I've seen that face before

This week marks the anniversary for us which reminds us that the month of May is not just the celebration of so much goodness in our family’s life. Two years ago, during Memorial Day weekend — because of course it would be during a busy holiday weekend — I took my darling husband to urgent care to evaluate the pain that he had been in for days after diving into the pool for a quick before dinner swim. It was easy to rationalize that he might have pulled a muscle doing active things as he was/is a mostly sedentary person and so he managed as best he could with ice and ibuprofen until days later it was no longer manageable. Thus began our journey through poorly managed pain, misdiagnoses, ER visits, weeks of waiting for diagnostic tests and appointments with referred specialists, hospitalizations and, at last, a cancer diagnosis — a very aggressive stage 3 multiple myeloma that had taken up residence in his sternum, rib cage, humerus bones, cervical spine and kidneys.

In the avalanche of news this week was the announcement of former President Biden being diagnosed with stage 4 aggressive prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. Of course this cues up all the blockhead urology “experts” who have done their research on the internet and bro podcasts weighing in with all the opinions to pile on to the political fairy smut already out there about a former president’s fitness to hold office because why even talk about how obviously unfit the current man sitting in the White House is right now?

Thank you Naomi Biden for the phrase political fairy smut.

Nailed it!

AGAIN, WHY ARE WE NOT TALKING NONSTOP ABOUT THE OBVIOUSLY DECAYING, DECLINING MAN CURRENTLY SITTING IN THE WHITE HOUSE??!!

Then Monday this week, Mr. Biden released his own personal statement:

Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.

Do you see it?

I see it.

Dr. (not a medical doctor but rather a PhD, Doctor of EDUCATION for the simpletons like Trump Jr.) Jill Biden’s face in the picture shared by Joe. That face. That expression. Those eyes. I know them. I have seen them. I have seen that face, expression, eyes very day when looking in the mirror through the worst of my darling husband’s diagnosis, rapid decline, treatment. I have seen that face in our children, our grandchildren, our family and our closest friends through the worst of our family’s cancer journey.

So much worry, love, fear and strength in that face. So many tears cried until the tears are all dried up. So much exhaustion. So much of everything and anything that is felt and processed all etched upon that face and reflected in those eyes.

I know that face.

I have seen that face.

I am that face.

Cancer touches us all indeed!

No one is unscathed whether they are the one suffering, living with the diagnosis and treatment or they are the ones loving those suffering and living with the diagnosis. Cancer doesn’t care about your values, whom you pray to, your politics, who you voted for or which team you cheer for.

This weekend not only marks the beginning of my darling husband’s journey to his multiple myeloma diagnosis; which also was just three weeks after his routine check in with his cardiologist where his labs — some which actually are multiple myeloma markers — and exam all were perfectly normal. Funny how even the most aggressive, highest staged of cancers can just pop up like that. But this weekend also marks the beginning of the treatment that promised so much to my darling husband, to me, to our family and everyone else who loves this funny, lovable man of mine. It was not easy. Not at all. Still, one hundred days later we heard the word we were hoping for most of all, remission. There is no cure for multiple myeloma, only treatment that hopefully provides relief, remission and time. In the end, that is what matters to us most of all. Wishing the same for the Biden family.