Just survived nasty MRSA

Hi everyone,

It's Sunday night and I am typing this from my hospital bed. It has
been quite a frightening week for all of us, hasn't it?. A reminder
that life can be sudden and unpredictable. A reminder that nothing is
certain. A reminder that we are just visiting. I was having a
lovely French dinner with a friend, and two hours later, I am in the
emergency room shaking uncontrollably from a serious infection. (no,
it was not food poisoning, but something related to the stress of the
last few weeks in combo with the chemo)

Tomorrow my doctors are going to reassess my condition. So far things
look "encouraging".

Sitting here in this sterile room, connected to an IV, wearing a
tent-sized hospital gown, and typing this post, brings with it an
eerie deja vu which is both familiar and disorienting. In the last
three years we have all watched each other grow, get married, have
children, and reach places in our lives we dreamed of, or better yet,
couldn't have dreamt better. It brings me so much joy to see everyone
living with such passion and zeal for life. For today. For the now.
And i do hope that this episode, once it passes, wil be an acute
lesson for all of us of how precious this life is and how blessed we are.

I have to admit, I was really scared for a few days there. This time
it was you guys who pulled me through. I am hoping to get some good
news tomorrow and will keep all posted as soon as I hear.

On top of everything else, my Mom and I have a Photo Shoot tomorrow
that cannot be rescheduled (I'm happy the photographer can come to
us). We have been honored to stand up as the Poster mother and
daughter for a special Mother's Day marrow initiative. Also in this
week's "Philippine News" , a photo of just my head almost takes up 1/3
of the cover page. The caption reads " Purple streaked-haired
Christine: fighting for time". Out of all the adjectives in the
world, in this situation, the reporter describes me as
"purple-streaked". I had to laugh. Ain't life grand?

God bless, my friends. And let's celebrate the new day.

love,
Christine