Taking advatage of what's available

What a relief! I finally have the last drainage tube out. That feels so much better. The day had a hidden blessing. I thought I had an appointment with the other surgeon tomorrow, to have the stitches taken out. I mentioned that today, and she said "what stitches? Those are all my stitches and they will dissolve."

It seems whoever called from the other Dr. last week and told me I needed to come in tomorrow at 11 was mistaken. It turns out, I do not have an appointment after all, and do not need one.

It's not been easy, but it's what I need to do to survive. A lot of us face some hard times in order to survive. I have a dear friend who knows her cancer is inoperable, but still faces everyday with bravery and determination. I admire her spirit. Some recent issues with another family member have caused me to do a lot of thinking in the last 48 hours. I'm frustrated today with people who are so resistant to medical treatments available to them.

I remember when I was diagnosed the first time. My dear friend Carolyn is a survivor. She has given me some good advise over the past few years. She went with us to our first visit with the Dr. She brought everyone a notebook. She told us, the information can be overwhelming. Everyone in the room will hear something different, and interpret it different. We all took our own notes and later compared them. She was so right. All 4 of us had different notes. If there is one thing I can share with others that will stick with them, this is it. Everyone's cancer is different, but this practice fits everyone. The news itself, and the details of procedures needed can be traumatizing. I believe this doesn't just pertain to cancer, but many other serious health conditions. The more ears, the better.

Another thing I remember from that day, are Dr. Schmidt's words. He told us, medical procedures now advance at a much higher rate than in past decades. For instance, from the 1950s to the 1960s, some advances were made. Now, from the time Carolyn fought cancer, until 1 or 2 years later when my fight began, the advances made could be compared to what took a decade before. This is true for all fields of medicine. With that said, I'm back to the subject of people being resistant to medical procedures.

My grandma Ruth died of kidney cancer in 1991. I didn't know until I began chemo, that she had refused chemo treatments, because she did not want to lose her hair. I have to be honest, I was angry when I learned that. She was a beautician, and had shelves of wigs, wigs she wore all the time. That seems like such a senseless, selfish choice. I know someone else who almost resisted treatment for that same reason last year, a 76 year old man. How vain is that? How many men that age still have a full head of hair? Is that worth dying for? My choice was NO. A similar excuse heard last year, from that same man, was that he didn't have time to be bothered with chemo, because it would prevent him from going to the lakes every weekend. Thankfully, he finally decided to fight, and is now cancer free. I know a woman who has 2 daughters who have both had cancer, one is still fighting it, and refuses to go in for mammograms. Her insurance would pay 100%, but she just doesn't want to be bothered with it.

That family member I mentioned earlier faces a big decision. He has suffered full cardiac arrest, three times now. Twice last year, and once this week. Last year, they either didn't understand what the doctors were telling them, or chose to ignore it. Now that it has happened again, he is refusing the pacemaker because of something he saw his dad go through 30 years ago. The doctors have tried to explain to him how much heart medicine has advanced in 30 years. There is also the "lake issue". Having to take time to get a pacemaker will interfere with lake time.

The majority of my morning rant is over. Life threatening conditions sometimes require life changing decisions. Those are personal decisions, made for personal reasons. Last year, when my Daddy decided not to take the second round of chemo, I respected that decision. He had tried, and fought a good fight. It was more important at that time, for him to be comfortable.

I have an amazing support team, but I owe my life to my my medical team. I thank them all for using the skill and knowledge given to them by the Creator, to help those of us who want to be survivors.

Finally, in a completely unrelated note, another battle is being fought this week. Please say an extra prayer for those in beautiful Colorado. I talked to my son last night. He loves Colorado so, and honestly, so do I. I spent a wonderful vacation there last year. Last night, his words ripped at my heart. "I'm so glad you got to come out here last year, before the whole state burns down."  We have other family being threatened by the Royal Gorge fire. They were preparing to evacuate when we last heard from them.