I recently joined an internal contest requesting for stories about what makes one proud to work where I work. My prime motivation really was the prize: a kindle. It’s one of those thing I put in the “nice to have but can do without” category, but I figured since it was about WRITING a story, plus there were supposed to be 2 winners selected so I thought it was worth a shot.
Alas, I just got my first rejection letter. Guess I wasn’t meant to “kindle” after all. Okay, trying to get over initial disappointment.
So I jump into my corner here where I reign as winner and queen. =)
Today is my “annual mammogram” check up. After so many years of coming to this place, they tell me now that my primary insurance carrier is now “out-of-network”. Thank God the hubby’s insurance is another company, although technically owned by mine. The business of living is expensive just like the business of dying is.
I’ve been called to change into the gown and I see a woman in tears. Six years ago, I was that woman, although it wasn’t because of a mammogram but rather an ultrasound where I found out the fetus inside me which was supposed to be 11 weeks already had stopoped growing at 9 weeks. I know the feeling.
Mammogram done, back to work.
I’ve been asked to go back once (last year) and the wait between the call and the “all clear” after the second was torture. It’s like getting the proverbial “seeing your life go before your eyes” but in slow motion. So if I don’t get a call in the next three hours, I’ll be good.
I remember evangelizing about the importance of getting a mammogram to my high school classmates who have been traipsing around Asia and the country but have not been too keen on scheduling an excursion to an imaging center. This despite the fact that at least 2 dear friends have had to go through the horrors of breast cancer just recently. While survival rates have dramatically increased in recent years due to the advances in medicine, early detection is still the key. (Note to self: bug these ladies!)
So between my “kindle” miss and my mammogram being taken cared of this year, I’ve had a full day even if I’m just hitting the mid-portion of my usual day. Just another day in the city…
Pinay New Yorker 