John Wyndham, brilliant sci-fi author whose stories became classic B movies, writes of change….Sudden, unexpected, dramatic, rhythm-arresting, life-altering change……and how we react to it. Aaron’s cancer is such a change. For Aaron, the change is profound. Even his most basic biological rhythms of metabolism were arrested, and his rhythms became those imposed upon him by his caregivers and his attendant machines.
For close family and friends, the change is vastly less, yet consuming. For us, the altered rhythms are not so much in the biology of our bodies as in the liturgy of our lives. Jobs, showers, school, sleep, dressing, bills, church, haircuts, laundry, sports, root canals, meals, and anniversaries (Natalie’s parents are married 35 years this week, Aaron’s 33) do not cease. But they are altered, disrupted, and displaced. And as our wider community surrounds us to share the burden of these displacements, we are blessed beyond measure and filled with gratitude.
Aaron keeps improving. He sits up several times.
He gets yet another trip to the B level basement for a CT scan (head only) and yet another painful bone marrow biopsy. He coughs more, but is fine with minimal oxygen assist.