A REALLY GOOD DAY

Some days just rock. They bring good news, they teach, or they make you feel all warm and glowy. Wednesday was such a day, it did all three.

It did not start out as such. It started out with a tinge of anxiety and a bit of dread. It was time for my six month cancer check up. Cancer and I have danced since the year 2000 and while I am definitely winning this bout, cancer has gotten in its blows.

As some of you know, I have bladder cancer which is highly treatable if caught early and you keep on top of it. Both scenarios have been my good fortune.

The discouraging aspect is that it can and almost certainly will come back. I will go a year or two with clean check ups and then the bad news will hit that it is back. Last time, I had been clean 2 years when it returned.

Well once again, I have reached the 2 year mark so I was a bit anxious of a repeat downer this time. My doctors office is in a town about 50 miles from here so I leave early just in case I get behind a log truck or an RV which can really add time on these skinny mountain roads.

Thus, I arrived at the office a half an hour early and he was running a half hour late. I swear, the best magazine in the waiting room was a 1987 National Geographic. It was a bit nice reading about a quieter time in the world but I soon looked around for some one to chat with.

A really nice granny type put her book aside  and we started to talk when a young woman with an infant in a car seat came in and sat near us. She was trying to keep the baby quiet and fill out the necessary forms while balancing a clip board when his little head turned red with an angry cry.

All of us offered smiles of encouragement but my granny buddy went one better. She got up, asked if she could hold the baby and then received him from a grateful mom. He was only 8 weeks old and he nestled into her arms as if they were kin. They were instantly comfortable with each other.

You could just see the weight lift off the mother's shoulders and a sweet smile erased the worry lines seeing her son safe and content. Bless his little heart, that tiny, beautiful boy had two club feet. Granny cradled those twisted feet gently in her hand and rocked him quickly to sleep



Not my picture but from the Web.

The young mother wore no wedding ring so I don't know if the father was in the picture or not. I am a great listener but not much of an interviewer. Her relief in having someone give her a moments respite from the care of her baby was evident.

We learned that he is scheduled for treatment as soon as he is old enough. She was delighted to have found a hospital that will use the Ponseti method on him.

He will be put in a series of soft casts every two weeks that will slowly force the feet into proper alignment. It is supposed to be a painless and non-surgical method to correct his feet. I was surprised to learn this is a fairly common condition.

When Mom learned that Granny lived 50 miles away like me, she was very disappointed. She has been looking for someone to help her by baby sitting and thought she had found the perfect person. There was such longing in her face. I can only hope she finds that perfect person.

Granny told of her own grandchildren. Out of 13, two have Downs Syndrome. She then said something that maybe you have heard before but I haven't and neither had the young mother.

“This baby was going to be born this way to someone, somewhere. God just made sure he went to a Mother that would be able to take care of him the way he should be. This was no accident of birth, you were chosen to be his mother.” The granny spoke with absolute conviction.

That, whether true or not, is a beautiful thought. I do believe strangers are often thrown together for a reason. I could almost see the light go on in that young mother's face.

She could have been thinking she had this baby with such special needs as a form of punishment for some past deed, maybe just a cruel twist of fate but certainly not because perhaps she was special her self. I swear I saw her sit up taller and stronger. It is amazing what a few well thought out words can do.

Granny soon went in to see her doctor and the mother and I talked a while then she and the baby went in to see hers. It was the last I saw of either of them but I will remember all three.

Then it was my turn. I have gone through this procedure so many times but each time a bit of anxiety grabs my heart. Twenty two cancerous tumors have been removed over the years. Will this time be one of those where surgery has to be scheduled or will I get an all clear?

Yipee!! I got a clean check up once again and I am good for 6 more months. I asked if I would ever get my check ups to a year apart and he laughingly said, “Sure, in 2013 if you stay clean.” That seems forever away but it is OK, I know the rules and am comfortable with them. So you see, it really was a good day. I sure hope yours was also.