It was a typical Sunday morning at our house. I had gone to early church service, picked up the standard Dunkin Donuts half dozen, and Kate, the kiddos, and I had a home church session about the prodigal son. After the fullness of the morning, I found myself relaxing in my reading chair relaxing and waiting to watch the NFL Pro Bowl game. I had my phone on vibrate in case any of my adult children were to call to wish me happy Sunday. Just then, my phone buzzed and I glanced down to see a pop-up message that read Kobe Bryant killed in helicopter crash. Then the message disappeared.
I was seven years old back in 1969, and even after all these years, I can still remember going to high school football games with my Dad. We would park away from the stadium to avoid the traffic, and while holding his hand would cross the side roads and back streets…
For more than six years now I have been sharing snippets and vignettes from my waltz with leukemia. But what I haven’t spoken of much was the dance that my mom was living parallel to my own; first with breast cancer and then in the last three months, stage four lung cancer.
June 1st was the 7-month anniversary of my bone marrow transplant. Halleluiah! Last week with my oncologist’s permission, we took our three kiddos and two golden retrievers to the beach for a long weekend.
That is what my kiddos call the baby hair growing back on my head. It has been almost two weeks of growth now and my scalp is no longer ghost pale as if I were wearing a tight, white speedo swim cap. When I ask the doctors if it will all grow back, they answer, “Probably, but maybe not. We will see.” That is a pretty common answer from my doctors. Apparently, we are in somewhat uncharted waters.
First, I want to deeply thank you for following my blog and sharing this journey with me. It is an honor to share it with you. For the past few months I have had the privilege of being a part of a guide team that is connected to the new Zoweh podcast…
A few months ago, I was invited to speak at a leadership breakfast hosted by CBMC, Christian Business Men's Connection, in a large ballroom near the Raleigh Durham airport. It was an honor and I accepted without hesitation.
Kate and I had just returned from Duke Oncology. We laid on the couch after a good cry, processing the latest turn in the leukemia journey. Eventually, Kate got up and went out to run some errands and I sat alone in my favorite spot of our house.
Two weeks ago, I stood in my driveway as my oldest son, Shawn, gave me a hug, climbed into his SUV, and drove away down the street. He waved to me, and as I waved back I whispered, “God, please bless your son as he rides into this next chapter of his life in pursuit of his dream to play quarterback in college.”
One of the unexpected events of my bone marrow transplant 14 months ago has been tooth decay and cavities. The chemistry of my body has been changed and I am immune-compromised, which includes the enzymes in my mouth that usually protect teeth. I have had 9 cavities filled in the past 3 weeks. Ugh.