Thursday, November 10, 2011
Four years later, my hardship is still a blessing; but obstacles remain
As my four-year anniversary is approaching to the day "My Life Part II" actually started, I can't help but feel that my life really never went back to where it was. Not even close. I still consider what I went through — an operation to remove a benign brain tumor — a blessing because it did make me understand that life really cannot be planned out too much. We must enjoy each day simply, because we really never know how long each of us will be here. The problem is, however, that there are still some mountains that have been placed in my path over the last few years. Especially this past year. And hey, I have said many times I am not looking for pity of any kind. Zero. Zip. Zilch. I know I am a strong healthy woman. People have been …
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Our beautiful beaches are turning into garbage bins
So last night - and what a beautiful summer night it was - a friend and I decided to take my little one up to the beach to look for some sea glass. It was about 7:30 p.m., so the temperature was just right. The humidity gone, and the moon was out. It was just about as perfect a night as one could hope for. Living in Point Pleasant for almost my whole life, you'd think that I would tire of the sight we all see as we pass the dunes and head towards the water. That massive, beautiful ocean, and the smooth sand with the gulls flying over us, is just breathtaking every time. I really know how lucky we are to live so close to such natural beauty. Which is probably why it bothers me so to see such massive amounts of trash just about everywhere. …
Friday, June 24, 2011
Learn to appreciate the big and small, and the exciting and the mundane
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things. And as time goes on, and things in all of our lives change, many of us go through experiences that may give us a different view of life itself. Sometimes it's small things; our beautiful son or daughter learns to ride a two-wheeler for the first time or can finally do the doggy paddle and doesn't need the swimmies anymore. For others, it's a new job that we've been hoping for or went to school for all those years. It's signs that we know life will be different now, albeit just a little for now, but we are headed in a new direction. Some of us have gone through things that were pretty major. And don't get me wrong, my 3 daughters are my life…
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Pandora is a survivor
Anybody want a senile, 19-year-old cat? It's OK - we'll keep her. Pandora is our pain-in-the-butt Siamese. OK, we are not really sure if she really is senile, but she is 19 and has an all-around wacky behavior that has gone on for many years. She really was never a relaxed little cat. We should have known that from day one since she never liked to be held. She would always be "wrapped too tight." The first eight 0r so years of her life were fairly normal, or as normal as Pandy could be. But what changed things was when we rescued two more Siameses that were going to be tossed into the woods by some cold-hearted, distant family members. I will try not to comment too much because I am an animal lover, but these cats had been brutally …
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Coming home
When I opened my eyes, I saw the nurse smiling and remembered what just happened. I had brain surgery. I felt very groggy, but I knew right away where I was. I remember feeling like the surgery must have happened long before, because my concept of time was so warped right then. It all seemed like I was looking at things in the recovery room from someplace outside my body. The medication I was on certainly had something to do with that, but somewhere inside me I knew that I had leaped a huge hurdle. Not too many hours into my recovery, some physical therapists came in to help sit me up. Since I am a fighter and hate to be thought of as helpless, I did my best to ignore the dizziness and sit up in my bed. These therapists looked so young. I …
Monday, January 31, 2011
The big day
It was so freezing cold, walking those two blocks to Sloan. But I don't really remember feeling it. I was so drained emotionally and and physically. I was just numb, and wanted to just get there and get this nightmare over and done with. So in we walked: me, my husband and Naomi. The check-in at the desk, at 4:30 a.m., seemed so insanely ordinary, like I was there to get my nails done or something. "Your name?" she asked me. "Lauren Roselle." "And you are here for?" "Oh, just a little brain surgery. Thanks." Just get me upstairs and be done with it - that's what I was thinking. But everything took time. Nothing went quickly. Then the paperwork started again. Eighteen forms of check-this, initial-that. Are you allergic to any medication? …
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Another visit to the doctor; another angel
The days and weeks leading up to my brain surgery were really a blur. I was numb most of the time. How is one supposed to feel, knowing in a few short weeks they could be doing something that could result in so many bad things? I really didn't venture too far to the bad side. I just couldn't. I can't remember much about what happened on Christmas that year, in 2007. I'm an artist, so I do remember painting a bunch of signs for my family members who gather at my wonderful cousin's house every Christmas Eve. We all grew up together, and to this day, we remain very close. I needed to let them all know just how much my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister and brother all meant to me. Each of them received a sign I painted that simply said, "Family…
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The man who saved my life
So I found him. Having to make a decision as important as choosing a brain surgeon is pretty intense. That's why some may say that I must have been cuckoo for making my choice based on a dream I had. But for me, I had such intense faith that God sent me the message that I had found the doctor. Plus, after reading all about the amazing and wonderful things he had accomplished in neurosurgery, and the many lives he'd already saved, I felt reassured even more. He was considered one of the top neurosurgeons in the United States. Still, of course, there were pitfalls, as well as blessings. The insurance we originally had did not allow me to use the surgeon I chose. So my husband's wonderful employer upgraded our insurance specifically so that…
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Believe in miracles. They really do happen.
The ride home from Philadelphia that day, and after being turned away by the doctor, was devastating. I just cried and cried. My mom and I eventually stopped at a rest stop on I-195 for a not-so-healthy Roy Rogers sandwich. We were both starving after our very long, emotionally and physically draining day. We talked a lot there. And for some reason, I just remember feeling peaceful after all that crying. Something inside me told me that I would find just the right surgeon to take care of me and I would eventually be OK. That day did seem far away. But some part of me believed it would happened. And that night, something happened that gave me not only reason to believe. It gave me hope. Whenever I think back, to that night, it always makes…
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Finding, and then losing a doctor
I got home from the hospital in November 2007. I tried to get back into my life, the one I had before the phone call, the seizures and the brain-tumor diagnosis. But that was nearly impossible. Just for starters, the timing of this whole nightmare took away from my oldest daughter's eighth-grade trip to Washington D.C. In Point Boro, the trip is a significant milestone in a child's life, and for many, it's the first real experience of being away from home for more than a night. The class left Halloween morning. Yes, she went, but knowing her mom was in the hospital, and what the diagnosis was, must have made that experience very difficult. And, of course, there was Halloween, the day after I had my first seizure. My parents took over …
Lauren Jager
12:14 pm on Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thank you Fortune. It is people like you that truly understand what life is about that kindly reassure me that the decisions I've made are the correct ones. Plus the good feelings I have and the smiles on my girls' faces also let me know I am in the right path. Thank you again and have a beautiful holiday season!! Lauren more ›