It Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

So, in the nothing is as simple as you would like it to be department, Mike got a call from his oncologist three days ago. She told him that he did have cancer in his bone marrow and it was a different kind of cancer from what he had in his lymph nodes. So the treatment plan remains a moving target. Mike is out of the study now. He meets with a new cancer specialist at Emory on Tuesday and with his current oncologist next week on Thursday. Presumably, a treatment plan will be decided upon next week. Mike had a port put in on Wednesday to facilitate getting chemotherapy infusions. His chest where they put the port in is a little sore and the skin itches. I have to be careful not to step on it when I am crawling around on him. He pretty much keeps it covered up with a pillow when he is lying down. Things are looking more and more to Mike as though he is going to be out of work for a while. His office staff is working diligently to make sure that all of his patients are taken care of by other doctors. Mike plans on working this coming week but then expects to be off for an unspecified period of time. I don’t suppose he has any way of knowing ahead of time. He imagines, and I suppose he’s right, that when he starts treatment he will feel a lot worse than he does right now. Surprisingly, for all that seems to be wrong with him, he really feels quite normal. Admittedly, he’s looking a little pale and he is tiring more easily. He continues to get a lot of love for which we are all grateful.

So, happy Mother’s Day y’all. I think it’s a nice thing that mothers have a special day. They are very special indeed. Cats make particularly good mothers. The great challenge in being a mother is to consistently put the child ahead of yourself. This does not come naturally to cats, so I especially admire our feline mothers. Mike on the other hand refers to Mother’s Day as a Hallmark holiday. Nevertheless, he goes out of his way to honor Judy as he greatly values her accepting and executing her role as a mother with great dedication and love.

On another topic I would like to make the observation that too many people in the world are losing their minds. People are getting angrier and angrier. Mentally unbalanced people are grabbing guns and shooting people they don’t even know because of their religious beliefs or for no intelligible reason at all. Times like this call for leadership from the people in charge of our political, religious, and social institutions. We seem to be operating in a leadership vacuum at this time. It’s of historical interest in this (leadership) context that the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous is the first temperance movement that did not destroy itself after its initial success. Tension predictably developed between people who wanted things changed and people who insisted that things continue as they were. Bill Wilson, one of the cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous made the following statement in 1945: “Sound policy can only be made by rubbing the conservatives and the promoters together. Their discussions, if free from personal ambitions and resentment, can be depended upon to produce the right answers. For us, there is no other way.” Positive things happen if we respect each other, listen to other points of view, strongly advocate for our own point of view, and get our own egos out of the way. Bill’s role in the founding of AA is widely recognized, but his role in ensuring its survival is less well appreciated. Let’s all get along, y’all.

Mike was doodling the other day and discovered the following six and seven letter words that can be made from the phrase “real Donald Trump.”: Pander, pardon, plunder, lament, dollar, amoral, ordeal, outdeal, amount, donate, doldrum, dormant, muddle, toddler, and parole. I just thought you might be interested.

Mike was talking with his Sunday morning boychicks this morning when the subject of the cost of his treatment came up. In Mike’s practice of addiction medicine, insurance companies routinely have a step-wise approach to approving care. For starters they approve the “el cheapo” medication or counseling plan, and won’t agree to a plan that Mike recommends unless the patient fails the bargain basement treatment plan first. Of course, treatment failure can result in prolonged suffering or death. In either case, the insurance company is off the hook. Once relapsed, the patient won’t be seeking medical or psychiatric services. If and when they seek help again it is more than likely that their insurance has changed or has disappeared altogether. So there is a low risk of the company incurring further expense. If the patient dies, oh well, what a shame. I heard Mike say this morning that when they hang up his medication for his chemo infusion he doesn’t want it to say “Kirkland” on the IV bag.

So, lots to be discovered this coming week. Pray for us, as we always pray for you. That is how it works. I will have much to report in another few days. Be well, and so long from Happy Meadows.

Author: Black Magic

Black Magic is a handsome, charming, and self-absorbed cat who lives with Mike and Judy Gordon in Marietta, Georgia. He is about 7 years old, and he will remind you at every opportunity that his grandfather was Black Jack, that famous cat who wrote his own autobiography. Black Magic has a great many opinions, and despite his natural feline arrogance, he seems to be genuinely spiritual. But the reader can decide for him/herself. View all posts by Black Magic