"My rising counts are my body thanking me for getting rid of those nasty teeth." Willie said, to the team. We laughed as we all agreed that the teeth weren't the only ones thanking him. We were ALL relieved those teeth were gone.
The team was surprised again when they looked in his mouth and noted that he had no swelling or trouble with the extraction sites. Will reported that he had no pain and had only received one dose of pain medication the day before. It was too good to be true. They had prepared us for the worst with this surgery since his counts are too low to fight infection. We had been warned that he may heal slowly and whole body infection was likely. Willie didn't hear any of this. He'll lose 5 teeth in a day without even being phased! This speedy recovery was a blessing and a sneak peak into the stamina of this powerlifter's carefully trained body.
We requested another day to heal from the tooth extractions and the team agreed to start chemo on Wednesday. Will was downgraded to a "mechanical soft" diet which means he can only eat foods that are soft and don't require much chewing. He was starving by lunch time and tired of eating pudding and applesauce for the past day. We called the kitchen to see what he could have for lunch. I spent years working on the other side of that phone call. I can't tell you how many times I had to explain mechanical soft diets to patients and their family members. There is a high risk of choking when you give someone regular food when they are only capable of chewing mechanical soft food. Because of this, diet orders are strictly controlled by doctors and nurses and the kitchen can only follow their rules.
Willie ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and was told that was not on his diet. He was disappointed and tried to talk the kitchen out of it. I explained that their hands were tied and we would need to ask the doctor to change his diet order. He negotiated with the kitchen for a while and ended up ordering an chicken salad sandwich, ravioli and soup. When the lunch arrived, we were surprised to see a hamburger on the tray! The kitchen must have folder in fear of the wrath of Willie...
Willie's friend showed up for a visit while we were waiting on his lunch. His friend lives in the area and works a short 15 minute drive from here. It was nice to talk with him and get updates on his upcoming wedding. We asked the most important questions about the wedding, which of course, is about the kind of cake they will have. They will not be having a traditional wedding cake, but a dessert bar instead. They are planning to have ice cream Sundays and cheesecake. YUM!"I was thinking we may not come when you said there would be no cake," Willie teased "But if there is going to be cheesecake, we'll be there!"
The joke is deeper than it sounds because the wedding is the end of July and we do have every intention of being there and being cured.
I took a walk around while Will's friends visited. The building next to us is the children's hospital. A boy and girl were our front in tiny wheelchairs, playing some kind of made up game that looked to be something like tag. They had the same immunity masks on with tiny child sized hot pink filters. Both of their heads were bald from chemo treatments, but that was the only thing giving away their illness. You could hear their muffled laughter coming from the hollow insides of the mask and their eyes were dancing with joy.
I stood and watched. Tears coming to my eyes. It is then I realized that cancer is no respecter of persons. It doesn't care if you are old or young, male or female. It has no discretion for culture, race or social class. I am coming to learn that it is a disease for the strong hearted. A special trial that is only given to the strongest souls who can handle it. There is a scripture that says that God will never test a man above his ability to withstand it. I believe that to be true which means that those who are tested with the trial of caner are STRONG people to begin with. You can see that strength in every person in this cancer unit. They have a look in their eyes that speaks to the intensity that lies within. We have always known that Willie was strong, his weight lifting records prove that, but this kind of strength he is now drawing on is one that cannot be built in the gym or enhanced with supplements. This kind of strength is born from trial and nurtured by faith and hope.
He is not strong because he has cancer, he has cancer because he is strong enough to handle it.
I doubt I would be strong enough to handle this trial. I say again as I've said before, it is an honor to be on this journey with my amazingly strong husband.
Willie's friends stayed through the afternoon and lifted our spirits. One of Will's friends has a long, red beard that can bring happiness to the bleakest of souls just by seeing it. Even thinking about the beard brings a smile to my face. We are grateful to Eric and Daniel for making the trip and especially to Daniel's beard for bringing joy to all those who have the privilege of beholding it.
 |
| Daniel and his Source of all Happiness Beard |
 |
| Eric and Willie |
My Mom flew in from Utah later that night and I was so relieved to have her here. Do you ever get old enough to not need your Mom? I certainly hope not! I felt a great weight lifted off my shoulders just by knowing she was here. I still have that childlike belief inside of me that Mom can fix anything. She won't be able to fix this one by kissing it better, but her presence and support gives us some peace. I feel the same way about Will's Mom, Dad and Sister as I do about my own family. We are so blessed to have such a tight knit family circle!
On the way back from the airport I stopped at Jack in the Box to get Willie some regular textured food. He ate that cheeseburger in bed while sitting up, slightly reclined. I call this "the king lay" and he enjoyed that burger as any king would!
No comments:
Post a Comment