It Grows On You

My life continues to overflow with God’s blessings through family, friends, and sometimes just out of the blue.  In May, Diane and I drove across the country to Michigan and met our only granddaughter.

She’s a precious cutie, and much of the time seems to have something important she wants to say, but doesn’t yet know how to effectively articulate. It will be fascinating when she does. We saw friends and relatives on the way there and back. I wish we could have stayed longer for each visit.

Our son and daughter-in-law took us on a wonderful Lake Superior cruise to a place called Pictured Rocks. Amazing mineral colors can be seen oozing out of the sandstone cliffs there.  

I’ve been looking forward to summer, and June is suddenly circling the drain.

I started playing Volleyball again. I used to have a team, maybe you’ve heard of us, “Ricky Normal and the Jazz Head Cowboys”? That was actually the name of my band in a dream, but since the odds of me leading a music group while conscious are pretty slim, I decided to use the name for my Volleyball team.

The league I play in now doesn’t have organized teams, in fact, it’s not even a league. It’s just a group of local people age 55 or older (frequently) hitting the ball over the net and having a good time .

It is fun, but I’ve been plagued by a random, sporadic shortening of the arms and an intermittent disconnect between the eyes and brain. That’s bad enough when you’re just trying to make contact with the ball, but it’s especially embarrassing when you do hit the ball and then go for the high five your team-mate offered up – and you swish the air completely missing that slap!

My second 3 month appointment and tests weren’t due for two more weeks, but I’ve been revisited by some previous back and leg pain symptoms. Knowing that Multiple Myeloma attacks the bone, I decided to get in to see the Oncologist sooner.

The test results that came back right away don’t indicate cancer activity, but because of what has previously happened in my back (click here for the December 14, 2011 post), and because of the returning symptoms with no known cause, MRI’s and an x-ray have been scheduled.

Still Counting

I continue with low dose chemo shots every two weeks. I see the Oncologist (or doctor’s assistant) every three months.

At some point between doctor visits I always conclude that next time I see her, I’m going to tell her that I’m exhausted more than ever, that my lagging, tingling feet are more full of sand than ever, and that the disconnect my body experiences when I stand from sitting very long is more apparent than ever.

Everything seems more than ever, and I don’t like it. But, when the time comes to actually roll out my list of complaints, I have to be honest and try to measure accurately.

Are my legs really heavier than ever? Feet more independent than ever? Ears ringing louder than ever? No, not really. It was nearly 100 degrees the day I wrote this. Maybe the temperature exaggerates my symptoms.

I can still walk. I function. I can speak clearly without raising eyebrows (a co-worker recently had a stroke and temporarily could not do this). I look, and right before my eyes there is a new blessing, like the birth of our first granddaughter.

And then there is another blessing, and another. They are unavoidable. They are countless. Realizing this again, I’m embarrassed about my relatively trivial complaints. I remain thankful to God.

My wife got a new knee for her birthday