Looking back now what is so shocking about Myeloma at this time in our journey, was how Dave was working, driving, flying and living his life and then WHAM! He is knocked on his preverbal ass in an instant and can hardly get out of bed. I have to dress him and help him with a shower… I mean, shoot! With my mother in her last cancer which took her life, it was a slow and gradual, gradient decline… This was WAY DIFFERENT. This was like Dave had been in a terrible accident or something and we had to get him back to normal somehow and that would be the road. But it wasn’t an “accident”. I remember when I helped him step over the 3″ tile lip in the hospital bathroom shower, and found something for him to hold on to while I put his dressing gown back on him and his PJ bottoms, I said, as I’m snapping up the back,
“Dave?”
“Yeah?”
“We are way too young for me to be doing this.”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, turn around, put your arm around my shoulders. Are you steady?”
“Yeah”
“Ok, let’s get you back in bed, take it easy, take your time…”
Later…MUCH LATER…we learned that Dave had a compression fracture in his spine at T8 or T9, I don’t remember which one. Holy Crap!
Fellow MM patient here. Just wanted to extend caring thoughts and good wishes. Your analogy of a club is spot on: I've said, "Cancer is the club no one wants to join – but membership has its privileges." Good luck.
– Nancy (aka The Coot)
http://lacootina.blogspot.com/