At the risk of sounding like a Karen, I just need to vent a bit. I was on one of the machines at my gym this morning, contemplating my daughter Keili’s future. She just had a bone marrow tap the other day and won’t get the results until she sees her oncologist in a week and a half. These waiting periods have always been a problem for me as I am known to be impatient. It happened all the time when Cory was in treatment and annoyed me then, too. In case you missed it, Keili went to France with three friends to celebrate her cancer treatment’s end. While there, she tripped or rolled her ankle on the cobblestone. We are unsure what caused it because her feet remain numb from the chemotherapy. Anyway, she called me from the emergency room at a hospital in Strousberg, France, with the horrific news that her fall had broken her left foot and her right ankle. After a lot of stress and a bajillion dollars for a first-class seat home, she had surgery a week and a half ago. She is in a boot and a cast. Getting around is challenging when you cannot put weight on either foot. She has persevered. So, while we were in the car yesterday, Keili mentioned that her heart rate is still off the charts and that her reduced medication isn’t doing the trick. We will head to the cardiologist on the same day as the oncologist. That was yesterday’s stressor.
Back to today. So, I am quietly pondering, and this woman comes in and, of course, takes the treadmill behind where I was ruminating. Too loudly, she starts complaining to someone on her phone (phones are a no-no) about how pissed off she is that her son was not accepted into the USC Law School. She said, “Well, yes, he did apply to other schools, BUT USC was his first choice!” This went on for 5 minutes. I seriously wanted to smack her. I wanted to say, “Lady, get some perspective. Does he have cancer? Does he have a heart problem? Well, I have a kid who has the bones of an old lady because of her chemo treatment and a messed up heart. Get real!” But I just fumed and left.
While driving home, I remembered how insensitive some people were when Cory was sick. He tossed his cookies for more than five years. He, like, Keili, couldn’t walk many times from the treatments. I had friends whine to me about their child having ear infections or strep throat, and other treatable ailments, even though they knew what my son was experiencing. It would drive me batty to hear blow-by-blow descriptions of an uncomfortable child with chicken pox.
I got home and told Steve, my kind, patient, psychologist, angel of a husband, that I am getting weary of stupid people with such easy lives that they whine about silly stuff. He smiled and said, “Honey, you haVe never suffered those people well.” I replied, “touche.”
So, awareness is critical, and perspective is essential to avoid people like me who take umbrage with unnecessary whining, as I was close to snapping.
Be well,
Shirley
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