Treatment #25

Treatment #25......today starts my third year of treatments.....it has been one more journey.
Today was also Rick's birthday.......he got to spend it at the clinic with me, six hours.....not much celebrating at the Watson house tonight.  We are both exhausted.

This morning was busy in the infusion room, things slowed down about noon.....I met a new chair buddy.....she's young and scared.....but there is  strength in her eyes.  She kept asking the question that probably most ask when they sit in those green chairs......."why me?"  There is no way I can answer that question.......it is one of those that for some there is no answer, for others, like me.......I finally came to the  conclusion....."why not me".  We talked for a long time......some want to talk, others don't......at least not at first.....but sooner or later, it truly helps to talk to someone else who sits in the green chairs.  We might not share the same disease, but we share the bond of those drips and those chairs.

Half way across the country, another friend was getting his drip today.  He called this morning to wish Rick a Happy Birthday.  We wished each other luck with the meds .  It's interesting how your support group develops, I have friends who text me on drip days, encouraging me to stay strong, to know that I am loved, and to rest.  They will never know how much their words mean to me.......there are days in that green chair when I feel like Alice, and I have fallen down the rabbit hole......never to know normal again.

I have been down today, I felt so bad that Rick spent his day at the clinic with me......but he knows, if the roles were reversed, I would do the same for him.  The nurses as always were so kind and caring, making sure all was right in my green universe.  I watch them, amazed at their skills, their compassion and their energy.  In another life, I hope I come back as one of them.....they do such important work.

I still can't believe today starts my third year in those green chairs.......it has been an eternity, it has been five minutes.......it definitely has changed my life.