Been out of touch for awhile

MAliceR
MAliceR Member Posts: 98
in Colorectal Cancer #1

Hi Everyone. 

I have been out of touch for a few weeks. We just got back from a month in Costa Rica. We were celebrating my 60th birthday. 4 years ago I wasn't sure I would ever see it so we decided to celebrate with an adventure. 

I learned a few things about myself while we were gone. See, Costa Rica is amazing. For a month we lived Pura Vida. Pure Life. Some days we had adventures and some days we hung out in hammocks, enjoyed the beautiful country, listened to the birds and monkeys in the trees and then ending the days with a dip in the pool as the sun set. We took a river boat into the rain forest. Crocodiles swimming next to us, we ziplined through the trees with a family of monkeys. We ventured off to Nicaragua and stood at the crater of an active volcano. We held hummingbirds in our hands while they fed and walked on suspension bridges so high, we walked through the clouds looking down on the tallest trees. We wnet to church in an outdoor sanctuary in the trees. I wish there was a way to share some pictures with you all. 

All this is to say, I discovered that cancer has not taken ME out of me. I rediscovered myself on this trip. For the time I was there, no one knew me as someone with cancer. I have been NED for nearly 15 months now (will be on October 4th), but we all know for years and years, it follows us. It can take over every breath we take if we let it. Well, for our time in Costa Rica, I discovered my PTSD triggers were absent. I slept through the night. Instead of thinking about cancer multiple times every day, I realized about half way through our trip I was only thinking about cancer every couple days. I laughed easier, I felt joy and I reconnected with who I was before cancer. I found myself again. 

So we have been home a few days. I am trying hard to keep my Pura Vida. But life is creeping back in. There are so many triggers here. A big part of me wants to head back to Costa Rica, it became my Neverland and for a month I got to be Peter Pan. But I am discovering I can't run and I can't hide. So it will probably be back to counseling. 

But boy howdy did I have an amazing 60th birthday....

MAlice

 

Comments

  • EvelynB
    EvelynB Member Posts: 72
    #2
    Malice

    Thanks so much for sharing this. It is precisely what I needed this morning. You said it so well because you truly do lose yourself when you go through this. We are planning a trip to Hawaii next year and, although I hope to have a similar experience, perhaps I can learn from this and not wait until then to rediscover myself.  So glad you had such a great time and Happy belated birthday!

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,428 Member
    #3
    So Happy For You

    Sounds like you just had an amazing experience and so glad the cancer issue sliiped away for you while you were there.  Try not to let the triggers creep back in too much, or find away to distance yourself from them.  Maybe a long weekend getaway or something like that.  I have also found that being away from home does relax me a bit.  Went to two family things for long weekends, slept better for sure.

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #4
    How wonderful!

    It is good to hear that you had such a superb month in Costa Rica. 

    Obviously, you can't go back and.... well, you could, but its probably not going to happen....live there, so you need to find something close by that fills you the way that Pura Vida did. 

    I go up to a little canyon not far from home, ever single day. Just for a few hours in the mornings, and it fills me up and makes me feel so alive. I can forget the Cancer (for the most part) when I am up there. I swear it is keeping me alive. 

    I think we can all find something that sweeps us away to our very own Pura Vida. I hear Phil say he likes to Kayak, and Jeff likes to go out on his hog. I pray that you can find something that works for you, and that you don't have to go and visit a councellor any more. 

    Thank you so very much for the wonderful trip report. 

    You can post pictures in a thread. If you need help, let me know. I for one, would love to see some of them. 

    Sue - Trubrit

  • MAliceR
    MAliceR Member Posts: 98
    #5
    Trubrit said:

    How wonderful!

    It is good to hear that you had such a superb month in Costa Rica. 

    Obviously, you can't go back and.... well, you could, but its probably not going to happen....live there, so you need to find something close by that fills you the way that Pura Vida did. 

    I go up to a little canyon not far from home, ever single day. Just for a few hours in the mornings, and it fills me up and makes me feel so alive. I can forget the Cancer (for the most part) when I am up there. I swear it is keeping me alive. 

    I think we can all find something that sweeps us away to our very own Pura Vida. I hear Phil say he likes to Kayak, and Jeff likes to go out on his hog. I pray that you can find something that works for you, and that you don't have to go and visit a councellor any more. 

    Thank you so very much for the wonderful trip report. 

    You can post pictures in a thread. If you need help, let me know. I for one, would love to see some of them. 

    Sue - Trubrit

    posting pictures

    Trubit. It would be great to know how to post pictures. Instructiona would be appreciated. 

    Thanks!

    MAlice

  • beaumontdave
    beaumontdave Member Posts: 1,289 Member
    #6
    Great story and insights, I

    Great story and insights, I read it and realized I need a real break myself. I've been tied to this house, my work, my appointments and responsibilities for too long without any relief for the last few years. The few trips the wife and I took were short and limited by her condition, and the care she needed. To go somewhere and just be me sounds like exactly what I need. Thanks for sharing.......Dave

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,428 Member
    #7
    MAliceR said:

    posting pictures

    Trubit. It would be great to know how to post pictures. Instructiona would be appreciated. 

    Thanks!

    MAlice

    Posting Pictures

    There may be another way to do uploads, but this is what I found. It may also look/act a bit different depending on your compiuter, operating system and browser. (I can try to post instructions more tailored to your set-up if this is not happening for you.)   It is actualy pretty quick to do, though it looks like many steps.  After doing one run through it will get easy(er).

     

    1.)  Click this icon (6 to the left of the smiley face.)

    Icon.jpg

    Shot.jpg

    2.)  Opens this window, then click on the grid icon on the top to the right next to the box for Image URL

     

    2.png

     

    3.)  When you click on that it opens this, hit the upload button (upper left) which opens up the window in the next step.

     

    3.jpg

    4.)  The upload dialog opens.  Click on choose file to go to file on your hard drive, then press upload.

     

    Choose.jpg

    5.)  Then select the item you want to insert.  For instance, if I want to insert NP.jpg (my NED dude), single click on the NP.jpg (or whatever you named it) and it will appear in the bottom. Then click and drag the bottom item over to the post.

    nedex.jpg

     

    image

  • Easyflip
    Easyflip Member Posts: 588 Member
    #8
    beaumontdave said:

    Great story and insights, I

    Great story and insights, I read it and realized I need a real break myself. I've been tied to this house, my work, my appointments and responsibilities for too long without any relief for the last few years. The few trips the wife and I took were short and limited by her condition, and the care she needed. To go somewhere and just be me sounds like exactly what I need. Thanks for sharing.......Dave

    I

    loved Costa Rica. I went for my 50th birthday and 25th anniversary. They disbanded their army and sunk the money into universal health care and education ( they're more literate than the U.S. ) Their energy is 85% geothermal. Recently they decided to close their zoos and let all the animals go. Also in a global survey they came out on top as the happiest country. I think they have their act together, we could learn from them.

    Easyflip/Richard

  • MAliceR
    MAliceR Member Posts: 98
    #9
    NewHere said:

    Posting Pictures

    There may be another way to do uploads, but this is what I found. It may also look/act a bit different depending on your compiuter, operating system and browser. (I can try to post instructions more tailored to your set-up if this is not happening for you.)   It is actualy pretty quick to do, though it looks like many steps.  After doing one run through it will get easy(er).

     

    1.)  Click this icon (6 to the left of the smiley face.)

    Icon.jpg

    Shot.jpg

    2.)  Opens this window, then click on the grid icon on the top to the right next to the box for Image URL

     

    2.png

     

    3.)  When you click on that it opens this, hit the upload button (upper left) which opens up the window in the next step.

     

    3.jpg

    4.)  The upload dialog opens.  Click on choose file to go to file on your hard drive, then press upload.

     

    Choose.jpg

    5.)  Then select the item you want to insert.  For instance, if I want to insert NP.jpg (my NED dude), single click on the NP.jpg (or whatever you named it) and it will appear in the bottom. Then click and drag the bottom item over to the post.

    nedex.jpg

     

    image

    Thanks

    Thanks I will have to give this a try. I am still osrting through over 1500 pictures. Once I select a couple really good ones I will see if I can get this picture upload thing to work. 

    MAlice

  • MAliceR
    MAliceR Member Posts: 98
    #10
    A few pictures from Costa Rica

    image

    Feeding a hummingbird

    image

    Holding a butterfly

    image

    Hanging with the monkeys

     

  • lilpep1972
    lilpep1972 Member Posts: 80
    #11
    MAliceR said:

    A few pictures from Costa Rica

    image

    Feeding a hummingbird

    image

    Holding a butterfly

    image

    Hanging with the monkeys

     

    You just made me know where I'm going next

    Omg... The pics and the stories of adventure... Right up my alley, always wanted to see a rain forest an just be PURA VIDA 

    wher did you stay? Any tour/guide recommendations?? 

     

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,804 Member
    #12
    MAliceR said:

    A few pictures from Costa Rica

    image

    Feeding a hummingbird

    image

    Holding a butterfly

    image

    Hanging with the monkeys

     

    A darling Hummer

    You can keep the Monkeys, hate the things, but I LOVE the Hummer picture. I would love to have one of those on my hand; what a wonderful expereince. 

    So glad you were able to post some pictures, thank you. 

    Sue - Trubrit

  • NewHere
    NewHere Member Posts: 1,428 Member
    #13
    MAliceR said:

    A few pictures from Costa Rica

    image

    Feeding a hummingbird

    image

    Holding a butterfly

    image

    Hanging with the monkeys

     

    Nice!!

    Great shots.  Also like the new avatar :)   

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,460 Member
    #14
    So great to hear, love love

    So great to hear, love love love the new avatar!  And nice pics.  I think I need to plan a trip like this one.  Being home doesn't let you move on very much.  I'm going to be moving soon now that's I'm getting divorced, need a new house, start fresh.  I like your idea of having a Neverland.  I think we all need one of those.

  • MAliceR
    MAliceR Member Posts: 98
    #15
    lilpep1972 said:

    You just made me know where I'm going next

    Omg... The pics and the stories of adventure... Right up my alley, always wanted to see a rain forest an just be PURA VIDA 

    wher did you stay? Any tour/guide recommendations?? 

     

    lodging and tours

    We stayed in Playa Hermosa, which is in Guanacaste region. We stayed at a little place owned, believe it or not, by a high school friend of my younger brother. It is called Papagayo Village. 

    http://www.papagayo-village.com/

    There is an AMAZING tour company just up the street about 3 blocks. It is called Tico Tours. They worked with us to make sure we had as many adventures as we wanted and we got to feel like they were our friends by the time we were heading home. 

    http://www.ticotoursguanacaste.com/ 

    Most people go to Costa Rica in the winter because it is the dry season there. We loved going in late August and all of September. It was green and there wer no crowds. Mostly just the locals. IT meant we didn't have to wait in lines and the trails and beaches were not over crowded. It is considered the rainy season, but Playa Hermosa is sort of in a little bubble weatherwise. We only saw rain 4 times our whole trip and that was late afternoon or at night and lasted less than 2 hours. So we if we get to go again, we will go in August and September again when it is quiet and restful with a lot of opportunity for afventure when we want it.

    If anyone can get their health to a point they can travel I highly reccommend it. It is healing to put cancer aside for awhile. It lets you remember what it was like to live before...

    MAlice

  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #16
    MAliceR said:

    A few pictures from Costa Rica

    image

    Feeding a hummingbird

    image

    Holding a butterfly

    image

    Hanging with the monkeys

     

    Awesome pics!

    Sounds like it was a wonderful trip, and a great way to clear the left-over cancer crap from your system.

    Happy belated birthday!

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