circles. I’m awaiting my first blood test results since my surgery hospital stay. For the most part, I’m feeling great consistently. Hardly any pain though low energy is still a struggle. But that could change after this appointment. What if the cancer is …
I've been writing these posts in my head for about three weeks now. What happened in surgery, how I'm recovering physically and emotionally, and my treatment plan moving forward has been a lot for me to digest and then put into coherent words. This may not be coherent, but this is my stream of consciousness …
Continue reading Mary Maegan Brundage, January 14, 19 something: A Cancer Story
By some miracle, we have reached $10,000 on my GoFundMe campaign. I cannot even believe it. People I haven't seen in person for maybe a decade are donating. People who changed my diapers are donating. I have the deepest gratitude for each donor and for each well wish and prayer. It's a little over a …
Over the past several months, I have written a lot about my very personal experience with cancer hoping in part to help bring awareness and hoping on a personal level to distract me. One thing that I have not shared a lot about is my work situation, FMLA, short term disability, etc. This one is …
Continue reading A Humble Open Letter to My Community and My GoFundMe Campaign
With my first surgery in 2015, I invited anyone and everyone to visit me the day of my surgery to the day I was discharged. They could come by any time. And it wore me out so hard. I didn’t realize I could set these kinds of boundaries with well wishes with presents in tow. …
Continue reading My New Found Boundary Around Hospital Visits
Content warning: this post discusses my experience with infertility which I realize is a trigger for many. If that's your experience, you may want to skip this post. My friends' kiddo, James My total hysterectomy in April 2019 rendered me unable to have children. After much, much reflection on this, I am very surprised at …
Continue reading My Surprising Revelation About my Infertility
I cannot tell you the exact timeframe my symptoms started in 2015. Mostly because I largely explained them away or ignored them. I was freshly 25, so I thought there's no way something was seriously wrong with me. It wasn't until one of my symptoms took over my life that I realized I needed immediate …
Mae Goes West 