It has been four months since my last blog entry! I've had gaps between entries before, but that's a pretty long one. I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what has been going on as well as look ahead to the future.
In order to be transparent in my sharing, I need to first flash back to July 2018.
April, my beautiful wife of 16 years (we have actually been together since 1995, if you're keeping score at home), was trying to schedule a procedure when her doctor's office stopped her in her tracks.
"It says here you are over 40?"
"Barely," she replied.
"Well, you've never had a mammogram."
And I don't want to start now, she thought. "I don't have the slightest symptom and I'm very healthy. Can't we just put it off for a few months and do this other stuff instead?"
"Nope. Insurance won't allow you. Sorry."
With that, April had her very first mammogram -- which discovered an abnormality. Surprise turned to concern and disbelief as a biopsy revealed Stage 3 breast cancer. And for April, myself, and our two daughters, the long fight began.
I am pleased to say that we are at a happy crossroads. My brave, persistent wife -- one of the grittiest people I've ever met -- has recently completed treatment of chemo and radiation, and although we have a few surgeries ahead, we feel the worst is behind us. It has been an agonizing, exhausting year, and I suppose this is a very long winded way of saying that as the school year wound down, I rationed my energy and I took a step away from things that could go into suspended animation -- like this blog.
However, if you're not willing to give up on me, I'm not ready to give up on Edtech Elixirs just yet! I know there will definitely be major reasons to blog in 2019-2020 on new edtech tools and the occasional pedagogical discussion. To take one example, I'm sure I'll talk a time or two about Empower Learning, a new learning management system we piloted last school year and as of July 1 has replaced Schoology in our district. However, Empower is much more than just another LMS. Its ability to reference standards and track mastery learning for students over time gives us a powerful tool to help Shelby County Public Schools reach our competency-based education goal in 2022.
While personal interests of mine have previously crept into this blog, I imagine I will surprise most readers with sharing our family's struggle in such a public way. For those concerned I will make Edtech Elixirs into an online diary, I promise that I will return fully to the world of edtech in the entries to come. That said, I do want to end this entry with a sharing of gratitude as well as a plea. Firstly, there have been dozens of family and friends and co-workers that have given our family such unbelievable support over this past year. We simply would not have survived without you -- thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Secondly, as my wife's story illustrates, putting off a mammogram, or any regular cancer screening, can have tragic consequences. In a real way, we got lucky. Please make sure you and your loved ones don't rely on luck to keep healthy!
If you are looking for cancer organizations to support:
Norton's Healthcare (serving Louisville and Southern Indiana) has been an incredible healthcare partner and resource in our fight against cancer. Here's ways you can give time or money.
April is passionate about P.ink, an organization where tattoo artists donate their time and material to breast cancer survivors, particularly in covering up or beautifying mastectomy scars and breasts both unreconstructed and reconstructed. More about their organization is here.
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