Humor in the "Tall Weeds"

Humor in the "Tall Weeds"

Friday, Sept 2, 2011

by Bob (dictated to Jenny)

I was asked recently how I could maintain a sense of humor in light of everything that has happened. The answer of course is God's grace. I am also reminded every day that there are people in much worse shape than I am. I do not want to minimize or trivialize the pain and suffering that so many people are going through. There is nothing funny about a bone marrow transplant. I did not laugh much during chemo-therapy. I am convinced that if we open our eyes in the midst of the circumstances of life, we will find that there are humorous aspects to most of life's situations. Without seeing the humor, I do not believe I would be able to walk through these "tall weeds."

I thought I would relay a story that happened about a year ago when Patra and I went to Moffit Cancer Center for an appointment. When I got out of the car, my world began to spin, and I realized I was about to pass out. Patra “carried” me into the main lobby and found the closest chair for me to sit in while she ran to get a wheelchair. When she returned with the wheelchair, we went up the 4th floor, and I was placed in a private room where I received fluids and protein. Some time later I began to come back to reality, and I asked, “Pat, was I sitting next to a dog downstairs?”

She laughed and then explained to me that the closest chair available in the lobby was a chair at the end of the aisle where the dogs were gathered for “pet therapy”. In just one moment, when I was semi-conscious downstairs, I had felt a presence and opened my eyes. In those brief moments I was staring face to face with a very large golden retriever. Our noses were about 3 inches from each other. I drifted back into la-la-land and only hours later remembered the encounter. "Was there a dog sitting in the chair next to me in the waiting room?"



photo credit

I have always enjoyed the imprecision and ambiguity of the English language. One time we had a friend who brought cake over, and as she was leaving, she said to me “Be careful, don’t eat too much you might get sick.” We all laughed as we processed the words. Me? Get sick? Can I get any sicker than I already am?

Almost every morning Patra checks on me by asking, “Are you OK?” I usually respond by saying, “No… about 2 years ago I was diagnosed with a very nasty little disease.” We both laugh and then she says, “You know what I mean. Do you have any new symptoms.”

Again, this has been a very good week and I was able to attend church in my wheelchair last Sunday. I was not hospitalized during the entire month of August and that’s the longest stretch since last November that I haven’t required hospitalization. I have had some problems with my blood pressure at dialysis which causes me to become faint and pass out, but we are working on that and hopefully it has now been resolved.

This week I caught a cold and have a horrible cough. Thursday morning while I was trying to wash my hands at the sink, I coughed and my back went into spasms. As I started to fall, Patra caught me before I hit the floor. I skinned my arms on the counter and because my skin is so thin, both arms began to bleed. It was a bloody mess. It did look funny (or frightening) because after she got me back into bed, we both looked like we'd been attacked by a knife. Patra cleaned me up and now I look pretty pitiful with gauze bandages from wrist to elbows and every time I cough, my back hurts.

Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you give to us. Help me to continue to see the humorous side of what I'm going through. Please be with all of our friends that are sick. We thank you for so many people that are faithful to pray for us. Thank you for answering their prayers for me to stay out of the hospital. In Jesus name, Amen

Until next Friday, God willing
Bob