Waiting for the final word

Waiting. That has become a common.

Wait for this test. Wait for that test. Wait for labs to be taken. Wait for lab results. Wait to see the doctor.

While I wait, I’ve been traveling down memory lane through YouTube and the songs that helped form my views on life. Dire Straits, U2, the Alarm, John Cougar Mellancamp and today, it’s Tom Petty and the the Heartbreakers.

If you have been following me in the Gering Courier you have heard me ramble in past columns. If not, let me bring you up to speed.

Six months ago, my wife and I got an unwelcome surprise.

A check up raised concerns with her doctor who sent her to a specialist in Denver. So it was off to Denver, with no real worries.

In Denver, she was diagnosed with stage one ovarian cancer. It then meant chemotherapy and a long six months of watching my beautiful, super strong wife become very tired and weak.

We have spent a great deal of time in hospitals, waiting, but it is part of the game. Today, could be the final round of waits.

She had her last of six chemo treatments three weeks ago and today, she has a CT Scan, blood work and a checkup.

The last six months have been grueling. It has been a daily battle that has gotten harder and harder after each chemo treatment. For Linda, some days, just getting dressed in the morning wore her out. There were days she would take a shower then have to take a nap afterwards.

This is a lady who was nonstop before this ordeal began. Sleeping in past 6 a.m. was unheard of, and relaxing meant working in the yard.

If you have gone through chemo or know someone who has, you understand the struggles from fatigue, losing hair, chills, depression and even chemo brain. Cancer is vicious and unforgiving.

About 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed this year in America, according to the National Cancer Institute. Linda was one of those.

“Baby, you’re the only one whose ever known how to make me want to live like I want to live now,” I hear Tom singing. I look over at Linda and smile, she is that lady in my life and I don’t want to lose her.

Thanks to research and advances, today cancer isn’t the death sentence it once was. In fact, if caught early the chances of survival is good for many. However, it is still a big killer, taking the lives of some 595,690 people each year. Winning the battle is tough and it takes family, friends and a great support team.

Linda has had that team. Tons of people have been praying, and those prayers have been felt. We have family and friends who have stopped by at just the right time to encourage. Then there is the community, lead by Tom and Becky Horne, Brenda Leisy, Bluffs Broadcasting and the Old West Balloon Fest who held a fundraiser for Linda.

To each and all of you, Linda and I would shout, “THANK YOU!” You will never know how much you have meant and how much strength we have gained through your prayers and support.

So here we wait in the lobby. Linda is reading her messages and I’m listening to Tom (Petty) sing about waiting.

He’s right, it is the hardest part.

“You take it on faith. You take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part.”

Finally, the nurse comes out.

“Linda.”

We head to the back and find ourselves waiting once again in the exam room.

Finally, Dr. Saketh Guntupalli comes in. He shakes our hands, sits down, and after making us wait for what seemed like forever, asked, “Would you like the good news or the good news?”

With a straight face, he ends the waiting and says, “You are cancer free.”