Ilene,

You bring up a really good point. The hardest thing is to finally get it through your head is that things will never be the same. It took me a year, I was even scheduled for plastic surgery so I could look the same on the outside again. Just before the scheduled day, I decided that I didn't want to be under the knife again, and that no matter what I did, life would never be the way it used to be. Almost two years later, I still get depressed over this fact once and awhile.

But you know what, we have all been through a lot, either as the patient or the caregiver and we deserve to give ourselves a big pat on the back. We also have to remember that we get curve balls in our lives that cause us to change. Each time we get a ball, we learn to catch it, deal with it and move on. We are a bunch of tough cookies.

To all, take care.

Anne.