Standing still

One of our dear friends Juanita has just started with her first chemo treatment. She’s got Hodgkin’s disease, but it is the cancer with the best prognosis with regards to chemotherapy (says the doctor). She sent me a sms yesterday that it is affecting her very badly. She has sores in her mouth, her muscles hurt and it goes into spasms. When they went to see the doctor, he said that it is part of the symptoms, and its effects are different for each person. She asked me how it is going with us, and it felt strange to sms back about our ordinary lives where our biggest news is that Mieka is more interested in walking than in crawling. I feel guilty and grateful that our story is as boring as it is.
It is strange how we all go through different phases of living and dying in our lives. We have a new life in our lives. My mom on the other hand had an operation on Monday on a frozen shoulder, and she is also de-activated from normal living for a few weeks. The frozen shoulders had a huge impact on her quality of life before she went for the operation.
Life sometimes brings you to a standstill, and then you’re off speeding again. The secret is to enjoy the stops and the accelerations. (Before I start gagging on the clichéd expressions, let me stop!) The wisdom most probably rubbed of from one of my favourite authors, Neale Donald Walsh… (Smile). I have been reading two or three pages every night of “When everything changes, change everything” for the past three months. Having a baby in the house changes your reading habits dramatically (sigh). But I will get there again, reading until the early mornings…
Juanita, we hold thumbs that all goes well with getting healthy again! Mom, I hope you will be able to hold Mieka very soon again!

(It is Bandana Day in South Africa today, where funds are being generated for cancer patients).