Half way there

Half way point.... that's where we are at in Larry's first round of chemo.  He had his third treatment yesterday and he has three more left.  Yep, that is the "half" way point.  Gosh, there are so many ways to look at half way.  Sometimes my mind drifts to the famous 'glass' is half full or is it half empty?  Sometimes my mind goes to being 'half way there' yes, I'm quoting a little Bon Jovi.  And yet sometimes, half way is just a segment of a journey.  We know for sure that he has 3 more treatments in this round.  But we are very uncertain what our journey looks like after that.  How many half ways will we be celebrating?  How many half ways will we be looking forward to?  To me that unknown is scary.  Yes, I try and take it day by day - it's a little bit easier to grasp.  I'm not typing this to scare any of you, I type this today because last night my apprehension, my vulnerabiltiy with this awful disease, and my total outlook was eased by one man.  I share this today because I know I'm not the only one with these feelings.  I want all of your fears, your feelings of vulnerability of the unknown to be eased.

It's a tradition now that the night of my brother's treatment we eat as a family.  Steak and potatoes on the grill is our 'chemo day' meal.  When I walked through the door of my mom's place I saw my brother.  Sitting, watching the Sox game shooting the shit with my mom, aunt and Livia.  This is a guy that just sat for 6 hours and received chemo.  Of course, I had to know how the chemo day went in FULL detail.  He laughs at me now, but I'm sure it's annoying.  And here are the highlights of that conversation...

I felt much more nauseas this time....but I took my pill and it's better

I definitely cannot drink or touch cold things at all now...so I drink lukewarm water and don't go in the refrigerator

I felt much more tired after treatment...so I took a nap when I got home

The one man living this disease everyday of his life, is the one man that easily puts your mind at ease.  Whatever is thrown at him he deals with it. On August 21st, I posted:

This Wednesday will mark the day my brother takes his first at bat with cancer on the mound.  The hardest part is you never know what pitch it will throw at you - I'm sure he'll see a couple curve balls, maybe even a few change ups.  But one thing that I am certain about is that my brother will be patient in the batter's box and and he will fight off every pitch cancer throws at him.  How do I know this?  He learned from the best - thank you White Sox. 


He has proven to be a good scout.  My brother is exactly who I want in the batter box, because he has proven he can hit whatever is thrown at him.  As the season goes on, as his cancer journey continues, I have complete confidence that he will continue to be that batter.  So, last night my brother put my mind at ease.  Not with words but by his action.  

Sox it to it Lar...