On April 27, 2021 I had major surgery known as the Whipple procedure. April 27, 2022 was my first Whippleversary!
When I was in the hospital last year, I wasn’t even thinking about making it to my first anniversary. At that point, I wasn’t even sure where I would fall in the shitty survival statistics, so looking down the road a year didn’t seem possible. Just had to focus on each day and deal with whatever came along with it.
Now, here I am as a one-year survivor!
Celebrating my first Whippleversary with friends
Part of my Whippleversary celebration was participating in PanCAN’s PurpleStride in Cincinnati. It was crazy thinking that one year ago I was in the hospital doing well to get from the bed to the bathroom with a walker and then here I was walking 2.9 miles. And I was so grateful to have my awesome team with me. Thank you, Team Not Null!
The day was more emotional than I expected, especially standing up at the front with the other survivors. I managed to not cry until I was almost back with my team.
There weren’t a whole lot of survivors there, which emphasizes the need to do something about this disease, be it early detection or more effective treatments.
Speaking of survivors, Tim Rice was one of us and he said something in his speech that I had heard a couple of other times over the past year. He said that we become survivors the moment we are diagnosed. As long as we are still alive, we are survivors. Even if the cancer is still there, we are still surviving it. I think this mindset incredibly empowering.
My plan is to participate in PurpleStride again next year and help raise awareness and funds to fight pancreatic cancer, as well as honor those who are not able to make the walk. đź’ś