With Thanks - Just a couple of weeks early.

Thanksgiving came just a couple of weeks early this year to the Harrell household. As I was wading through the junk mail box (22 new items since last night... sheesh!), Carol called and relayed the information that the needle biopsy she had on Tuesday had come back benign. Good news. Very good. That's just one less side to worry about when she goes into consultation with her Oncologist here in the next couple of days.
Good news, indeed, and news to be thankful for.
To be certain she is still a bit sore and bruised from the experience (from being prodded on both sides), but we are optimistic about the preliminary diagnosis on the cancer in her right breast. It has probably been caught in time for treatment to be effective.
Some years ago I had been persuaded to join a group of Episcopalians in a weekend retreat called Cursillo. Nearly died on the way there because the driver of the automobile got fed up with my constant nervous opening and closing of my window and was willing to kill me. On the other hand, Cursillo was a Godsend. It helped me quit smoking once and for all and it gave me a way to be able to cope with some of the major and minor crisies I encountered in the years since.
Since meeting Carol, I had been nudging her in the same direction, partly in order to gain a new prayer partner, and partly to help her cope with the crisies which will inevitably befall her. We finally got her schedule cleared and sent her to Cursillo just this past September.
Now Cursillo is a Godsend to Carol.
She has lots of people praying for her who have known her for a very short time, in addition to the people she has known already. Just as importantly, she had become aware of the importance of taking care of her own health which led to the mammogram, which led to the couple of biopsys (biopsies?) which are leading to treatment and wellness.
This is not to suggest to my friends of other faiths that Episcopal Cursillo is the only road to salvation and wellness. In our case, we have seen some definite benefits from belonging. Works for us. The one thing I will suggest, at least to my female friends, is that the occasional mammogram shouldn't hurt... at the very least it can help alert you to a potential problem well before it can become a bigger problem. As much as us men find ourselves attracted to a woman based on her bra size, none of us who really care about the women we live with really give the rat's patoot to that particular set of attributes. I love Carol as she is and will continue to love her no matter what happens in regards to her left breast. She knows this, even as she worries about the possibility of "being mutilated".
At this point, Carol and I are both thankful for the skills of the diagnosticians in helping to avoid what could have been a major catastrophe.
Thanksgiving has come a couple of weeks early this year.
For Christmas... would it be too much to ask for a "D" cup? ;-)

Be Seeing You!