Stories To Tell

It’s been nice not having to go to the cancer center on a regular basis for a while. But that all changed today as I will now be making a habit of it for a little while. My doctor is now in their new Woodlands facility which is the size of a small hospital. At least it seemed that way while I was trying to find my way around, DESPITE ASKING DIRECTIONS!! Yes, there are times men ask for directions!! After finally arriving at Dr. Tan’s suite, I recognized some of the old staff. Although I don’t want people to lose their jobs, I sure wished that the new facility would have brought a new staff; the old staff could have worked in salt mines somewhere!! Anyway, despite them recognizing me, they were still very nice!!
I arrived early which was both good and bad. As a purveyor of people, I looked into the faces of various patients sitting in the busy waiting room. If looks would tell their storyies, there would be some hard to hear testimonies. As my heart delved into their faces and body postures, I wondered what kind of cancer they had; I wondered how they were handling their chemo; I wondered if they got as sick as they looked; I wondered how much longer some would survive, and I prayed for them. I then thanked God for every ache, pain, cramp, gastric angst, migraine, arm pain, and other distresses my body is enduring and fighting through. I am so thankful to be in the shape I am in, rather than theirs. I also noticed that there were patients of all ages, all sizes, and ethnicity. The stories would all be different but we were all there united under the banner of cancer. Not to be rude, but I couldn’t wait to get out of there; that’s one group I don’t want to belong to. That’s a story I don’t want to have.
I sure hope that your and my prayers are answered and that I get the good news I am longing for from my lab results. I sure would like to be able to reduce or eliminate the Gleevec… but after today, I’ll be thankful if my status remains unchanged. I don’t scare easily, but today was an eerie day - - - a day to fall to my knees and be thankful for every challenge I do get to face.