Sunday, February 26, 2012

Now Playing With a Full Deck

(I'd like to thank childhood friend Peter for the title. And my mother and father, without whom this would not have been possible. And... what? The playing-off music already?!)

My birthday was last Thursday, February 23. I made it to 52.

On Monday, my friend Jeff drove me to my weekly check-up. My doctor gave me a report of steady blood counts and an overall thumbs up for how I'm doing. She did not give me preliminary biopsy results (I'll get them tomorrow) or permission to go home, yet. She did give me, in case I had forgotten, another reminder that getting here was far from certain.

How far from certain? I believe her words were, "You are a miracle." Huh. I have to give her credit for communicating enough of the gravity of the situation, back in November, that I had a reasonable sense of what I was up against, without making the odds seem so bleak that I might lose hope. Not being a believer in miracles, I don't know how I would have handled being told something that amounted to, "You need a miracle." Probably not well.

Fortunately, you don't have to believe in miracles to be the beneficiary of one.

The rest of the week brought my mom; chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, candied ginger, and chocolate-coated ginger; and cards, calls, and countless e-mails and Facebook messages, confirming, inescapably, that I am again the same age as Jan — that would be 52, Jan — and I don't get to use my stupid "cougar" joke for another year.

Looking forward to it!

5 comments:

  1. We are so happy for you! Enjoy every moment!!

    Deborah & Stephen

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  2. Hooray for Miracle Joe and the miracle workers at U of C ... not to mention your worldwide pray-ers! Looks like Good Luck Char(m) came through again for you today. When this is all behind you, she should look into renting herself out for her talis(wo)man services. :)

    KKBG

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  3. You are now officially the poster boy for never losing hope (now that we learn how dire things actually were back in November). This is such wonderful news. May the news continue to be as positive and may you soon be sent home, only to return to the city for fun.

    Sarah

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  4. I'm embarrassed to say that I *just* got the "playing with a full deck" reference ... sheesh.

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  5. Hi Joe! So glad to hear of all the progress/miracles! You attitude was amazing through it all, so it's no wonder things progressed in a positive way!! Keep up the good work! I'll send you some CALIF. sun and warmth! Love to both you and Jan!!! xoxoxoxo

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