AnneLyze

Why do people feel the need to smother their food with stuff? Food is good on its own. For example, condiments, and by that, I mean ketchup, mustard, relish, mayonnaise, hot sauce, vinegar, sour cream and salad dressings. I don’t eat them. They completely, stomach clenching, nausea inducing, lip curling, disgust me. I have no good reason for it. But if I had to pick whether to eat condiments or have my ass kicked, I would pick the beating. I lost a relationship to my crazy freakish food behavior several years ago. I met Steve through a friend and it took approximately 3 hours for it to become a purely sexual meeting of the bodies. Steve and I were both divorced, had shared custody of our kids and had the same weekends free. Yes, we both liked sports, reading, and playing Scrabble, but without the weekend deal, it would have ended. Occasionally we went out to a hockey game, the movies or dinner but our main activity was sex. He was my friend with benefits. Our kids were never includ...

I have never eaten a tomato in my life and I never will. 100%, final, it will never happen. Life defining moments can come at any time and it’s amazing how a few hours of time can have a lifelong effect on who you are, what you do and the decisions you make. One such moment happened to me while on vacation in Maine with my family as a child. It has stayed with me forever. I need only to let the memory come forth for the smell of a ripened red tomato to permeate the air and the seed of discomfort to be with me. My sister and I sat side by side on the hardened bench, bare feet dangling, united in our fear and our determination. My parents had gone out and my Auntie Lynn was babysitting. I was 3 and Martha was 7 and we were sitting at the table, nestled in the corner of the kitchen, in the cottage by the ocean. Placed in front of each of us was a slice of tomato; red, juicy, freshly pungent and picked from the garden earlier in the day. I, with my blonde hair, arms crossed against my b...

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. As some of you know, my paying job is an oncology/infusion nurse at Women’s Cancer Care. This is our month to raise awareness, celebrate the victories honor the survivors, and remember those who have died. It’s a disease that whispers and is usually diagnosed in later stages when the whisper becomes a shout for help.  Pink wait your turn, it's teal time! The symptoms in the beginning can be vague and easily explained away by other things. It’s important to know your body, seek medical attention as needed, verbalize your symptoms effectively and be proactive with your health care. Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer include indigestion, nausea, back or abdominal pain, bloating, feeling full quickly during meals, increased abdominal girth, menstrual changes, painful intercourse and difficulty with either your bowels or bladder. A regular PAP smear, though very important, will not detect Ovarian Cancer unless it is in an advanced stage. A CA 125 ...

The ten year anniversary is Sunday. I know exactly where I was and I bet you do too. It was the coming of age for many, a time for my generation to learn that the USA was not exempt from terrorism and war on our home soil. My father learned it during WW II and I learned it on 9/11/01. I was working for New York Oncology Hematology in the chemotherapy suite as an infusion nurse on 9/11. The staff was getting ready for another busy day when the first couple of patients came in and someone turned on the Today Show on NBC. It was 8:45am and a few minutes later we watched in horror as it all unfolded. Most of the staff soon joined us and for a long time, the usually busy, crowded, noisy room was deathly silent. The image of people jumping out of the windows is still with me. We started treatments eventually, but every person entering the room immediately turned to the TV for updates. By lunch time, we had turned off the TV and by mid afternoon, we unplugged it. The nurses working the room...

Hurricane Irene was coming and I was on call for my per diem, home infusion nursing job from Friday at 5pm to Monday morning at 8:30am. The company I work for did everything they could to prepare the patients for the impending storm. My goals were simple, earn some money, avoid driving in the storm, and relax a little. Things were going well until Sunday around 4pm when my beeper went crazy and it didn’t stop until Monday morning. The respiratory therapist had lost power and wasn’t getting her calls so they rolled over to me. All the respiratory patients who lost power were anxious they didn’t have enough portable tanks to make it through the night. It continued all Sunday evening. When the 10:45pm call came in, I hoped it was the last one and went to bed after dealing with the problem. My beeper went off at 1:45am. A dog had jumped on a patient disconnecting the needle going into a port in her chest. I had to go and fix it. I wanted to cry when I realized they lived over an ho...