an update

J&K circa 2010

Just the other day I was sharing with family members the experience of finding out Jake has multiple sclerosis. It was surreal, as you can imagine, but the surreality was indulged by the fact that the diagnosing doctor had absolutely no bedside manner. After three days in the hospital, and no answers, I had to ask him what Jake had been treated for. He chuckled and replied, "oh! he has MS!" Just like that.

It seems that Lent will always remind me of that time- that crazy week leading up to Easter in 2010- when Jake was losing his ability to see and speak, and then, sitting at my desk at work, when he called me from an ambulance headed to Boston. On Good Friday Jake was officially diagnosed and released from the hospital. We made it to church for the after-service potluck.

Jake had his monthly treatment yesterday, and we recalled how I had slept in a reclining chair next to his hospital bed, and how he enjoyed ordering food off the cafeteria menu that week. My husband, always the humorist, commented that he wouldn't mind another week spent in a hospital gown. He really did like the food.

Despite 6 hours spent at the hospital yesterday, mostly waiting for one appointment or another, I'm often reminded of how very lucky we are. Waiting rooms are full of prime thinking space, and I felt thankful. Jake is a case the doctors and nurses love to see. I'm convinced Jake is their favorite patient. I'm certainly biased, but I also can't help but acknowledge that the world we enter for Jake's monthly treatment is not an easy one. Those nurses are saints, and Jake's neurologist treats folks who would beg and pray for Jake's symptoms. We don't know what manifestations of this disease are to come, but we know that, no matter what, we have much to be thankful for now. And, you know what? I bet if we are willing to look hard enough, we always will.

Also, the nurse gave us graham crackers and ginger ale as a snack during his infusion. SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!