SOME GOOD NEWS

A late night call  from an hematologist is seldom a good thing, especially after you've just had a CAT scan.

A recent time of feeling less than 100% ( a bum leg a la Walter Brennan a major factor) and an erratic sleep pattern seemed to indicate my body was on the cusp of a new battle.

"Good evening Mike. How are you doing?"

I was flustered that I couldn't identify the school boy voice.

"Fine," I answered tentatively, my voice recognition software sifting through its data base last Wednesday evening.

"It's Dr. Silverman here. Just calling to thank you for your Hanukkah card." He sounded upbeat.

"You're more than welcome," I answered. "You didn't have to call for that."

"No problem," he replied cheerfully. "I like to keep in touch with my patients, especially at this time of year."

"Can I ask when you actually celebrate Hanukkah this year?" I said trying to be polite all the while wondering about my CAT scan results.

"You know, you're the third person who's asked me that question today. Here, let me just look that up right now. Oh, there it is. December 24, December 24. So now we know."

My anxiety about the test results kept mounting as our pleasant conversation continued. Finally, I had to ask,

"Doctor, have you seen my scan results? It was done five days ago?"

"Oh, I didn't realize that. Let's see if I can pull it up on my computer right now."

The waiting was killing me as I  listened to his gentle tapping. After what seemed like a long time (although probably no more than a minute) he called out, "Nada."

No tumours or no results? Come on man, I wanted to scream.

"Actually, I can't find your results. Maybe they were sent to my hospital computer, not my office computer. They sometimes do that," he said. "I'll get back to you in a few days when I have them."

I felt both a sense of relief and frustration at the same time.

But I also realized that whatever the result, my doctor will be there 24/7 as my cancer fighter and my friend no matter how deep the water gets.  And that's a very reassuring feeling.

PS. Today, another late night call from Dr. Silverman relaying the news that my scan was good. No change in the status of my dormant tomours, no reason to worry about my lymphoma for now. Wonderful news just before Christmas.

Praise the Lord!

Now if I could just get rid of this limp....