Seven months ago when the surgeon called to say that Rich had stage 4 melanoma our worlds crashed. I was full of fear. I didn’t want to lose Rich and I didn’t know how much time we had.
I believe that there is a lesson to learn in everything we go through in life. From past experiences, I have also learned that the hardest things bring the biggest lessons and sometimes we don’t know what those are until much later in life. Seven months ago, I remember wondering how it could be possible to learn anything good from such an awful diagnosis.
I was sitting outside one day thinking about the future and feeling quite fearful about so many things. It occurred to me that neither one of us have ever known how much time we have. None of us know how long we will be here. Rich has stage 4 cancer but it doesn’t change the fact that I could be gone tomorrow or he could from something totally unexpected. The only difference is we know and we can look up statistics and let our minds run away with the information we hear and read.
Perhaps this is why it’s said that cancer makes us appreciate the people we have in our lives. The reality is we never know but it’s a wake up call when we realize just how fragile life is and how every minute counts.
I know that through this Rich and I will both change and there will be many things we will learn along the way. I hate cancer but I am grateful for recognizing the wake up call that came along with it.
