Life Lessons in a Bottle

Growing up in Ohio the first 17 yrs of my life we had no pool, no lake, no river and no ocean.  Just a little creek. Up to your knees.  Enough to cool off and have fun.  We knew little about the dangers of the sun.  Mom warned us not to get burned but a tan was a young girls thing to do back in the 60’s....  I never learned to swim but I did love to tan as I got older. Suntan lotions were made to enhance your tan not keep you from getting one...  I spent a few weeks one summer in Upper Sandusky, Ohio and we played in Lake Erie.  My cousin and I used mercurochrome and baby oil to tan! We had no idea what we were doing......

When I was 17 we moved to Florida and I continued the baby oil process until I had 2nd degree burns complete with blisters on my chest.....I remember many times using vinegar cooled clothes to take the burning from my legs...I worshipped the Florida Sun year round....

Once I had kids I realized the importance of sunscreen. I used it on them at the beach and pool. They learned to swim and to use sunscreen on themselves and their children.  

Through out my adult years I still loved to tan and went through a tanning bed phase in my 40’s...we then moved to a swimming pool community where we have lived for 21 years.  I continued to go to the pool from May to September several times a week and use sunscreen. I now had grandkids and used sunscreen religiously. I started to understand the consequences of my neglect...

Fast forward to my 60’s... 

I have had 7 Basel Cell Carcinomas.  2 Squamous Cell Carcinomas. The worst one I had was a squamous cell on the front of my neck in the early 90’s... It was my first skin cancer. It was the size of a quarter and looked just like a hicky. That was the worst experience with a dermatologist and the procedure and the healing.  He cut around about 1/4 of my neck to be able to lap the skin back over so not to leave much of a scar..... It was horrible....So much pain.....

Now here I am home from having two biopsies that my (new and improved) dermatologist suspects are 2 more squamous cells. One is a little crater in my forehead. The other one is quarter size on the side of my  neck...praying my experience will not be the same as the first one I had.......Trying to turn it over to God.....The pool opens in a week and......Results will be back in 7-10 business days...Sunscreen has been purchased...Losing the longing to go to the pool.............

Mercy.....

The Lord is my strength.  My ever present help in trouble.