Anniversaries not worth celebrating

This past weekend was Pi Day. (3.14) My kids did some STEM activities. It’s a neat day to celebrate.

Do you remember what was happening five years ago? Maybe not at first, but let me jog your memory: the world shut down. School was canceled, church was canceled, people worked from home, and life was just different overall. Personally, I had a double whammy. Friday the 13th in March 2020, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Stage 2B breast cancer. The ‘B’ designates that it was a large tumor. Life would never be the same.

As if navigating a new life-changing diagnosis was not enough, we also had to figure out how to do this with Covid restrictions in healthcare facilities. I am thankful that my husband was able to come with me to the first consult appointment with the oncologist. Doctors offices didn’t know how to handle Covid quite yet at that point. But by the time my first chemo was scheduled, so many new restrictions were in place. And we didn’t even understand how bad it could get. Normally, my husband doesn’t drop me off at the door (because I’m pretty capable of walking), but for some reason he did that day. I could see the entrance from the registration desk. He brought my water bottle in, was stopped at the door, gave my water bottle to staff, and walked out. I was so confused. Then I realized what was going on. My husband would no longer be with me at my appointments. When I met with the doctor, I pleaded my case. My awesome doctor went all the way up to the chain to petition on my behalf to allow us to be together for this appointment. He was still denied. So my husband and I both sat and cried, 100 yards apart from each other – one in an uncomfortable patient chair and the other in the parking lot. To make things exponentially worse, I had a severe allergic reaction to my first chemo treatment. 2 mL of that toxic fluid and I was done for. All of a sudden, four nurses were surrounding me and the doctor himself even made it back to the chemo chair. Curse you, cancer! This disease has no pity on anyone.

While those initial days are over, they are hard to forget. These anniversaries are definitely not worth celebrating. I don’t celebrate remission until I was marked clear from this evil mess, and I haven’t heard of any Covid Day parties. But I will take a slice of pie for any Pi Day bashes.