Proud to be His Parents

I’m one of the lucky moms.

I get a phone call nearly every day around 3 p.m.

It’s my kid in Indianapolis who just calls to “check in,” you know, to make sure I’m okay.

I’ll admit that some days I have taken his calls for granted. I can’t count the number of times I’ve said to my husband: “Can you get that? It’s Mark. I have nothing new to say.”

I should feel fortunate to receive a call every day. I know that, and yet I’m still selfish. Sometimes I just don’t feel like talking . . . or trying to find my phone in my purse . . . yet again . . . before the ringing stops.  

Yesterday I had a different kind of call . . . of the WAKE UP variety.

Our 25-year-old son had just been diagnosed with lymphoma.

Our 25-year-old son has tumors throughout his body.

Our 25-year-old son has an enlarged spleen and is so exhausted he can hardly get through each day.

Did you catch that our son is 25?

He hasn’t been feeling well for several months. We’ve known. He has been to many doctors. He’s had all kinds of tests and procedures, but his nameless affliction persisted.

For far too long I’ve been hearing: “I’m just so tired.” “I just don’t feel well.” “I can hardly eat.” “I just want to sleep.” “My body hurts.” I was answering the phone with “How are you feeling?” rather than “Hello.”

A few years back our son started having horrendous headaches. Then came the blackouts followed by more headaches. We thought Mark might have to drop out of college. He stuck it out.  He made it through. He is now successfully employed in a career he enjoys.

He’s made us very proud.

Remember, I’m the Mom here. I’m entitled to say things like that.

Even with the headaches hammering him each day, Mark got into his chosen field, starting on the bottom rung of a large insurance company in the call center. He has moved up quickly. Now, he’s in management and the youngest ever hired into his current position.  

What about that wouldn’t make any parent proud?

We brag about Mark and his accomplishments constantly. Yep, I think I have become one of “those” moms.  And, nope, I’m not going to apologize for it.

But now . . . Cancer!

Like a lot of couples married 30 years, my husband and I have faced some battles . . . but we’ve fought side by side — and won.

It’s not in our family’s DNA to give up. Cancer won’t change that.

Several family members, from both sides of our marriage certificate, have succumbed to cancer — one just eight weeks ago.

But WE WILL NOT LET this ugly beast take our son.

Cancer is in for the fight of a lifetime.

And WE WILL WIN.

Mark is scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy on Friday afternoon — ironically, at 3 p.m.

So, no call from the kid that day.

Lucky mom that I am, I won’t need a phone to talk to our son.

I’ll be standing right next to him.

Rhonda

This is the first in an occasional blog by Rhonda and David - parents of Mark with thoughts and comments about his health and ways we're trying to deal with it.