This past weekend I was sick.

It was just a bad cold, true, with a cough that is more annoying than anything, but it hit me like a ton of bricks once I finally admitted that, okay, maybe I could be feeling better in the overall sense of the word.

It’s not the first time I’ve been a little under the weather this year, it’s just the first time it coincided with a day not filled with crucial work deadlines. So I let myself leave after half a day on Thursday and call out completely on Friday.

Add to this I royally screwed up my shoulder in a way that’s still a mystery. A rogue inflammation hit either the bursa or the tendons in my right shoulder (of course, I’m right handed) and laid me all kinds of low. It was next to impossible to find a comfortable position the first couple of nights.

There may have been some whimpering involved.

At one point on Saturday, late in the afternoon, I wasn’t tired enough to sleep, it hurt too much to draw anymore (I’d barely managed 2 pages all day with frequent breaks), it hurt too much to even hold open a book to read.

I was pitiful.

But Todd made me laugh.

Then we figured out a workable solution of a sling, a neck pillow under my elbow to prop it up a bit more while accommodating the boob interference, ice packs, Ibuprofen and some ointment. I felt ridiculous, but I also felt better.

By Sunday I was able to get a few more pages drawn and actually go out and be sociable for a few hours (sans sling–total vanity but it wasn’t too bad).

I was uncomfortable for a weekend. It takes months or years (or more! if ever) to overcome the ‘discomfort’ and ‘inconvenience’ of breast cancer.

And that’s putting it mildly.

There’s the fear. The uncertainty. The what-ifs.

There’s the doctor’s visits, the procedures, the losing parts of yourself and not feeling whole. There’s the various treatments that hurt more than that little lump ever could hint at.

The time spent waiting to heal so you can undergo reconstruction.

The stress. The tears. The resolve. The fear.

In light of what some women are going through, I feel pretty silly for whimpering about a little shoulder pain.

So, instead of posting a craft project or starting the 16th Art, I’m using this space, this week, to do my part to support the people and agencies that help fight that fear and all that goes with it.

On October 24, 2010, I’m walking in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk for the American Cancer Society. It’s my goal to raise $250 to support ACS’ goal of more birthdays and I’m not above begging.

Also?

I’m not above bribery!

I love parties, even if it’s just a party for one. I love celebrations and making someone feel special. That’s why I started creating Character Cocktails–drinks designed to reflect you! your personality, your likes and dislikes, transformed into a piece of personalized cocktail art (nonalcoholic recipes also available). So, for the time leading up to the walk I’m offering 2 ways to support not me, but the American Cancer Society and the women and families they will help:

Option 1: Donate $10 or more to my goal and I’ll send you an embellished print of the cocktail I’ve created for this campaign: Aphrodite’s Nipple.

Option 2: Order your own Character Cocktail for $47 (click the “Shop Now” tab) between now and October 15,2010, and I’ll donate 22% of the purchase price to the fundraiser PLUS you’ll get one of the embellished prints when your cocktail art ships.

Have questions? Leave them in the comments, email me through the Contact tab, above, or head over to my Cocktails for a Cure page. I do hope you’ll click one of those links and help me help others. But, if all you can do is pass this along, that’s okay, too–I appreciate it all.