Wednesday, January 8, 2014

WHOLE LOT OF SHAKIN' GOING ON...

As long as you smile, have sparkly eyes and stick your shoulders back,
no one's going to notice your waist or your feet for that matter." 
Cat Deely 
 
Okay I smile, my eyes try their best to sparkle and I try to hold my shoulders back...hopefully you don't/won't notice the rest of me.  Because?  Well, because I have what's commonly called 'Familial Tremor'...and sometimes I have a 'whole lot of shakin' going on. 
 
Some think you can just force yourself to stop it...ha, no way!  They ought to try it.  Well...I'm okay as long as Michael sits to my left.  That seems to solve one facet of the shaking problem.  It's good that he and I can laugh about it...sort of shake it off?  Yeah.   


Elizabeth Edwards said this about her cancer...
"In a sense, having cancer  takes you by the shoulders
and shakes you." 

Cancer along with many other conditions really does a number on you!  Shakes you inside out...from top to bottom! 

Michael and I begin 2014 with a small milestone...four years ago we discovered he was living with a very rare condition known as Amyloidosis.  It's incurable...20% of patients diagnosed survive at least five years...depends on where Amy deposits itself in the body.  Michael is blest that his is localized in his throat...as far as all signs indicate.

Most people have never heard of it; not surprising given its mysterious makeup.  When M called me to give me the doctor's diagnosis the first thing he said was 'It isn't cancer (which we had suspected); it's something worse, Vasca'!  Ha, what a break! 

People ask about M's treatment plan; there is none.   We opted for treatment at Baylor/Dallas at the Sammons Cancer Center.  Very few places know enough to handle 'Amy'.  His Hematologist/Oncologist thinks it foolish to pour stuff into such a healthy specimen as Michael...hooray for that.   Other than the Amy deposit, he's doing fairly well...amazingly well for that condition. 

That quote about cancer...shakes you?  Amyloidosis really does a job on you!  We were in orbit for a few days before we settled into practicality...and walked in faith letting the Spirit guide us.  First thing after he phoned me w/the news...I clipped the carport backing out and then ran the first stop sign I came to.  Shaken???  You betcha'...but good.

Last year I decided not to read anymore accounts of those w/Amy...most of them had passed on much too quickly.  I read through more than 200 accounts but only two with the same diagnosis as Michael's.  His physicians like saying, 'You're one of the lucky ones' and as you know by now...we always say 'No, this is God's work...luck has nothing to do with it.' 

Giving it to God is such a relief...oh yes!  Initially we checked his throat deposit like crazy...gradually we did so less and less.  Until?  Ha, I hardly ever see him checking it and I haven't peeked in ages (giving Amy her privacy).  He says he looks occasionally...hasn't changed in his eyes! 

Someone said, 'Life is hard and not always fair'...perhaps it isAnd way back...years ago I used to say, 'Why in the world did this have to happen to me'...until I read an article that changed my thinking.  Why in the world would I wish this off on anyone else?  I wouldn't...better it's me.

Holding hands with God I can make it through this...

He gives me strength that I never realized I had.  

Besides, I need to smile and keep my eyes sparkly (lookin' on the bright side) so you don't notice the rest of me...all shook up!

From my heart...to yours!
Vasca

1 comment:

  1. kudos to you both for just living life. When it's out of your control, that's the best thing to do.

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