Stinko de Mayo 2011

Last May 5th didn't just stink...it sucked.  In a big way.

All was right with my world when I left work.  A matter of moments later, nothing was right.  I'll never forget walking into my living room to see my parents at my house. 

"I have cancer." 

What the hell?!  Mom was supposed to get the staples out from her gallbladder surgery.  Simple. 

Only not.

My world came crashing down around me as I fell to my knees next to my mom.  It made absolutely no sense.  Of course, my question was what type of cancer.  Gallbladder.  At the risk of repeating myself...what the hell?! 

It's year later now.  And, things are right again.  Last year at this time, we didn't know if we'd celebrate Christmas together as a family again.  This year, Mom is cancer-free.  I'll tell more about the journey in the days and weeks to come.

But tonight, on Cinco de Mayo, I'll end with one powerful thought...GOD IS GOOD!

And one powerful picture.  I took this less than an hour ago.  During our journey, God gave us many signs of hope.  Tonight, another one...

The last of normal

This day one year ago was the last day of the last month of "normal". 

It was May when everything went to hell...and everything began to go right.

Gallbladder cancer.  Did you even know it existed?  My family didn't.  Who ever heard of such a thing?  A gallbladder goes bad or develops stones and you have it out.  Easy.  Small little incisions.  Quick healing.  

Well, most of the time.  But in very rare circumstances, the gallbladder is cancerous.  Gallbladder cancer.

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach.  I fell to my knees...and cried and screamed and prayed. 

And after I finished praying, I prayed some more.

Gallbladder cancer.  Results so far from typical that I can still hardly believe it.

A pain in the side...

Mom had a pain in the side. We were in Maui and she just didn't feel well. Darn gallbladder. Over the last 30 years, Mom had three gallbladder attacks.

One was decades ago. The second was the first (and only) time we went to Hilton Head. That was shortly after we'd moved to the South. In 1995. Of course it would act up again while we were on vacation.

After returning home, Mom got the gallbladder checked out. Then, she got the gallbladder out. Simple. Except that the surgery made her sick and she had to spend the night in the hospital. I'd had the same thing happen to me many years earlier.

The good news was that I had had my gallbladder out many years earlier and absolutely loved the doc who did it. He was the one we called when it was Mom's turn. That would turn out to be one of the better choices we've ever made in life.

A year ago at this time, Mom was home and healing from surgery. Gallbladder gone. Surgery sites healing. Staples holding in place until they'd be removed on Cinco de Mayo. All was well.

Or so we thought.

Have you read the name of my blog? Results NOT Typical. God, how I wish they had been.

More tomorrow.

What a differnce a year makes!

A year ago today my family began a journey. We didn't know it at the time. It would be nine days before the true journey began. Tomorrow, I will take you back 12 months...and start at the beginning.