“In November of 2015, I noticed a couple lumps forming around the outside area of my eyelid. I thought it was allergies, because we were doing a lot of cleaning at work. I thought they would go away, but they didn’t. They started growing. I kept getting referred onward by different doctors, and ended up in the Cities. They did a biopsy, and found that it was MALT lymphoma, which is a slow growing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. They thought that since it was in the eye area, we could maybe contain it with radiation. It seemed to do the trick, but shortly after, I noticed my vision was very bad in my right eye. I had a detached retina. After surgery to correct that, I noticed nodules in another area, which included more biopsies, scans and lab work. The results showed that my lymphoma is at a stage 3, possibly 4. It is not curable, but it is treatable. 2 weeks ago, I finished my 4th infusion treatment. If in 2 months, they find it has helped, they will start a maintenance plan, to help contain it, and keep it under control. It has been progressively going from bump in the road to bump in the road, but I always try to focus on taking steps to continually improve and grow. I’ve been doing water aerobics almost everyday for the last 2 months and I love it. It builds me up. I’m starting to feel more toned. I’ve lost about 20 pounds. It’s making me feel so much better, and I’m proud of myself for doing it. I’ve been through many ups and downs, and I’m sure there will be more, but it always just seems like something clicks at the right time. Even though this is not fun, things are falling into place that weren’t before. I’m making the most of each moment and just trying to keep up the pep talk. I’m grateful for my faith, the help of family, friends, coworkers, and community. I have been married and divorced, have a grown son, lovely grandson, and have recently started dating someone who for so long now has played an important part in my life. I know everyone dies, we all have our time, but I want to learn more, I want to experience more, I want to see more, and I want to do more. I try not to stress and worry about it, but it is there.”