My dad came home from the hospital today. Not many people have to be hospitalized for 8 days for a simple biopsy. I guess it wasn’t a simple biopsy, either. Nothing is simple around here anymore.
About 10 years ago, Dad had a heart valve replaced to repair a murmur caused by a childhood illness. He has been taking a blood thinning medication ever since.
Last year he started having severe leg pain for which no one could determine the cause. He was slated for surgery but, when they tested his blood - a red blood cell test which his regular doctor had neglected to perform since the heart surgery 10 years before - they said there was “a problem” and it was cancelled.
In the confusion, they fucked up his blood thinning meds and he had a stroke. When he was in the hospital recovering from the stroke, he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The cancer was beyond operable and had already spread to his liver and lung.
He started chemotherapy but it makes you vomit and, when he would vomit, his esophagus would tear and bleed. Every time that happened he had to get blood transfusions and be hospitalized. They stopped the chemotherapy after determining it was causing more harm than good.
Dad was recently invited to take part in the study of a new medication combination. The biopsy that he had last week was sent for testing to see if his cancer is within their criteria. If he qualifies, there is a 50% chance that he’ll receive a placebo instead of the exciting breakthrough combination drug that is changing the face of cancer.
And, shock of all shocks, when performing the biopsy they found that the cancer has spread out of control.
Until last year, the only time anyone in my family had been in hospital was Dad’s heart valve surgery, my older sister’s back surgery in 1984 to correct her scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and to give birth. The people in my family don’t get sick. My relatives die from old age. We are all healthy and strong. It is true, we have been extremely lucky.
The problem with luck? It runs out.
But, messed up weirdos that we are, we’re all still smiling and hoping for the best.
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2 comments:
Keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't get the placebo. 'Cause that would really suck.
Luck and unluck, it's all life. Sucks most of the times, if you ask me. But it's the good parts that make it worth the trip.
So you're glass is half full. Good for you. Keep smiling and hope for the best.
-Magnus-
It's funny, I started this post to cry and complain, which is how the "out of luck" aspect came into it. But, by the time I was near the end, I couldn't stop thinking that this is life.
It's not what happens that defines you, it's how you handle what happens. So, yeah, my glass is usually about 3/4 full. And that's how I like it.
(My dad is in the shower right now and he's singing his butt off!)
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