Mike and Frank

Thank God for Pain

Since it’s now over a year since my life took a dramatic change, I must stop and give credit where credit is due - to Bill Bettyas and his son Jason. Early on, when I wasn’t sure what my name was, he offered to put together a blog page for me. I don’t think they fully realized what this blog would contribute towards my recovery. Within the last month, Bill added the numbers of hits – a hit counter. They are amazing and would have been huge had we started to capture them from day one. They miss the first nine months plus. Bill originally thought it would be a great way to stay in touch with the office, but other groups have asked for and gotten the blog page. Just this week my son Mike’s executive prayer group in Seattle asked to join in. Many of the private contacts started on the blog have sprouted into independent contacts. Such groups, for example, as CITI, local priest’s groups, previous organizations, my parish, my 50th high school grads, the hospital staff, and friends & relatives have become faithful followers despite my lack of promptness. All have communicated back: it’s professional, informative, thanks, we’ll share with others, and all were full of compliments for the layout and content, and some expressed a desire to do the same thing for themselves. Bill and Jason, each thank you has a deeper and deeper reason for saying it - thanks.

Pain
Kris recently found copies of a note for my General Practitioner months before the pain just became overwhelming – the note described the pain and my personal request for an MRI. If he had only listened and acted, it would not have led to being as close to death as it is possible to get without dying, and the damage would have been far less. The pain was a gift in disguise. Last Friday I went to the lab for a routine lab blood draw – we expected to be out within an hour. However, as soon as we got to the reception area the break-through pain was the worst I’ve had in a long time – I’d give it a nine on a scale of ten. When I got inside the lab, my nurse just smelled a rat and wouldn’t let it escape. After a few very direct questions she was out the door and soon Paul the Chief Pharmacist was in the door to be followed by Doctor Cox about ten minutes later. Paul left things in the doctor’s hands, and we spent almost an hour and a half just talking about everything under the sun along with hitting all of the professional points that needed to be hit. It was more like friend to friend. He recounted all of those initial days when he just couldn’t believe he could save me, and the steady progress from that moment on. He said it has been nothing less than amazing. He recounted all I had been through with chemo almost seeming like a small thing in the midst of unrelenting ups and downs, and the daily and weekly challenges. It has been going on for a year with no breaks for good behavior. It was a great session for me. At the end he made some big changes in my medications and treatment regime and the offer of other special services that might be helpful. He asked me to stop thinking like a Western man with goals and objectives and recognize a little more the emphasis of the East on being thankful for just Being. We talked a great deal about retreat - finding time just for myself alone. Nothing gloomy or depressive – more aggressive and positive - trying to find myself again in my physical limitations so that I can make room for other strengths and abilities I just have never used before. Some of those challengers our soldiers face on their return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of them do a pretty good job of it even though much of the scarring never fully goes away. In my last few blogs I have requested some feedback from you and really appreciate what I got. I’m asking once again. Please help me – what suggestions would you make to me to consider as I continue this very important step in my recovery? What would your priorities be? What would you be focusing on? I’m not looking for the profound – just your honest thoughts – whatever they might be. Thanks - please excuse the Epistle.