One year ago today, I was 3 days into my 'Killer Chemo'. The third of 6 days where they flooded my body with poison to destroy my cancer, with the unfortunate consequence of destroying my bone marrow and therefore my immune system and ability to produce blood cells. 'We're first going to kill you, then bring you back to life using a stem cell transplant." The technique is considered 'salvaging' in modern medical lingo.

Salvaging.....a) the rescue of a ship, it's crew, and/or cargo from fire or shipwreck b) the ship, crew, cargo so rescued, c) the compensation given those who perform the rescue, d) the act of saving anything from danger, e) the property saved from danger.

So I have been salvaged, I am salvage in and of itself and I am salvage to those who salvaged me.....though they preferred compensation via cold hard cash.

My life was salvaged, as I surely would have died.

The life that was salvaged is not the life from before the shipwreck, from before the fire struck, from before the danger descended, from prior to my diagnosis. The life that was saved is from now. It still contains certain elements from before.....most of the people who stood by me as I was rescued from the maelstrom, who lent their hope and prayers and love and strength....my sons, my family, my friends. My house is still here. There are some new additions....a beloved puppy and ever lovable yet psycho-changeable cat.

And there are omissions, deletions, lacunae.....some noticeable only for the fact that they have ended up unnoticeable. Some that shook the very foundations to the core. Losses that change your personal world view, shake the very blocks upon which you had built your life for so many years and make you realize that, yes, indeed....what was salvaged is NOW and where this NOW will lead to in the future.