Part 35: Twenty-seven Years

The woman headed into her bi-weekly blood draws with a comfortable familiarity. And to think, only a few months earlier she had cringed at the thought of needles. Her HCG values continued on the decline. By this point, the woman felt at peace with her circumstances. She had accepted what had happened, but there were still moments when she thought about how things could have been.

This week marked the celebration her 27th year. The scene before her did not match what she had originally envisioned her life to have been by this point in time. She would have had two more months left of her pregnancy and perhaps started working on a nursery already. Instead, she found herself working with her husband on their basement project.

As she laid tile and drilled holes, she couldn't help feeling relieved that she wasn't crawling around carrying a big belly along with her. It was certainly easier to accomplish the tasks without it. And she most definitely appreciated that she didn't have to deal quite yet with a crying baby and no sleep.

The woman had planned her course, but her steps were in Someone else's hands. In a way, she felt she had been given a second chance to enjoy and make the most of their time as a young couple, just the two of them. Not only that, but she had her own character flaws to improve in the meantime. She waited in anticipation to see how her 27th year would unfold. The air lingered with opportunity.

Part 28: Routines

It was the start of the woman's third month of treatment, her fourth oncologist appointment. By now, she had the routine down:

• Check in
• Verify her med list
• Take a pain survey
• Wait
• Get called in
• Get weighed
• Have blood pressure and temperature taken
• Wait some more
• Talk to the doctor
• Hear that she needs more chemo
• Walk over to the infusion therapy center
• Wait some more
• Get called in
• Have blood pressure and temperature taken
• Wait some more
• Get a shot
• Leave

The woman felt good about this appointment and was already prepared to hear whatever news came her way, be it good, bad, or less good than her expectation. Whatever the outcome, she knew even before meeting with the doctor she would still need to get another round of chemo. The doctor had said that once her values hit negative, she would need to do one last run. So, either her values were negative this week or they weren't. She hoped for the former.

"Your value is 8.9," said the oncologist.

It was a 55 percent drop from two weeks before—still good, because it was dropping, but not yet negative, so it meant at least two more rounds of chemo. Luckily, by this point the injection schedule had worked itself out to be after she got off work, so she wouldn't have to make up time.

"I'm hoping for an early Christmas present next time," the woman said.

"Well, I can't make any promises," the oncologist replied. "When is your birthday?"

"February third."

"We might be able to make that happen."

It wasn't the best news, but it was good. The woman resolved to keep her hopes up for next time. She made her way over to her next stop to get her shot.

Count it all joy, she thought.