ONE OF THOSE DAYS

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It was a Monday

Have you ever had one of those days?  The kind of day where no matter what happened you felt like you were behind and underwater.  Monday was a Monday of all Mondays.

I woke up tired.  Sunday had been a busy day and my body felt weary.  I was tired and I knew it.  My energy level was low and I could tell there was little chance of it getting any better.  I have learned that on days like this I am much more sensitive to everything.  My emotions are near the surface and things I can normally manage to overlook set me headed in a bad direction.

For example, at lunch I could not open my 1 liter sprite bottle.  The neuropathy was bad and I had no strength.  Nancy came to my rescue but it was frustrating and in many ways humiliating.  Later in the day I tried to open a package of gum.  My fingers would not work, I could not feel the wrapper to pull it off so once again I handed it off to Nancy…I am glad she is around.

I need to get a scan this week.  The insurance company and hospital were not communicating well.  We had tried to “help them” communicate most of last week to no avail.  Nancy called the oncologists office this am…they had not heard any news and would make a call on my behalf.

My neuropathy is not getting better.  In fact it is slowly creeping up my arms and legs.  My arms and legs are numb just above my elbows and knees.  I called my oncologist and they decided to put me on yet another medicine to help with the neuropathy.  The only side effect, “it will make you tired.”  “Yeah, just what I need…something else to make me tired.”  I am not sure I will take the medicine.  This may be one of those things I tough out just so I do not have to deal with the side effects.  I am not eager to put more drugs into my system.

The oncologist’s office called.  They arranged for the scan!  Only thing is I needed blood work before I could have it done.  Drop everything and run to the office to have the blood drawn.

Now I can look forward to Barium…love that stuff.  It was one of those days.  I wanted to stop and start the day again.

FROGS

I walked into my oncologists office and found this sitting behind the receptionists desk!  I just started laughing.  The kind of laugh that comes from deep within and allows you to release some of the stress you are carrying.  Cheryl just smiled and said, “How can I help you sir?”  She knew why I was there.  She is the first person I see every time I walk into that office.  We often have a friendly banter.  Seeing her is part of what makes trips to that office enjoyable.  She runs the office in an extremely efficient manner.  Cheryl knows her job, enjoys her job and does it very well.  Lest you think everything is “fun and games” I sat in the waiting room today and watched as she “schooled” one of the visiting drug reps on what was the appropriate way to enter her office so as not to waste her time.  It was classic.  Done firmly, yet kindly all the while dressed as a frog!  I hope you never have to visit her office.  If you do you will notice that her desk is covered with all kinds of frogs.  Everyone has their thing, for Cheryl it is frogs and she covers her work station with them.  Walking in and seeing a giant frog in her chair was just too much.  It was exactly what I needed on this Monday.  On my way out of the office I asked Cheryl if I could take her picture.  She was all too excited to show off her costume.

On my way to the truck I stopped to talk to the husband of a patient I see most times I am in for treatment.  We were in the hall and I could discretely ask how his wife was doing.  With a huge smile he said, “She is doing fantastic.”  He shared some more of her journey and then asked how I was doing.  My response was a little more positive for having been in the presence of a “frog”.  He shared some tips for dealing with some of the side effects of treatment and then we went our separate ways.

I had parked in a handicapped spot just outside the door so I got to the truck quickly.  As soon as I sat down someone pulled in behind me.  They just sat in the aisle blocking me from leaving.  I took the moment to get my phone out and turn the volume back on and check to see if I had missed any calls during my time in the doctors office.  A few minutes later there was a woman at the side of my truck.  “Are you going to stay here all day or are you going to leave?”  “I have an ninety year old woman in my car who needs this spot!”  I looked back and that vehicle was still blocking me from leaving…only now the drivers door was open and I was being yelled at by the driver!

Wham!  It was Monday again.  The frogs were gone.  “Excuse me, I cannot get out of this spot with you parked so close…unless you want me to hit your car.”  “I need to park here…are you leaving?”  “I will leave as soon as you move your car so I can get out.”  With that she stomped back to her car and slowly backed up a few feet.  I drive a big red Ford F-150.  I had visions of backing the rear end halfway up the front of her car.  It was a fleeting vision, and not a godly one.  In the end I simply smiled and waved as I drove away.  Her Monday must have been going like mine.

How does one recover from a Monday like this?  We all have those special techniques that help us get over a day that pushes, pokes and prods us in all the wrong places.  One of my favorite ways to recover is to go out to dinner with some special people.  Nancy, Rayann and I went to Ruby Tuesday’s and enjoyed a great time together.  Nobody needed desert.  New York style cheesecake was on the menu.  In the end Rayann and I decided we could split one.  There is no better way to end a bad day than to share a cheesecake with Rayann.

God is Good All the Time…All the Time God is Good