A Unique Gift

Pop had the privilege of celebrating his 64th birthday this past Monday. It was a day marked with many cards, emails, and phone calls, but also a unique gift. As Pop swung his legs out of bed on Monday, he paused for a bit. This morning would be another conversation about the future of his treatment, and he would have to decide whether to resume chemo treatments again. He was tired. Reaching to the night-stand, he grabbed his glasses and slipped them on. "Well...no use in laying around," he quipped as he wobbled to his feet. A short-while later, Pop found himself sitting in the familiar territory of the Lancaster Cancer Center. His blood work had come back looking good, and he had even gained a few pounds! Pop shook his head and smiled as the nurses commented about how good he looked. Looking to the family he raised his eyebrows, "Not to bad for an old man I guess." Laughing, we made our way back to meet with the oncologist. The doctor was happy to see Pop doing so well, and quickly cut to the chase. "So, what are you thinking about resuming treatment," he asked. Pop looked at us and confidently said, "I'd like to resume treatment. I don't know what your recommendation would be, but that is my thought. Let's keep hammering away at this thing." The doctor got a smile on his face, and shook his head, "That's what I figured." "Now I do have a question," Pop continued. "If I start treatment this week, today, will I be able to have the fifth week of treatment off? That's hunting season, so...I'm going to need that week off." Peering through the top of his glasses, the doctor laughed, "Oh, you're going hunting, huh? Well, I guess I can't stop you. So, sure you can have that week off." Satisfied that his request had been met, Pop walked to the other end of the building and started treatment right away.
After a solid six hours of treatment, Pop was finally done for the day and ready to eat some supper. We all met at Longhorn Steakhouse, where Pop decided he wanted to celebrate his birthday. With his tastes changing almost daily, there are few foods that we can count on him liking. However, for the past few weeks, he has had a strange craving for Longhorn's pepper shrimp appetizer. Mom has stopped several times on her way home from work to pick it up, because Pop hasn't asked for anything specifically for a long time. It was another fun evening filled with old family stories being retold, and watching Emma terrorize the restaurant (no...seriously...she was throwing knives and running around out of control). Thankfully the waitstaff knew that it was Pop birthday, so they kindly overlooked the screaming child (who we love dearly). Once dinner was done, it was back to Mom and Pop's place for a movie. We all stayed up too late watching the film, so some of us spent the night. As Pop was heading to bed, he paused. "You know, few people can give themselves the gift of chemotherapy on their birthday," he chuckled out loud. We all sat back and laughed along with him. Growing misty-eyed, he looked around at us, "But really, I want to thank you kids for today. It was fun, and I'm glad that everyone could make it. I love you all."
We as a family want to extend that same thanks to all of you. Thank you for your outpouring of love for Pop on his birthday. It meant a lot to him, as well as all of us. Mom sat with Pop for over an hour just reading him cards and emails. They both shed many tears over the words spoken, the love shown, and the support that they felt. We love you all, and cannot thank you enough! You have been a source of strength for us.