Our Weekend

The conversation happened over breakfast.
"There's some blood in my urine this morning," he announced simply
over a plate of eggs and potatoes.
"I will probably need to call the doctor.
Too bad it's the weekend.
These things always happen on the weekends when offices are closed."

A little blood?
The bathroom betrayed his nonchalance.
There was clotted blood everywhere!
on the toilet
the floor
the walls
his clothing.

We made the call and headed to the nearest emergency clinic.
more blood
great pain
as nurses struggled to stabilize him.
They said, "It's the proton therapy he received for cancer.
We see this all the time -
clots in the bladder.
Go home and see the doctor on Monday."

But things worsened in the afternoon:
massive blood loss
terrible pain
extreme discomfort
anger and frustration

We called the doctor again.
The one who responded was smart-alecky.
"That's it!" we thought
and frantically headed for MD Anderson.

Saints!
The Anderson people are saints all right.
They inserted IV fluids and calmed us down.
We waited.

Once cancer strikes, life changes.
It shakes its finger and makes threats.
The predator lurks
and waits
and can pounce unexpectedly
altering every plan.

Speeding through the dark night the questions came:
Is this the time?
Is this the beginning of the end?
Will we have the faith to endure this with grace?

It turned out to be a simple infection easily treated with antibiotics.
a best case scenario.
We limped home, exhausted.

Cancer comes with many gifts,
not just expert doctors and compassionate nurses
who do the work of miracles in alleviating pain and suffering.

The gift for us was the emotional and physical care from our children.
Sweet and concerned Emi, involved and texting from Chicago
Trevor, dear Trevor,
with us through it all
and Kim, our beloved Kim.
They stayed with us for hours deep in the night,
slept at our house
then picked up Forrest and brought him home the next morning.
They bought prescriptions for antibiotics
and stayed with us all day.
Even our granddaughter Emilie came.

In the midst of all the scary stuff
their presence was the face of Christ.
We were blessed.
We are blessed.

I know one day we shall all leave this earth.
Our departure may indeed involve a lot of fear
and pain and suffering.
We don't get to choose how we exit.

But this little scare showed me how much God is with us,
even during this time when we have no faith community.
Our children will help us make good decisions.
Like God, they will be there.
And knowing that makes all the difference.