The Up Side of the Down Side
By Amber
@AmbiePam (85300)
United States
January 4, 2008 11:52pm CST
Yes, I'm going to talk a little, but I have a question in mind for the discussion, don't worry. : ) I'm not sure what time it is for everyone else, but right now it is still Friday, the 4th of January. And today I went to Tulsa to see my Aunt Ruth, the one who has stage four colon cancer. I was so glad to see her. We started off by going to see my Aunt Lana, who works at Cancer Treatment Center of America, and who is the one who got my Aunt Ruth her job there. And let me tell you, I was so impressed by that place. I didn't meet one person, even the cafeteria lady who didn't have a smile on their face. They make the cafeteria food so cheap, that my dad insisted on paying for all the patients in line behind him. And their food is four star, it's amazing, and all healthy. I had poached salmon and cream of asparagus soup. : ) They even have labels showing fat g, protein g, ....
So after eating with her we went to see my Aunt Ruth. She was so glad to see me and I sat by her and held her hand and talked to her. She knows it is hard for me to travel (3 hr. car ride), so I think that showed her I cared even more. She's in great spirits, but she has lost weight of course. Her chemo bag was attached and she is not having problems with that. No nausea or hair loss yet, but this is just her second treatment.
Before we left, we went by to see my grandpa, who has dementia, but still recognizes everyone. He is getting worse, but I wanted to just soak up all the time we had left with him. My grandma is caring for him at their home, and it has been hard on her as well.
So what is the up side from the down side? While we were at CTCA, Aunt Lana showed us the 'tree' made of all the patients who had stage four cancer and have lived 5 years or more. That was a big list of names. My mom recently had to quit her job. However, this means once a week she can go see her dad, my grandpa. I honestly don't think he'll make it to next Christmas. So she is getting to spend quality time with him, and quitting her job allowed that. During the car ride I got to talk to my parents about so much! And I just loved them even more. Despite the sadness all around, I classify this as a good day.
And I just wanted to share that. I'm sorry if this is boring. But I would love to hear about your a day that didn't call for anything good to come of it, but came out good instead. What was the up side of your down side?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
6 Jan 08
*Embrace*
It was beautiful Ambie, really it was. My thoughts are still with your Aunt and your family. Its saddening I admit, but I am glad you and the family are bonding, spending time... its a rare sight for me.
The upside of my downside... I got to see my real friends once more in my brief moment of weakness. It was very encouraging. Now I'm relaxing and appreciating my friends even more.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157485)
• United States
6 Jan 08
When I had a hysterectomy, the clinic where it was done was very much like the treatment center you describe. Private patio, homemade food, nice stoneware, glasses, flatware. That was good out of bad, because I had spent so much at the chiropractor that year that my entire pre surgery eval and surgery cost all of $90. When my first husband was ill and dying, and then again, my younger sister, it felt like those experiences provided more "glue" for our entire family. We are closer because of it. I met my first husband because my younger sister basically dared me to write to some people profiled in a singles newspaper. Lots of good out of bad.
1 person likes this
@Trace86 (5030)
• United States
5 Jan 08
I am so glad you had such a nice day when it could have been awful.
My upside of bad happened yesterday. I was looking forward to having my day off at home alone. My husband decided he didn't feel well enough to go to work. I spent most of my day napping and watching movies. We made dinner together and cleaned up together. So what started out as disappointment, ended up as a fairly nice day.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
5 Jan 08
I have had an upside of a downside. If it went bad one day or circumstances were bad, it did not turn out to be wonderful. When a day started out good, it was that way for the rest of the day. And you know the rule that bad things came in threes, well if one think broke, to be sure two more things would be wrong that day and they were thinks that had worked fine until then, so it was not a case of my suspecting that the toaster would go today or that the handle of the pot would break after the car would not start and it had to go to Canadian Tire and one had to go to work.
I cannot give you specific days but a general observation that nothing good came out of a bad day. If you were talking about whether something good turned up ten or twenty years later, then that would be a different story.
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