Now that we are back, I suppose I should explain where we went!
In August of 2019, FTD was diagnosed with Stage IV Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC). Needless to say, our world was turned upside down. He immediately underwent a 12.5-hour surgery (Yes, TWELVE HOURS!) to remove the tumor. Once the tumor was removed, the biopsy moved him up to Stage IVb cancer with perineural invasion.
Long story short, we had to grow up and get our sh!t together and face some horrific scenarios while trying to protect and be present for Ollie.
And then, COVID-19 hit. In some ways, we were already living an isolated, sterile life. And we were damn sure already living in a scary world where we didn’t take a minute or loved one for granted.
(Of course, FTD had to make a Darth Vader Mask to wear through COVID. It was actually super cool and effective with N95 inserts. He even kind of sounded like a muffled Darth Vader.)
Due to the extreme financial toll cancer took on us, I had to get a real job with benefits while still working my full-time contract job. (Yes, I was truly working two full-time jobs.) One as a Senior Content Strategist at a SaaS company and another as a Senior Health Editor at a media house.
I was so far beyond maxed out, but in some ways, it helped take my mind off of obsessing over cancer, COVID, and whether FTD would survive it all. Bottom line: I just couldn’t keep up with the blog anymore. I so wanted to, but I was literally working day and night and didn’t have any extra time.
Over the past five years, I’ve been fully immersed in health journalism, working full-time as a Senior Health Editor. I am proud to say that I’ve become deeply committed to reporting breaking health news, wellness trends, and sharing the most promising health and wellness products on the market today—and yes, I’ll definitely be sharing all of it with you!
I am so thankful to say that as of today, FTD is CANCER-FREE!!! He is amazing and never gave up, no matter how sick he was. In fact, every day he would walk into the cancer center and make people smile and laugh. Everyone loved him. He was so positive through it all. Which I was not; I was a hot ass mess at best.
My hope in reigniting the blog is to give all of us a place to laugh at parenting, teenagers, and life in general as we embark on surviving these insane teenage years.
I'm so happy to be back writing here again. It is strangely freeing and empowering. I've been writing for someone else for so long while adhering to style guides and the constantly changing world of journalism. Here, I can be me and say whatever the hell I want!! WHOOO HOOOO!!
I also want to share that I am beyond thankful for the outpouring of support and comments I received when I posted about reigniting the blog on the First Time Mom and Dad Facebook Page! Not only was it such a warm welcome back moment for me, it was reaffirming that it’s time to get back to blogging! (And a little Vlogging too on our First Time Mom and Dad YouTube Channel!)
I will try to keep the posts going forward short, funny, and informative since I know how limited our time is as parents. Also, if you would like me to talk about anything or have questions about our cancer journey or anything else, please reach out via our social media channels or our FTMAD email: FirstTimeMomandDad @ Gmail .com
I’ll see you Friday with my first “Friday Funny” post in more years than I care to admit!!!
