I'm going to keep it short, because after all... this day is not about me. I woke-up this morning with a sore throat. The inside of my mouth feels swollen. My gums are sensitive in a couple areas and the insides of my cheeks feel a bit raw. It is crazy how radiation continues to do its work even on days I am not receiving treatments. I am also experiencing a ringing in my ears. I believe they call this tinnitus. Anyhow... it is a common side effect associated with the Cisplatin I am receiving (my chemotherapy poison).
Tomorrow starts a new week of treatments. I imagine this week is when I will encounter what we in the military like to call, "the suck". Today couldn't have been a better day to kick-off the next six weeks. Tonight, Jess and I watch "We Were Soldiers," a war film that dramatizes the Battle of la Drang in Vietnam. Not only is it a captivating movie... it is an outstanding example of the sacrifices our service members have made to ensure our safety and security as a nation. I am reminded that some have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Their lives were lost so that we may be free. One man's battle with cancer seems to pale in comparison. Sure, my life matters, and so do the lives of every other cancer warrior. I'm not trying to minimize the fact some people die from this horrific disease. One man's struggle for survival is not the same as putting your life on the line so that others may live. It is the selfless sacrifice to something bigger than one's self... that is what I'm trying to stress.
Yes... the next six weeks will suck. But, on this Memorial Day, I am reminded that history has seen countless men and women suffer much more... under extreme conditions... away from their families... odds stacked against them... their friends cut down in battle... and survive to see the light of another day. I will survive this... no matter how difficult it gets.
Beautifully written. I love you sweetheart, so proud you are my Son.
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