This morning I will get out of bed and the feet will hit the floor. After a short work out with some concrete filled dumbbells and a twenty pound weight it will be time to give the beagle dog a milk bone she will jump three times her shoulder height for plus some water and ice cubes in her water dish. Then it will be off to the grass and tree lined park nearby to take a peaceful and thoughtful walk.
So what is the big deal about these rather trivial but pleasant tasks you ask? The answer is easy. It is flat out nice just to be here and seeing, breathing and just being alive. Really!
About twenty years ago on getting up in the morning I had breakfast alone with another nice dog and was just about ready to go to work. My wife was staying with her parents this morning and helping them out with some home jobs. It was the usual rush to get everything taken care of before going to work this day.
My back was feeling uncomfortable with some lump or bump near the bottom of the spine. There were a few moments extra before taking off for work this day. On impulse I called our local family doctor and said to the receptionist at his office what it was that was bothering me and told her I might make an appointment in the near future to have the doctor look at it.
She said it would be a good idea if I came in today as there were some appointment openings. I said nah, that's okay, I was just calling to tell her about it. She kept talking and would not let me hang up. I was starting to get put out and angry at her and explained that I would be late for work.
This pushy woman receptionist kept insisting that I come in to the doctor's office now and have him look at me. With anger and rage at her I said okay! I called into work and said that I would be a couple hours late because of this and they were surprisingly sympathetic and said okay.
The doctor took one look at the lump or bump a while later, at his office, and said I had terminal cancer of the spine. Receiving this news with a busy happy life going on was like being punched in the head by a heavyweight champion fighter. He gave me three weeks to live. I lost a blood relative to this same deadly disease almost fifteen years before.
A big cancer had made a ring around my spine and was about to penetrate it, or might have already. Chances of survival with this type of cancer are very small. I decided to make my peace with God and accept my fate.
The doctor gave me some doses of things to take and kept in close touch over the next three weeks. I did not see the sense in this because the doctor said their was a very small chance his prescribed treatments would make it go away. In my panic I never thought about getting a second or third opinion.
Stunned beyond belief when arriving at work my friends there promised to pray for me. That was about all that was left it looked like. Life insurance and wills were carefully made out as I resigned to my fate.
Tearful farewells were made to friends and relatives. Peace was made with God.
Three weeks to the day, which I fully expected to be the last, on Labor Day a final terrifying appointment was kept with the doctor. He was casual about it because he had seen similar things happen to many of his patients over the years and was ready for me to spend the last days in a hospital or worse.
I was struck at the lack of pain from it. He took one quick look at me and said we need to change plans. I thought, oh no, this was really it.
The treatments he prescribed must of been right on the mark because he said, unbelievably but quite happily, the cancer is completely gone. Lump and swelling were gone and there was just a slight scar left from the whole incident that is there to this very Labor Day Two Thousand Seven. I was cancer free.
On the way out I lifted up the pushy receptionist with a lot of enthusiasm and hugged her long and deep. She was kissed on the cheeks more times than she wanted but that was what she had coming.
Hopefully Labor Day will be as joyful for you this year as it is for me to be here. It is good to be alive. Happy Labor Day!
James M. Lowe provides world class sbi web site building tools, host training and marketing. http://www.site-business-development.com/
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