In Other Words with Dave – August 2020

When I was a little guy, I had a lot of operations on my ears. Mastoid operations, tubes put in my ears, new eardrums – I have a lot of memories of doctor visits and hospital stays. My least favorite part of all this were the shots. I dreaded shots. But my mom always told me if I was brave, we’d stop at the toy store on the way home and I could pick out a toy race car.

Here I am fifty plus years later thinking about what got me through back then – and what can get me through my “right now,” because I’m getting lots of shots. I’m in treatment for bone marrow cancer.

My diagnosis came as quite a shock. I was feeling a little off, but I figured I may have arthritis, some slowing down, low testosterone, year 2020 depression, who knows – just not feeling myself. Then I unexpectedly started breaking bones. Ribs to be exact. That’s how this type of cancer gets discovered. Weakening bones start snapping. Anyway, I’m set up to work remotely while a team of medical geniuses get me back to healthy again. And, Alison, my bride of one year, is getting a crash course in caretaking.

So now when I get my shots, I let my mind drift back and think of little Dave holding it together for his mom and trying to understand that it’s not always going to be like this. And maybe, just maybe there will be something special for me after these rounds of treatments. By the way, have you seen the new mid-engine Corvette C8? Now that’s a toy race car.