One in three people develop cancer in their lifetime. For one in four, it is the cause of death. So if you are our age, it isn't your imagination that you hear about more and more cases. It is simply that people aren't dying of diseases like polio, nor small pox, nor diphtheria. Cancer, which is actually many diseases with a single process, has merely risen to the top of the ranks. As we age, our chances of having those rogue cells develop becomes greater.
With multiple myeloma, only 15,000 cases are diagnosed each year in a country whose population is 304,000,000 (give or take) making it roughly a 1 in 20,000 chance that any particular person will get it. It represents only 1% of all cancers, and 2% of cancer deaths. And wouldn't ya know, Jim got it.
Today we sat waiting for him to be called into the lab at Beth Israel, one of the finest hospitals in Boston. As he rose to get his blood collected, he hooked one of the feet of his cane on a chair, and started a slow-motion spiral that seemed destined to leave him sprawled on the floor. To my astonishment I heard a familiar voice loudly exclaim, "Jee-sus Christ!!". Against all odds, he managed to regain his balance while all the receptionists, nurses and interns leapt to their feet and simultaneously moved in our direction. Of course, Jim was mortified but otherwise unharmed. And after a moment I realized the voice summoning the Lord in a Jewish hospital was none other than mine. All I could envision was a pile of bone fragments lying on the floor in Jim's new shirt and pants. Falling is the greatest (avoidable) hazard Jim faces, so... well, that's my story and I am sticking to it. I am happy to report lightening did not strike!
The Revlamid continues to slowly lower the cancer burden in Jim's bones, and although we have JUST now reach a new low, we'll gratefully take what we can get. He is anemic, enough so that he may need a blood transfusion, but that explains some of the recent sleepiness. His BP was 85/55 when we arrived at B.I. Actually, he did very well today at the hospital, and even asked for soup for dinner! Before bedtime, he commented that he really did feel better than he has in weeks.
Amusing side note... when we returned home (he even volunteered to push the cart when I insisted I needed to stop at Trader Joe's near the hospital because they have a wine department, and a girl's gotta live, ya know?) there were several phone messages. Both were from our community hospital, now a satellite of Beth Israel, where Jim was admitted briefly in March. Their radiology department was calling to schedule an MRI...ordered back in March. Luckily for us, the MDs in Boston had performed it in March when he was re-admitted through their ER. (you remember!)
Reminds us of why we drive the extra miles to the city.
3 comments:
Glad to hear any shred of good news. Miracles do happen, as was evidenced by him NOT crashing to the floor. I wonder how many times your heart has stopped in the last 11 mos?
You must have thought, for a moment, that you were watching Boomby!
Sad that the thing that excites me the most is that he was in a grocery store AND that he asked for soup!! Life's little pleasures takes on a whole new meaning <3
I don't know what to say....again. It's frightening - every level - from falling to the MRI from MARCH. It's like the punchline of a really bad joke. MARCH?? Fer'REAL??
It is beyond me that I can't really do anything. This is your reality more than anyone's...even Dad's, in a warped way. I wish I could carry more of the load.
I had not checked into the blog for awhile. While I was thankful that things had not deteriorated, I could not help But feel the family's emotional turmoil and feelings of helplessness in the blog.
It is just so hard not to able to "make it better quickly" or know when things will get much better for Jim.
Thank you for keeping others in the loop. We want to help, but not be bothersome.
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