the unplanned update

Well, I promised I’d write again with some exciting updates….. I have a major life changing update but it’s most definitely not what I had in mind or something that I planned for.
It’s also still difficult to talk/write about, but I think if I share my story, maybe I can help others.

Sunshine. Beautiful warm sunny weather. I absolutely love it. I love being outside feeling the heat and I’ve always thought that I have the type of skin that doesn’t burn and just goes beautiful brown. I love having a tan and that summer glow that goes along with it.

It was during the serious lockdown of covid (early May), that my husband noticed a ‘funny’ mole on my back - left shoulder blade to be more specific.
I’m normally not one to go to see a doctor unless something is really very concerning. I didn’t even think this was something to worry about but for some reason decided to get it checked out. Covid times remember. I couldn’t go see my doc, but had to make an appointment for her to call me at a set time. Even when she called (May 8th), I was more curious to see how she was doing through all the craziness rather than worry about this little spot on my shoulder. I eventually told her what I was calling for and she asked if I could email her a photo of it.
She scheduled me in right away (May 11th) to get a biopsy done after seeing the photo I sent. starting to get a little concerned now.
I get another phone call from my Doctor (May 22). My ‘funny’ mole came back positive for Melanoma. I don’t know if it was shock or just ignorance on the subject. Melanoma. But I have skin that doesn’t burn and I love the sun so this topic is so foreign to me. I’ve never had a worry about skin cancer and never thought it would be me. I remember my Doctor telling me that this is really serious. I also remember her telling me not to google it too much, stick to the ‘good sites’ for information and that it’s too easy to go down a deep dark hole. That last tidbit was probably the best thing she could have told me - There are a lot of horror stories out there and it is way too easy to slip into a dark place.
What I did read was that Melanoma is one of the worst kinds of skin cancer. It can spread really fast to your lymph nodes and then just takes over. Very serious, very scary stuff.
I had to wait three weeks with this knowledge eating away at me. Did it spread? What’s going to happen? Am I going to be ok? What about my kids? Can I go outside? By this time I’m afraid to be outside. I’m afraid of that beautiful sunshine I was talking about earlier. Two weeks until my appointment with a plastic surgeon to remove the entire mole plus a good chunk of skin all around it. another eight days after that to get the results and find out if it’s spread.
I really appreciated this Doctor (the plastic surgeon). He was blunt and straight to the point - in a good way. He explained things in simple terms with easy comparisons I could relate to. ‘The fence’ is a great example. He explained that our skin is like a fence that protects us. If the melanoma stays outside the fence (which is 1mm under the top layer of skin), then you have a really good chance of removing it all and that it didn’t spread. If the cancer goes past your fence and deeper than 1mm it’s more likely to spread. My melanoma tested at .88. That’s pretty darn close to the fence! But I’m a lucky one, if I can say that, because the entire thing was successfully removed without it spreading any further.

dermatologist was up next (june 5). officially now considered a cancer patient, my appointment was scheduled right away (most dermatologists have huge waiting lists). now and for the rest of my life, i have to see a specialist doctor at the bc cancer agency every six months for a full body exam of all my spots and marks. because i have had skin cancer i am susceptible for reoccurrence.

could be so much worse

as i mentioned at the beginning, i am writing this in hopes to help and inform others. just within my small circle of friends that I have told my story to personally, five of them have had moles removed, two of which were cancerous. they admitted they never would have gone if it wasn’t for me. make that appointment and get your skin checked. cover up. wear sunscreen. wear a hat. wear sunglasses. find the shade. avoid being in the sun during the hottest time of the day. look after yourselves!

change. redirection. focus. family. strength

Where to even begin? What a strange time we are living in right now. Constantly feeling like we are all stuck in a bizarre movie plot.

Changes are going to happen - are happening. For me, the change had already begun before we ever felt any impact from covid-19. As much as I absolutely love creating and doing macrame, it just wasn’t enough to help my family and be where we want to be. Don’t worry, I’m never going to stop, it just won’t be in the forefront like it used to be. I’m sure many of you don’t know, but I’m also assistant to my realtor husband. I do a lot of the behind the scenes stuff you don’t see. We also renovate and flip houses when the market is right and things align for us - between Shaun and I, the skills/professions we have are contractor, development consultant, interior designer, realtor, property manager, artist….

We had just sold our house and thought we were moving back up to Whistler (I grew up there and Shaun lived there for over 20 years), when things didn’t go exactly as planned. We know all too well that’s part of the real estate game and you have to be prepared for quick changes. We had to let go of the new ‘project’ house because it was going to stretch us just too thin and involved more work than what we wanted to do right now. In hindsight, I’m extra glad that we backed out with everything that is going on with covid-19, I can’t imagine trying to make that work right now! So thankful.

In the meantime, we had to be out of our house because the new owners were taking possession so we packed everything into a seacan and a storage unit and continued to figure it out on the fly. Our kids are such troopers. I did my best to pack suitcases with the things I thought we would need to live for the next couple of weeks (not knowing the pandemic that was about to hit). Lucky for us, a house in Squamish on our choice street in our favourite neighbourhood came up for sale and we were able to purchase it - the only catch - we don’t get possession until May 15. We are totally set for skiing, winter, March break, the kids going back to school….. it is now April, the ski hills closed, the kids are still home and the warm spring weather is upon us.

The four of us, five if you count Sunny the dog, are now in a two bedroom rental with just those suitcases I packed (and maybe a bike or two ). If I knew we were staying in Squamish, if I knew the ski hills were going to close, if I knew the kids wouldn’t be going back to school after spring break, if I knew real estate was going to slow down, if I knew it would be a few months until we were into our new home, if I knew we would have to ‘stay home’, I most definitely would have packed differently. 

I am absolutely missing my macrame right now - it would be the most perfect time to create and not feel guilty about just staying home and crafting. Sadly, my studio and supplies are all still packed in boxes (and are at the very back of that seacan I mentioned) so I’m unable to get access to them until the middle of May.

In an attempt to still be productive in this strange world we’re living in and because I don’t have my macrame to distract me, I should be able to focus on Real Estate. With interest rates so low, it would seem a great time to buy, but with the future unknown a lot of people are holding tight and have basically hit the pause button. Still, there is branding, social media, websites, client updates, filing….. and now homeschooling.

If I had to be stuck in isolation, there’s no one I’d rather choose than my husband, business partner, co-parent, business driven, self motivating Shaun. It is inspiring to watch him navigate this crazy time and never give up. Always working, always planning, always dreaming. There will be a way. 

The personal plug because I have to! If you need any help in the Real Estate world, I’m here to help. Buying, selling, commercial, leasing, mortgages, etc., we have you covered. I’ve taken over Shaun’s business Instagram (@shaungreenaway.realestate) if you want to follow along or you can contact me through this site, my cell 604-935-7737 or my other email is jenn.greenaway@gmail.com