Author: Brianna Russell
-
Acupuncture
There was a version of myself that shuddered to think that needles sticking out of one’s skin could be therapeutic, much less enjoyable. I was baffled at the thought of it. Now? Having faced cancer and chemotherapy and IV access dangling from my port for days, looking forward to a lifetime of lymphedema? If skinny…
-
Newborn
So January is all the way finished. I predicted it would go quickly, and it sure did. I didn’t manage to write a single thing, but that’s okay. My family and friends all were keeping me company IRL so that George and Ellen had caregivers while we balanced newborn doctor visits, pre-op testing, orthopedic visits,…
-
Birth Story Three
My goodness. I am glad that I started writing when I did and let myself stop when I needed a break. I finished writing a few minutes to midnight on New Years Eve, I checked on Ellen, pulled back my covers, kissed my sleeping husband a Happy New Year, snuggled in, and fell asleep (for…
-
Birth Story Two
This is the messy part. Childbirth cannot be retold without the mention of blood and other fluids, so this is your trigger warning. I’ll tell it from my perspective, and for me it wasn’t too gory. Watching it happen was different, I’m sure. I cling to the slick black bench of the Humvee with my…
-
Birth Story One
Once upon a time, seven days ago, there was a mommy with a baby in her tummy and the baby wanted out during a blizzard on Christmas Eve. So the local SWAT team showed up with an armored vehicle to rescue mommy and drop her off in the wrong hospital. The wrong hospital was brave…
-
Crudite
I have vegetables on my breasts. Ice packs too. I laid in bed uncomfortable with the physical changes in breast tissue. Milk is coming in with no where to go. My body moves right along to the next challenge. Completely unaware that this natural process is counter productive to the life saving measures soon to…
-
Am I the Drama?
There is a tiktok sound bite that goes: “is it me, am I the drama? I think its me.” and its used when you very obviously are dramatic and causing a raucous for everyone around you. I have clearly worn that crown of dramatics this year, and we wanted to be sure to fit it…
-
Thank you Enfamil
On Friday I go to work, I get work done, no big deal. The door to my office is wide open, I’ve got on my business-as-usual persona, which helps me forget that my belly, my back, my neck is uncomfortable. I’m calm, then Theresa from Roswell calls me around 1030am and says that she met…
-
Expressing Negativity
I feel like my breasts are useless. I have a baby who needs to be fed. And I’m wracked with grief again because I may have used them for the very last time already. I comforted my girl in the hospital and she took in a tiny bit of colostrum. It’s a drop in the…
Lump n Bump 