I am not sure who coined the phrase, "can't keep a good man down". Whenever I hear it, it brings to mind the song by the country western group, Alabama. My first concert was Alabama. Dad and mom took us. I couldn’t have been much older than six. But, I have vivid memories of it.
Alabama was very popular then. Dad was a fan. We sat in the cheap seats, next to some strange characters with a dubious cloud over their heads. Kind of like Pigpen the Peanuts comics strip character. Let’s just say, they were happy. At any rate, it was fun and obviously memorable. After the concert I remember sitting in the back of my dad’s two tone blue Chevy truck listening to Alabama’s tape in the cassette player (children ask your parents what that is) and dad turning the music up and belting out the tunes we had just heard. Good times.
Oh, so back to this Cancer thing and my dad. I have a whole new respect for the phrase, "can’t keep a good man down”. My dad is a good man and this cancer is not going to keep him down. He received round four of chemo last week.
Chemo sucks…but not as bad as cancer.
The good news is Dr. Glen said that they will be scheduling another scan to see how his cancer is responding to the treatments. He is getting closer to the end of the chemo treatments, closer to being able to receive stem cell replacement therapy, and finally closer to REMISSION.
His immune levels were also up high enough that he was given the OK to go out to Smith and Edwards. I wasn’t there on the days he went out, but, I heard about it first thing Monday morning. It was as if a celebrity had stopped by for a visit. Everyone was happy to see him and it was great for moral. Dad truly cares about his employees and is so thankful that they are keeping things going in his absence.
The week following chemo is always hard on him. I won’t bore you with all the details but just know that it sucks and it’s hard on his body and mind. Everyone’s continued support, cards, e-mails, phone calls, words of encouragement and PRAYERS are helpful. He is blessed with thoughtful friends and family.
The actions of thoughtful people is expressed in a number of ways...like the good friend of dads who donated blood and had it credited to dads account (I didn’t know you could do that), the offers to drive him to the Huntsman, grandpa and his friends providing remedies to help him feel better, posters made and signed by concerned friends, having soup delivered to the front door step from a long time friend…the thoughtfulness is endless. I could write a book on that alone. Know that he feels your love and support and we can not thank you enough!
My Uncle Randy, who is a wonderful cook, always makes him home made soup on chemo day. He promptly delivered the first soup to me on the day dad received his first treatment saying “I thought it would sound good to him after receiving chemo”. Nothing like comfort food prepared with love to make a person feel better. When dad gets better I plan on marketing Randy’s soup as a cure all and selling it exclusively at Smith and Edwards. Of course, all proceeds will go to cancer research.
His blood counts were down Monday so he and mom made the trip for more red and white sauce. They were back up today so he earned a get out of jail free card. He is a little disappointed that his immunity was back down. Chemo kind of knocks everything for a loop!
I have had a few people ask me “tell me how your dad REALLY is.” I don’t quite know how to respond to this. I am not sure where they are coming from. My dad has cancer, chemo treatment sucks, and it’s hard and life altering. We are not in denial that this is a rough road but we have never doubted that he will fully recover. This life lesson has been a blessing and we are learning from it. We choose to celebrate what we have been blessed with and are thankful for all that we have. I have said it before and I will say it again, my dad is living with cancer not dying from it. Remission is the end result. We are all here on earth for a undetermined amount of time. Make the most of the time you have.
