April 5, 2011
An Introduction:
Today marks the first steps taken on a very personal journey into territory unknown.....into a "terra incognita"
with no landmarks or milestones to guide the body and the spirit. Countless others have made the same journey... it is personal, and it is frightening, and it is a test of all that one is. It is a confrontation with death and love and faith. It is a matter of dignity and courage and of honor. That is how I see this journey into the unknown....
I will be honest and straightforward and I will attempt to remain faithful to the purpose of this blog. That purpose is to keep the interested informed as to the progress of my journey, but most importantly I hope to give an accounting of my spiritual progress. Perhaps I can be of help to other "pilgrims"...those confronted with the ineluctable demand to set out on the same path. They largely travel silently and unseen, accompanied only by loved ones and family...if they are fortunate to have such.
I am one of those fortunate ones. I have the support and love of my dear wife, Suzanne, and my two sons, Scott and Kevin. I have the support of a large extended family...six brothers, three sisters and a dear mother who is devastated that her "first baby" has cancer. She lost a beautiful young daughter many years ago, and she still grieves. The family lost a loving father to cancer twenty years ago, and mother has never gotten over the loss of her one true love.
We never know what life will bring us and when.
Suzanne and I traveled across town to Cedars-Sinai Hospital to confer with Doctor Edward Wolin today. Dr. Wolin treated my father over twenty years ago when Edward fell ill with colon/liver cancer.
He and his colleagues have formed a group that specializes in the treatment of the type of tumor that has been discovered in my abdomen. The tumor is rare..but very slow-growing, and if discovered early-on can be removed with the likelihood of little or no post-operative therapy. That is the best-case scenario.
Dr. Wolin is a man of action. A cascade of tests and scans has been ordered. My head is spinning, but Suzanne is taking notes and trying to keep it all manageable.
I will explain more in the next post....about the tests, how the tumor was discovered in the first place and about the probable medical steps taking place in the next two weeks.
It has been a long day.
Steve
The family who is blessed to call you brother walks by your side, in step, as you travel this path into the unknown. We are watching and waiting and will hold you and your loved ones up.
ReplyDeleteSteve and Sue,
ReplyDeleteI am a little more composed now. I am so happy that you have started this blog. It is Incredibly generous of you two to have the energy to share the unknown while you experience this journey between yourselves. We as a family "blog" very well with or without a computer but this spares you from having to exhaust yourself from repeating current updates. I also want to thank you Steve, for calling me personally the other night after a long day at the hospital. What a warrior.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI never knew you had a blog! I wish I would have known about this when you were going through all of this. It is crazy how similar our situations were in many regards. I really appreciate your thoughts on all of what happened to you. You were such a realist - as am I and it is nice to see such strong will with such a good outcome. I have read a good portion of your blog and I will continue on later.
Ryan