Jimmie's chemo treatments are on Mondays now to hopefully allow him to feel well enough to travel on weekends again. But this week found us traveling on Tuesday, now the worst post-chemo day. One of Jimmie's younger brothers, Jarrod, was admitted to the hospital in Crossville, Tennessee with vertigo. The local doctor took scans and diagnosed a minor stroke, but was concerned that a bigger one might be on the way. He called in a specialist from the big city of Nashville, so we headed up there. But just as we were completing the 5 hour drive we got word that the specialist had determined that the pinprick of damage on the scan was something old. So Jarrod just had vertigo. That was very welcome news! And it was nice to get to see all of Jimmie's brothers, although next time I prefer a more scheduled trip. We headed home on Wednesday with severe storms just off our back bumper the whole way - but luckily they never caught us.
I received complimentary copies of the March/April Christian Woman magazine this week, which means I have another article inside. I had almost forgotten that I had written one on God's wisdom and happiness since it was just before Jimmie's cancer diagnosis. That pretty much turned everything upside down. But I'm glad that I did. I needed the reminder. I have added it to the LMH Articles tab above if you want to take a look.
I sometimes find it amazing how we can find humor in almost any situation if we try. I recall Hurricane Ofa that almost wiped out the island of Tutuila when we lived in Samoa years ago. It was devastating, yet almost everyone I talked with had a funny story to tell about something that happened to them. We still laugh about how our cat, Oliver, slunk behind furniture during the 3 days the storm sat on top of us, and then refused to live in the house again after it was over because he was convinced that all that noise had only happened inside those walls. I recall my horror when Jimmie went dashing out of the house right into the hurricane without a word of warning, only to return moments later totally drenched but with a single rose that he had rescued for me. And our daughter Julie who was only 5 at the time thought it was absolutely hilarious when the kitchen ceiling plopped into a pan of eggs I was frying the morning after. Without a sense of humor the weeks following that disaster would have truly been horrific.
And so it is with any disaster, including cancer. Sometimes we have to search for the humor. And sometimes it just happens. Jimmie has been laughing all week about something that happened on Monday's doctor visit.
After the slight increase in Jimmie's hemoglobin last week, it was back down again on Monday. (I had run out of the essential oil I was trying, but have now gotten more.) Naturally, my first question to the doctor was, "Is there anything else you can do for the anemia?" His head was down as though deep in thought as he responded, "Yes, there is a shot that works great on anemia . . . but no, that always makes the cancer grow quicker." Then his head shot up as it dawned on him that he had spoken out loud. He threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, "Now it's your turn to say 'No Doctor Montero, we don't want that!" So of course Jimmie and I both declared in unison, "No Doctor Montero, we don't want that!"
I think Jimmie has a new catch phrase. I've been hearing it a lot since Monday.
- Linda
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