UNCLE TOMMY

With ROUND 3 of chemo still one week away, I began to regain some of my strength. Support for my blog was dizzying and ­­­­­­­­­­­friendly phone calls and e-mails continued to pour in. My voice had returned to normal and my cough was less troublesome.  Even my lungs, the original barometer of my lymphoma, seemed to be less compromised. Things were looking up.

Although the spectre of Stage 4 cancer still hung in the air, Terry and I did not dwell on it. In fact, I went out of my way to assure people that I had faith that the cancer had not migrated to my blood. We’d cross the Stage 4 bridge only if we had to.

Our daughter Janice called from Ottawa to say that six month old Isla was now crawling and Terry couldn’t resist the urge to go for a four day visit. Even a Warrior Princess needs a holiday. Home alone, my immediate family and friends were unwilling to let me pull a Kevin McCallister.

My brother Paul came over for dinner, my sister Yvonne dropped in with three days worth of food, life-long friend Bob L. visited and Irv H, a Brebeuf grad from 1993, came by and I enjoyed hearing about his successful computer apps company. A card game with the boys and a visit from Derek and Anne and the grandkids completed my busy ‘hermitage’. By the time Terry returned home on Labour Day eve, I was the one who needed a holiday.

But we did have one more special visitor before my second round of chemo on September 7.

Terry’s brother Tommy is a mentally challenged 58 year old with Cerebral Palsy and Willi Prader Syndrome. Tommy lives in a nursing home in Maple just outside of Toronto. He is confined to a wheelchair and communicates his needs with the help of a symbol card. Although Tommy functions at the level of a pre-school child in most areas, he has a PhD when it comes to food, one of the few pleasures in his life. He also enjoys ‘reading’ super hero comic books and watching TV programs from the 50’s and 60’s.

When Tommy arrived, he quickly noticed my hair loss. A crooked smile lit up his face that seemed to say, “Hey, what happened to you?” My niece Angie, the Sunfire rescuer, and her dad Sudhakar dropped in for lunch with Tommy, who always seems to attract a crowd. When the company had left, Tommy and I settled in for an afternoon of serious retro video watching including the Lone Ranger, Bonanza and The Three Stooges.

As I lay on the couch, still nursing my ever-present chest discomfort, I realized that Tommy and I have a lot in common. We love watching the Lone Ranger and Tonto. But much more than that, both of us are at the mercy of others for our well-being, both of us are sustained by the prayers and love of family and friends and both of us are humbled in our infirmities.

As Tommy was loaded up in the Wheeltrans bus after an early dinner, I gave him a big hug and a wave. Goodbye Kemo Sabe!