Vanquished

I started to write out a rant and rave on Tuesday regarding sitting in doctors' waiting rooms these days. I was sitting in a doctor's waiting room at the time. The gist of the blog was going to be how doctors' offices have changed over the years with positive comments about the availability of magazines aimed at men (Sports Illustrated, Automobile, etc.) in a women's breast health clinic. Further comment was going to be made about how the chairs were still uncomfortable but not as much so - and about the availability of a large chair for the obese in the waiting room in which I was waiting at the time.

I was interrupted by two events. First, the pen ran out of ink. I was about 2/3 the way down the page and had been writing with a pen which I had been daring to run out of ink for the past week.

Second, the lovely Miss Carol came out of the examination room and we headed home.

Oh, and she had the best news. She's clean.

The operation was a success, the cancer was localized and there was no trace of that tricky little devil in her body. To borrow a phrase from my daughter: "Hah! We win!"

Now, the process is not over. We had an appointment with the plastic surgeon earlier in the day and the plastic surgeon indicated the need for some follow up work due to some complication which happens primarily to red-heads. There's also the cosmetic side of the equation. Human vanity, you know.

And I am thankful. Thankful for the fact that the problem was found and corrected quickly. Thankful that the lovely Miss Carol won't have to go through chemotherapy. Thankful that we have this huge group of friends who have supported us with prayer in the past couple of months. Thankful that Carol is no longer living with the cancer.

I am also more aware than I was a year ago of the personal side of living with someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I have known a few in the past... Barb, Madge, "Cookie"... and I have gotten stories from others who have either been through the experience or who have been close to someone who has been through the experience. I can't help but to admire the courage of the women who come out of the experience with their heads held high for having vanquished the monster growing in their own bodies.

There are many more victories in the battle than there are otherwise.

Hah! We all win!

Be Seeing You!