We took part in our local Relay for Life today, something that I have done before but of course this was the first time since
BL's dad's diagnosis. It actually has been roughly a full year since his initial diagnosis. There have been some pretty rough points since then, some very rough points, it seems impossible that it has been such a short period of time since that first day when we found out.
It was important for us that the mister be involved in this. During so much of this, our own encounter with cancer, he has been too small and uninvolved to understand what has gone on. He is still too little to really understand it all, but one day I hope to be able to show him these pictures and tell him about how great a help he was to all of us during this frequently dark time.
He was his usual charming self, saying hi to all the people going bye and even mistakenly greeting an older gentleman as 'Pa'. He has started calling my dad this. He also really enjoyed becoming acquainted with our friend Kristen's dog Vito. MR loves dogs, and he especially loves dog kisses. He kept kneeling down to hug Vito and putting his face in front of the dog's, hoping for some licks.
I think we managed to kind of distract ourselves from the full weight of the event until the survivor's lap. As we watched this group come past our part of the track I scanned through the group, landing on the face of one young woman wearing a headscarf and obviously still deep in the throes of her own battle. Then we saw the little girl, not more than four, on her dad's shoulders wearing her survivor's shirt. Quite often in my father-in-law's journey he has reminded us of how fortunate he actually is, in comparison to some of his other companions in the chemo room. He sees mothers in there, and children. People who have not lived to see their own children grow, or perhaps even finished their own childhood. I had to take a deep breath and regain my composure before rejoining the rest of our group, silently thankful for my own healthy boy. And thankful too that though it has been only a year my father-in-law is cancer free, done with his last round of chemo, and only weeks away from his last surgery. It's an ongoing process, but
atleast we are over this hill.
We took part in our local Relay for Life today, something that I have done before but of course this was the first time since BL's dad's diagnosis. It actually has been roughly a full year since his initial diagnosis. There have been some pretty rough points since then, some very rough points, it seems impossible that it has been such a short period of time since that first day when we found out.
It was important for us that the mister be involved in this. During so much of this, our own encounter with cancer, he has been too small and uninvolved to understand what has gone on. He is still too little to really understand it all, but one day I hope to be able to show him these pictures and tell him about how great a help he was to all of us during this frequently dark time.
He was his usual charming self, saying hi to all the people going bye and even mistakenly greeting an older gentleman as 'Pa'. He has started calling my dad this. He also really enjoyed becoming acquainted with our friend Kristen's dog Vito. MR loves dogs, and he especially loves dog kisses. He kept kneeling down to hug Vito and putting his face in front of the dog's, hoping for some licks.
I think we managed to kind of distract ourselves from the full weight of the event until the survivor's lap. As we watched this group come past our part of the track I scanned through the group, landing on the face of one young woman wearing a headscarf and obviously still deep in the throes of her own battle. Then we saw the little girl, not more than four, on her dad's shoulders wearing her survivor's shirt. Quite often in my father-in-law's journey he has reminded us of how fortunate he actually is, in comparison to some of his other companions in the chemo room. He sees mothers in there, and children. People who have not lived to see their own children grow, or perhaps even finished their own childhood. I had to take a deep breath and regain my composure before rejoining the rest of our group, silently thankful for my own healthy boy. And thankful too that though it has been only a year my father-in-law is cancer free, done with his last round of chemo, and only weeks away from his last surgery. It's an ongoing process, but atleast we are over this hill.
1 comment:
I'm glad your father-in-law is doing better. I can't imagine how emotional that must have been. My father will have a basal cell carcinoma removed this week. He told me it's not serious, and I kind of accept that, but I'll be ready for his surgery to be over and for him to be given the all clear.
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