Dear Reader:

Ever since I read The Monkey’s Paw ( published in 1902) in my high school senior English class… I still shudder over the three ” mystical” wishes that one family experiences…changing their lives forever.

We also got to watch one of the earliest and scariest ( black and white) film interpretations of the story on the 16 mm projector late one afternoon. We were all screaming as the final bell ringing coincided with Herbert White’s mangled body returning home …due to his mother’s unhinged desperate wish to bring him back from the grave.

But what really stuck with me was our teacher’s words as we left the classroom. ” Remember class… ” Be Careful WhatYou Wish For… IT MIGHT COME TRUE!”

Take a minute and think back in your own personal memory portfolio of circumstances where you made a wish for something you wanted so badly… only to discover it was not the right ” fit” for you… it brought trouble instead of the treasure you sought.

But sometimes… it can bring a big sigh of relief too when you realize you were spared pain by not getting your wish.

Monday I was so frustrated… I was so excited about watching the season opener with my beloved Tigers against Duke BUT… I have Spectrum cable and they just stopped carrying ESPN over a contract conflict… in other words… money… leaving all us viewers paying the same high amount for less channels!

Monday was a roller coaster ride as rumors spread giving false information out … like ABC Network was going to pick the game up… only to discover it was a wishful but inaccurate rumor.

Tommy and Walsh said they would keep me updated… but very long pauses of time went by with no reports and then when they did filter in … I wish they hadn’t.

By the third quarter with three (three yard) fumbles and bumbles without scoring I found myself being grateful I was spared the visual calamity. The texts were disappointing enough.

Clemson definitely had gotten a bad case of those ” mischievous football gremlins” … the scenario every coach fears … they don’t happen too often but when they do… it is painful to watch… and at least I was spared visual disappointments.

Still… Congratulations to Duke for a well-played game!

Yesterday was my follow-up visit for the results of the PET Scan… Mandy went with me to both… and though I tried to talk her out of going yesterday she wasn’t taking ” No.” And she was able to write down names of a different potential drug I might be switched to… and ask questions about cause and effect.

A huge shout/out to God… the cancer had not metastasized into any organ … however I am taking new blood tests to see if I have blood mutations that might allow me to give up Verzenio and harmone drugs permanently and switch over to the latest FDA approved drug for metastasized cancers-the ” new kid on the block.”

It will take two weeks to see if I am eligible… in the meantime I am off everything else to focus on nutrition and building my muscle mass back up… have lost a lot of weight the last few months.

So until tomorrow… a God Wink… every time ( to date) in my long fight with breast cancer… when it appears I have reached an impenetrable precipice… a new drug has mystically appeared and just hit the market. Trust in God and be filled with gratitude that I am surrounded by so much support and love. I am an extraordinary lucky woman!!!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh