Tis The Season

This is a true story. The lead character - Bob, the patient - is a friend and mentor of mine. He plucked me from a gaggle of entry-level employees at my first job after I got my bachelor's degree and groomed me for a series of special assignments that gave me the opportunity to grow professionally. Over time our relationship progressed from mentor-mentee to friendship. When I moved from Houston to Central Texas we stayed in touch, and got together for a few rounds of golf every year. By a stroke of fate, his daughter ended up living about 30 miles from us, so we'd visit when Bob and his wife came to see their grandkids.

Several years ago he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Chemo and radiation seemed to have regressed, or at least halted, the disease. However, on Tuesday of this week the following stream of emails began. (The author is a friend of Bob and I who lives in Houston, where Bob still lives.)

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Date: Tue Dec 21 18:17

I went to the hospital today to see Bob………

If you have never been to MD Anderson, I hope you never have a reason to go……. Most people are walking around with bald heads and caps, sad eyes, and soulless stares.  They move slowly, and their family and visitors act just like they do, except they have hair.

There is a stench of disease in the hallways, and no one smiles……… I’m sure it’s a great hospital with a tough job….. but existing there and waiting for treatment has got to be as hard as the treatment, or worse.

Bob…….. I don’t think it’s good,  (The wife) was there, and although having been sick with a cold she said, looks like she has been beaten with a stick….. tired, sad, and I think scared.

Bob is swollen…. His head and neck are one big bulge….. any definition around his eyes are gone…. Just slits….. his forearms are swollen, he looks like Popeye in his arms….

He was waiting for a MRI….. he needs a stint to relieve the fluids in his body,,,,, there is a tumor pressing on his heart, and he may have a blood clot in his heart…..

But he can’t have the stint procedure if he has brain cancer….. yep, for some reason they think he may have brain cancer again….. that’s why he is having the MRI…….

His family is supposed to let me know tonight or in the morning what the MRI showed and whether the brain cancer is back or not, and if they will be able to do the stint to relieve the pressure and figure out what else is going on………. Like he needs more to be going on……

I gave him the cards y’all signed, and if you didn’t, I signed your name to them….. I gave him a t-shirt that said “ golf is easy, it’s the scoring that’s hard”.  And some Killer Bee golf balls that are not USGA approved because of their supposed increase in distance.

I think he liked still being considered a non-conformist…..

You guys know what to do….. pray for our friend Bob, and tell others…. As soon as I hear  from (the wife) I’ll pass on the word

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Date: Wed Dec 22 17:29

I called (the wife) a couple of hours ago to see how the tests went yesterday.  She sounded annoyed, angry, and generally pissed off, and really tired.

She said the tests did not go well.  I asked if it was brain cancer and she said it was worse than that; that it was very bad.  She wouldn’t tell me what it was because they were not ready to tell anyone ( that would be me and Y’all by default ) what it is or what’s happening now.  She said that (the son) and (the daughter) could not handle what was going on and left the hospital and said they couldn’t or wouldn’t be coming back…… Leaves (the wife) there alone I guess, except I do plan on going back.

Not really sure the kids said exactly that, but that’s what she heard and I understand how hard it would be to see dad at this stage.

So, I know nothing except to say it’s worse than they expected or at least (the wife) hoped and wanted. I’ll try to get more info.

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Date: Thu Dec 23 11:22

I’m so excited of the news I just got from (the wife), and the way she sounded with hope and some sort of relief in her voice, it’s kind of hard to type….

Yesterday when I sent y’all the email about how angry and defeated (the wife) was, it was because the doctors had just told her that there was nothing else they could do for Bob.  Finished, completed, run out of answers and ideas. DONE!

However, one doctor in this band of Christmas coal delivery suggested that maybe another doctor, Dr. Expert, should be consulted….. (The daughter) and (the wife) implored Dr. Expert to look at Bob.  Nothing to lose, the others had written him off, it was just of matter of time, days, hours,…. Whatever.

Dr. Expert reviewed Bob’s issues ( besides his poor putting ) and immediately put him in surgery.   Three to four hours later, he is in ICU, recovering from having his blood clots removed from his heart ( they crushed them!?) and installation of the stint he needed to drain the fluids so they could now tackle the radiation treatment with less fear of complications.  He will be in ICU for about another 24 hours, then moved to another room….

(The wife) said that they said within another week, he will be feeling much better.  Didn’t go as far as to say feeling like a new man, but  an alive man.  Damn he is tough!  (The wife) sounds like she has drawn her first breathe in about three weeks or longer.

I think they were going to let him die yesterday….. Dr. Expert said no, I want, I can , I will do this.  He did!

Bob is far, far from being out of the woods as you all know, but as he has always done, lives to fight another day……. God Bless you all for your prayer and thoughts for Bob and (the wife)…. She told me tell you all that she knows that you are praying for the family, and she appreciates it,,,,,,, and it’s worked?

Miracle on Holcombe Blvd!   Merry Christmas everyone,,,,, I’ll keep you updated.

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Bob has a long way to go, but he's much better off today than he was yesterday. So I guess tis indeed the season for miracles...