I Can Do This

I can do this.

That is my motto. I’ve had the monster in my body for about 4 months now. I was brought to my knees by multiple myeloma cancer on February 25th and got the diagnoses a day or two later while in the emergency room at the hospital. My two weeks there was hell on earth. I’ve never been in so much pain before. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I can actually write about it without having to stop. It was worse than anything you or I can imagine. I thought I was going to die and that the only way I was leaving was going to be in a bag.

Nope. I can do this.

It started with a nurse named Hope. Yes, that really was her name. I took it as a sign. She’s a spry black woman that I’d guess to be about 50 years old. Obviously she was in charge and didn’t take shit from anybody, especially me. She had an attitude that was scary. There’s no other way to describe it. My immediate goal was to win her over. I’ve met a lot of grumpy folks in my lifetime. Most are retired CEO’s that are used to being in charge. Not on my boat. I’m proud to say that many of these same men with the attitudes are now close friends.

So I started out asking her questions about her family and why she was a nurse. I don’t believe any patient of her’s had done that before. She warmed a bit, but it took several days to win her over. We did each step of my hospital recovery together and she even made a point of stopping by to see how I was doing, even when she was working a different area of the ward.

Thank you, Hope. I can do this.