A hot date

Last Wednesday brought us back to UCLA for chemotherapy with Susan’s bi-weekly treatment, quite a routine event now. Nikki was expecting us and had Susan’s bed waiting. What service. The nurse was impressed once again with Susan’s alertness and said she’s better than she’s been in months. I agreed. I shared that when we’d parked downstairs, Susan asked why I hung the handicapped placard on the mirror when we weren’t parked in a handicapped space. It’s because the displaying the placard allows us to park for free – but the big deal is that Susan noticed such a detail. Following Susan’s blood test, we settled in for 30 minutes of Avastin and 90 minutes of CPT-11. Susan had an exam by the nurse practitioner, then slept most of the time.

It was 6pm when we were ready to leave; and given the choice of rush hour traffic or a hot-date dinner together, our decision was easy. I wheeled her down to Westwood where we came upon Jerry’s Deli and enjoyed the first dinner out together in about 4 months. She ordered one of her favorite meals, open-faced hot turkey sandwich, while I had a great salad nicoise with lots of sour things in it and toasted bagel slices on the side. Afterward, I got her attention with the phrase “ice cream sandwich” and we scooted over to Diddy Reese to share a generous scoop of mint chip ice cream between two chocolate-chocolate chip cookies. We had gobs of deliciousness for only $1.50.
At dinner we talked about Susan continuing to work hard in physical therapy so she can come home soon – not soon enough for her. She’s been feeling cooped up recently and was really glad to have a day away from the hospital. I asked how she’s doing in her spirit. “I’m ok,” she said. “I’m not jumping for joy, but I’m doing ok.” I asked her if she’s trusting God. “Not as much as I should, but as much as I can.” We agreed the hard part about her illness is the uncertainty of the outcome. I told her how proud I am of her that she’s doing so well after going through so much, and that I love her positive outlook and her never-quit attitude. Once again, we were left to contemplate life taking this unimaginable turn while God continues to provide for us in every way. It’s just a mystery. Susan’s a bit of a rule-follower, so she asked me if we’d be in trouble for being away for so long. “Ha!” I scoffed brazenly. “Let ‘em find us.” I’m the wild risk-taker who placed my wife in jeopardy of a hospital reprimand (or having her rations reduced to moldy bread and gruel), all for the sake of a glorious hot date and the nicest dinner we’ve had in a while. At least I’d be getting her back on a full stomach to endure her torture.

Today, I visited Susan at 11am and saw her in action for therapy. She had just finished 20 minutes of leg work on the “omnibike” and was ready for a walk. With Melissa’s help to stand, Susan used a walker to shuffle out the door and down the long hallway to the bulletin board by the cafeteria – about 100 feet, with only Melissa’s hand on her back. I was impressed. We helped her into her wheelchair with missing foot rests and pushed her back to the therapy room as she lifted her feet off the floor for the whole distance. She returned to the omnibike for 20 minutes of arm work and left me grateful for her therapy team and for her terrific progress.