One of our favorite chemo stories happened on Christmas Eve 2003. It was Trent's first Christmas and my chemo session happened to fall on Christmas Eve. We debated on whether or not to adjust the days, but it just seemed easier to go ahead and work chemo into Christmas Eve. With my original diagnosis, I had four sessions of one kind of chemo then four sessions of another type of drug. Christmas Eve was to be the first session of the second drug. So, I had already weathered four sessions and my dad and Scott had taken turns taking me. We had all just been through a year of cancer treatments with my mom and we all knew that chemo can mean a VERY long day.
If you had the pleasure of knowing Brad, you would have known that, if given the choice between a day of manual labor and 15 minutes waiting in a doctors office, he would take the manual labor. Hands down. Brad was off on Christmas Eve and insisted on taking his turn with a chemo trip. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted that this would be fine! He assured me that it would all work out and he could do it. He didn't mind waiting on the chemo and felt sure we could still make it home to take Trent to a family party that evening. They had told me that the chemo would take three hours and he had it all calculated perfectly!
So, Christmas Eve morning we headed to Baltimore and sat and waited to see the doctor, then we sat and waited for the pharmacy to mix the drugs, then we sat and waited for an open chemo seat, then we sat and waited for an IV, then we sat and waited for the pre-meds to drip. I thought he was doing a great job at waiting. Every so often I would see his leg bounce a little and he would wring his hands, but he didn't say anything. Then the nurse came in with a giant bag, hung it on the pole and said, "OK Mrs. Saylor, now that will drip for three hours, we will flush you, and you can be on your way." I literally thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head!
I still smile when I think of how we drove home at the speed of light that night. I don't quite remember how fast we went, but I do know that although Brad accompanied me to lots of doctors appointments after that, he didn't accompany me to another chemo! When we would laugh about it he would just say, "come on...I was 29-years-old taking my wife to chemo. It was our baby's first Christmas and I had just spent 8 hours of my life in a doctors office on a very uncomfortable chair! What heartless trooper would give a ticket to a guy like that!" He was so much fun and our stories still make me laugh!!
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Toni, you have so many stories for such a young person. Your stories make me laugh, cry, smile and hope. Your stories are always inspirational because they are about a life being lived to the very fullest, in spite of so many obstacles being thrown into your path. It's comforting to hear you recalling tough and trying times with such a positive focus on the sweet and caring man who stood by your side. Sending you much love and light~
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