10 REASONS TO SMILE :))

In Malibu's West Point Beach for 4th July

So I know, I know, I know…this blogging thing (kinna like me) sometime not the best at keeping y’all in the loop

But hey is with good excuse: I’ve been busy living LIFE & having fun, when I’m not in and out of hospital appointments or dealing with paperwork bureaucracy. 

Here are the highlights…

     1)      Got approved for ORSA –outpatinent treatments for a year at LAC-USC, with option to renew if needed…Medical is in the process.

     2)      The 3 ½ hrs spent the day of the application flew by chatting away w/ Luz, a fellow patient w/ a very hard to operate neck tumor who has been coming in for over 7 years now. And although we did talked about our condition we really spent most of the time comparing notes on old and current boyfriends  (go figure) and she kicking me in the butt on what the heck am I waiting for to have kids. We are close in age and she already  have 5!!!! (well she started at 15)...Luz said no matter what her children are her greater joy, and repeatedly encouraged to get on with it…BTW by the end of our conversation, a fellow ear dropper, thanks us for entertaining him throughout his wait, and that he’ll gladly volunteer to help me out if I wanna to. Men!! not even at a hospital do they spare opportunity, had to be Latin. 

3)      Appeasing my fear that county hospital doctors will be giving me the run-around, the LAC-USC team (in spite their initial disbelief) confirmed the exact weird diagnosis – ACC in the middle ear. I was more than a bit concerned because sadly I’ve been hearing some horror stories from other patients regarding treatment. Luz was accidentally injected with insulin instead morphine and ended up in the ER. But no, in my case so far they have been pretty straightforward.

4)      I’m set up for surgery mid next month that is the earliest that chief resident, the attending ENT oncologist and attending radiologist will be able to get together.  With the possibility they might end up scheduling me sooner. I use to think the entertainment industry was fickle, well so is healthcare….: “we are having tumor board next week”, “no we are not” “ yes we are…”

“We’ll need to cut thru your face, we won’t cut your face, need radiation, don’t think you’ll need radiation….but maybe you do” 

5)      I’ll share details of surgery once I'm 100%  they are settle on it. To this day, I have only talked to the ENT chief resident, young, kind Dr. Mazhar, who patiently answered my no small list of questions and concerns. I was guarantee by him and my former doctor at Kaiser that although I haven't met them the attending doctors supervising the case are world class physicians.  
 

6)      I think I found a mild cure to my cooking dilemma: juicing. I might have no chef genes, but as some of you know first hand, I’m a pretty  good bartender. So that how I circumvented my mind around it, instead of experimenting new recipes for cosmos, martinis or margaritas, I’m just trying on what mixes well with greens. The first batch I’ll admit came out a bit weird but drinkable (see pic). It was over 10 different things including onions, spinach garlic & honey. But the second one, my new favorite cocktail, is celery, orange and carrots. No need to add anything else, and it taste great!!!

7)      In the middle of all this, somehow I’ve kept auditioning and actually I’ll be shooting a very fashion oriented project this weekend. J Cool!

8)       I found thru a patient advocacy group ACCOI and ACCRF, two foundations dedicated to patient support and research of Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. What makes this type of cancer dangerous is how little is known about it due to lack of specimens to study it. So I decided after my next surgery to donate my specimen (the remains of my tumor) to a center in John Hopkins for research, in the hope it might help a little to have more info on its erratic & unpredictable behavior. There is at least one study that shows that gene mutation might be one of the causes – so crossing fingers that my little sample can help with that. 

9)      I’ve been encouraged to at least seek 2^nd opinions, although continuing navigating medical protocol is taxing. Some days I end up frustrated as well as physically and mentally spent. But little by little things ARE looking up, and at least one step closer to kissing this new buddy of mine goodbye. And trust me, in the process I’m finding ways to have good time…I actually really enjoy talking to fellow patients & medical staff, I find some of their stories simply fascinating. Yesterday I met the most adorable old man, Richard…(I’ll leave his story for the next time). Besides I’m always moved by how encouraging they are towards me.

10)  Oh and…my new favorite reason to smile…since at least for now surgery is not till mid August, that means I’ll have most of the summer to still be able to wear bikinis, and get in the water like I did last weekend riding waves on a boogie pretty close to the dolphins. Ha!!

Till them for those bumpy days, I want to share a virtual gift …And what inspired this particular blog post. 

http://youtu.be/x5QNFow99SY

Wishing you many reasons to smile (muchas muchas sonrisas) Xoxoxo- Liana

PS… I tend think none reads these, but then by weird channels I find out that is not the case. It was thru the blog that I found about the foundations, and also about a cool new dance class to join. So Gracias Mil!! Do let me know if you have any thoughts..Dialogues are so much more interesting than monologues.