Today, I was reminded that when you pretend a problem isn't a problem, it grows roots and ruins your plumbing. What I mean is that we're often so busy dealing with the most obvious, in-our-face issues that we neglect the smaller things by not acknowledging them as something of concern…

As I find myself once again waiting for a doctor to sign a document so my prosthetist can begin to make me a test socket that may or may not fit me correctly, I cannot help but think of how often I've had to be patient over the last ten years. I am easily irritated by red street lights, and I cannot stand how long a frozen lasagna takes to cook in the oven, but here is a list of things I waited ages for that would drive most people insane…

In true Gemini fashion, I started celebrating my birthday over a month ago with a girl's trip to Scottsdale, which mainly consisted of belly laughs, salty margaritas, and too many outfit changes to count. Back in early May, under the Arizona sun, I felt grateful to be surrounded by my closest friends and for the ability to walk down Whiskey Row without my prosthetic leg failing me- although it did beep low battery on the dance floor of a rowdy club one night. Here I was, turning forty, an age that most women are taught to dread. But I'm still alive and "kicking," so who am I to complain about reaching middle age? …

One early morning in June, my Mom, who looked like she'd just swallowed a watermelon (I've seen the photos), was rushing my father to the car for a reckless drive over the Miami Beach bridge to reach Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove. She didn't know if I'd be a boy or a girl, but she knew she'd love me despite being beyond surprised to learn I existed…

I interrupt your regular scheduled disability and cancer survivorship programming to bring you this timely explanation of a recently discovered form of therapy, consisting of listening to a Taylor Swift Album from start to finish and repeating as needed…

If I sit back and think about everything I've learned since I lost my leg and became disabled, I bet it would be enough material to fill the pages of Moby Dick. Does that mean I know everything there is to know? Not even close…

It's easy to tell yourself life will be great once this or that happens. Once my scans are clean, everything will fall into place for me once I get that raise. We're always chasing the next big thing and struggling with the "in-betweens." It's harder to smell the roses that grow in your garden when they're buried under mounds of emotional baggage and disappointment. We want everything to be pretty before we give thanks for it…

Today marks ten years since my first cancer surgery. I was a dangerous combination of terrified and hungry when my surgeon, being something like five hours late to the hospital, strolled in and drew an X with a sharpie on my right leg. I hadn't eaten since the night before, and it was now 5pm. I begged the nurse to give me my sedative early so I could hold back the empty nausea from lack of coffee and food, only made worse by my fear that when he got in to remove my tumor, he wouldn't be able to save my leg…

I just discovered that 50-70% of individuals don't have an internal monologue, and my internal monologue is screaming. What do these people do with all that free space in their minds all day? Do they word vomit every thought since they can't contain it within their heads? I can't even fathom what it must be like not to hear a sassy little brain parrot yapping away up there…

As a lifelong, deeply empathetic person, growing up, I always wondered why some people don't show emotion - why they don't let themselves properly grieve or feel sadness and frustration the way most others do. Now, I know they likely experienced some sort of trauma, deep enough that they put walls up they may not know how to take down…

How many times have you ever spiraled down the Google monster search tunnel when you felt a weird ache? Now, be honest. You've probably done it too many times to count, even though you know better. Why are we so morbidly curious about our own health that we take to the internet to read about the worst-case scenario and self-diagnose ourselves before lab tests and medical professionals can make a proper evaluation?...