Spot Welding

Last week I attended an eighth grade awards ceremony for Sophie.  I watched as 14 year old boys and girls, when hearing their name announced, walked up to the stage, were presented a piece of paper, and then stood awkwardly smiling as all of their peers and parents stared at them.  I realized a little sadly that this would be the last time I would see Sophie take the stage in Middle School . .off she goes to high school next year where the opportunities to take the stage to hold a piece of paper are almost nonexistent. I came home and told Kevin that our society has done an amazing job inspiring teenagers to achieve great things just for a 6 cent certificate.   Now imagine my surprise with the following incident.  Last Friday, Kevin completed his 5th and final round of cyberknife to the skull.  As we were leaving the office and saying our hearty “good byes” with no “see you tomorrow”’s attached, Kevin was presented a certificate.  It congratulated him for having “completed the prescribed course of Radiation Therapy with outstanding courage and determination.  It is recognized by our staff as an Honorable Achievement, and we would like to congratulate you on a job well done.” This 6 cent piece of paper with photocopied signatures and his name written as “Hegewald, Kevin” actually choked him up.  It made me realize, it’s not the paper. (duh) It’s that someone has acknowledged that you’ve accomplished something great.  Isn’t that one of the nicest things in the world - being recognized.  When I asked Kevin why he didn’t get a certificate the last time he completed cyberknife, he responded, “I don’t know . .maybe you have to do it more than once.”  I think that’s it.  Anyone can get perfect grades or survive cancer or survive cyberknife once. . but to do it twice, now that deserves a certificate.  

Unfortunately, our certificate celebration lasted about 15 minutes.  On the car ride home Kevin spoke to his oncologist’s assistant who reminded him that to participate in the new drug study he needed a 28 day washout period from any radiation before starting.  So Kevin’s next call was to the radiation oncologist.  He could no longer ignore the growing lymph node in his groin. (When I told Kevin that I felt a little uncomfortable using the word “groin” he and the kids gave me several other anatomical suggestions.  I’ve decided to stick with “groin.”)  Kevin has had some inflammation in his left leg as a result of the growing tumor, and radiation was being discussed until the double vision skull buster showed up. (Think of Kevin’s body like an emergency room.  It’s only considered an emergency until something else more urgent comes through the door.)  And guess what?  That poor groin tumor got upstaged again!!  Friday afternoon an intense and horrific pain struck Kevin in his left shoulder blade.  It left him frantic as he needed to leave for work in less than an hour.  Pain killers.  no relief.  Lidoderm patch.  no relief.  A desperate prayer.  relief.  The Lord completely blessed Kevin to be able to work his shift and crawl into bed 9 hours later.  The pain has continued since then, but it’s a testimony to us both that the Lord will provide when we need it most.   So it looks like, in Kevin’s words, he will be doing some more “spot welding.”  A little here, a little there.  It starts tomorrow with standard radiation to the groin tumor.  How many cycles, and where to radiate for the shoulder pain are yet to be determined, but if he faces it all with courage, there just might be a certificate for him.