DYING IS NOT AN OPTION
Well . . . crap-o-la. The last few weeks have been so stressful, it’s been a 12 on a 1 – 10 stress level, and I haven’t known what to write on my blog.
My daughter, Carol, had breast cancer surgery in one breast in 2004. She was 40 years old. The doctors caught the cancer in time, and she had her left breast removed. No chemotherapy or radiation was necessary, as the cancer hadn’t spread to her nodes. After removal of the breast, she underwent a complete hysterectomy, and then had both breasts reconstructed to match one another. All in all, it took around 18 months to complete the entire process and for her to begin to feel halfway normal. At the time of her breast surgery, she had wanted both breasts removed. It was something she felt intuitively was right for her. Her first oncologist talked her out of it because she was so young and she felt it wasn’t medically a necessity. Rule number one- follow your instincts. After all, it’s your body.
A few weeks ago, Carol returned for a checkup at Stanford Medical Center for a routine mammogram. The radiologist discovered a large lump in her good breast. She underwent a lumpectomy. The results are non-conclusive at this time, and she is scheduled for an MRI and another complete lumpectomy next week. This time the lump is located near a node. Her chances are about 50/50 that it’s cancer again.
One the other side of the U.S., my 56-year-old brother, Steve, had his chest opened up for 7 hours in an operating room and had six (completely) blocked arteries replaced. He is currently at home and resting from the shock to his body, but made it through the operation.
Then, my son called me from Washington State and the company van he had been riding to work in was involved in an accident. He was unhurt, but the man at the wheel had a seizure of some kind, and won’t be able to drive for a while. The van driver didn’t remember the accident- missing a tree, rocks and a fence, before traveling down a long rough slope and jolting to a stop at the bottom. One of the other men in the van had his ribs disconnected. Gary was unhurt, but shaken up as he was involved in an awful accident a few yeas ago, causing his arm and leg to resemble a bionic man. In his prior accident, a highway department truck had been parked ‘on’ the highway, lights turned off, preparing for road work, when Gary’s truck hit it, tearing Gary and his truck to pieces.
Then, our son, Ralph, (who lives in Connecticut) had either an anxiety attack, (wonder why) or something else. (We won’t know until next week.). He fainted at work on Friday and was removed by ambulance and taken to a hospital for tests. He says he’s feeling O.K. today, but more in depth tests are scheduled for next week.
Then, Danny woke up with slight chest pain last night, and I gave him baby aspirin, made him use my oxygen, and bugged him every few minutes to see if he was better. His pain went away, but I’m keeping my eye on him. I do believe his pain was probably anxiety from all the kids’ health issues (all at once) and in the same week, but I’m going to schedule more blood work and heart tests for him next week.
In the meantime, I feel fine. (I think!) I’m not scheduled for another appointment at the Mayo until July. I must be feeling stress too, but I suppose, as a mother, sister, and wife, I can’t afford to show it until everyone is really – really O.K. Danny has been saying since January 1st that this is our year. The luck of the Irish is shining on us! So far, I just don’t see it! But, to be fair, I also had a dream that I lived on ‘Powerful Street’. I thought that was a good solid omen. Perhaps this is but a small test of my faith and fortitude. I’ll keep you posted.