Unforeseen Jewels

Once a year, I see my dermatologist for a checkup. I’ve been seeing him for possibly 7-10 years. Early on, I learned that he loved being married and spending time with his many children. He even considered the middle-of-the-night wake-ups to be special father-child bonding time. A genuinely nice guy with a good attitude, and an overall great family man.

Then one year, when I saw him at my annual appointment, he looked absolutely awful. So I asked what was going on. And he told me. His wife left him. He was trying to figure out his living situation and feared he would have no time or relationship with his kids. On top of it all, he was diagnosed with MS.

My heart broke for him. Everything in his life was falling apart, and neither of us knew how it would come together again.

Fast forward to today, only a couple years later. He has remarried and is happier than I have ever seen him. He is leaving this medical practice for another one that offers more flexibility in his schedule. Because it is closer to home, he can be present for special events with his children. The whole family recently returned from a family trip to a third world country. And physically, he looks amazing. He is fit, has a bounce in his step, and emanates joy.

We talked about that time, not so long ago, when everything felt horrible, and how difficult it was, at that time, to see the jewels that life would hold for him.

I’m going to miss having him as my doctor, but am so very happy that he is moving in a positive direction.

As for me, these past few weeks have been really, really difficult in so many ways, including physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. However, the light started creeping in, and I am slowly seeing my way out of my hole. Today’s doctor visit was a good reminder to keep going, one step at a time.

Thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts for last week. The chemo days went better than usual, and I was actually able to get out of bed early Friday morning and drive myself to my son’s school play (which was adorable). You make a huge difference in my life and in the life of my family.

This coming Friday morning, I have a CT scan and appreciate any good prayers and energy to that end. (I will get the results in about 2 weeks.)

Thank you for being there. I hope you know there are jewels in your future, whether or not you can see them today.

Love,
Marie