Two ”Post-Cancer” Journeys

Warning: 

I try to avoid politics in my blog.  But sometimes it just seeps up through the cracks!  If you are a Trump supporter - I encourage you to skip this post.  

Let’s begin with the first post cancer journey - as it impacts my husband and I most directly.  Since October 21, my husband has been recovering from the treatments that are meant to kill his cancer.  We are now in a holding pattern until his PET scan in December.  This period has not been totally peaceful.  He received 2 units of blood 5 days after his last treatment because his oxygen carrying blood cells - his hemoglobin - had dropped into the critical range just before his last chemo and radiation.  Getting through that 5 days till the transfusion was a bit harrowing.  It is stunning just how impactful oxygen in the blood is to the body.  Three days after that vital transfusion, he saw his Oncologist and they pulled another blood test.  Those 2 units didn’t raise his oxygen levels as much as was needed.  In fact his hemoglobin levels were lower. Thinking back I realized that before his last chemo his hemoglobin was low enough to trigger the blood transfusion.  Then he had the last chemo and the last radiation!  They probably dropped his levels even lower.  So low that he couldn’t walk from the bed to the bathroom without stopping to rest.  I can tell you I didn’t sleep very well that week.  I kept waking to make sure he was still breathing.  The first transfusion brought him back up to functional but no where near safely normal.  So he is scheduled for a second transfusion of 2 more units - probably this week.  And this time, since he has had no other treatments, he should be closer to normal.  The PET scan in December will tell us if that cancer is gone.

Now onto the next “cancer” journey - the national one!

Tomorrow is Election Day. Tomorrow is our National PET scan test to determine if we have managed to wipe out the head of that cancer called Trump from our Oval Office for good.  I remember back to 2016 when Trump entered the race for the Presidency.  I remember thinking even then that this man who had absolutely no experience in governing, no public service experience, no experience in the practice of law, no military service - nothing that would remotely qualify him for the highest office in our land - couldn’t last as a viable candidate.  All I knew was that he was some sort of rich business man who had a shady background and had declared bankruptcy several times - and that he had a TV show where he enjoyed firing contestants.  My gut said - this man is a crook!  My gut was right.  Since that time - this Trump-cancer has spread and infected an entire political party and a HUGE number of our citizenship with a cult-like mob approach.  As a Registered Independent, I couldn’t understand why the Republican Party stand up to him and provide our country with a true conservative choice for President.  Over the years I watched as that party was hijacked by this singular Trump-cancer.  Now this same Trump-cancer threatens our very democratic institutions.  Never, never, never - in my whole life - did I worry that the person chosen by the people to be our President would destroy us - until the Trump-cancer.  

In this election cycle I have been addicted to all the news feeds related to this upcoming election.  And it has truly been an addiction that I will need to break myself from.  No matter who wins this week I need to step back from haunting all the news feeds (even Fox) - and break away for my own peace of mind.  Even if Kamala Harris wins (and I so pray that she does), the poison that is the Trump-cancer  will still fester in our country for a while.  This “illness” that has almost killed us will take time to heal.  The hate and devision that Trump-cancer has normalized will still be around.  There is no national “blood transfusion” that will cleanse our country.  Just time and patience.   But the PET scan, our upcoming election, is the first healing step in that process!

It pleases me no end - if the one to clean up this MAGA mess - is a woman!

FINALLY!!