Monday, April 13, 2009

Mary's Garden

My neighbor Mary plants yellow tulips every year along the perimeter of her yard. She prunes her own bushes in the spring and cuts the spindly sticks into kindling, which she stores in her garage for winter. Last summer, Mary turned 90.
Toward the end of the warmer days, I saw her out in her yard less and less. At short intervals, I caught glimpses of her kneeling on her knee pad, wearing her clear plastic head scarf and her disposable rubber gloves, weeding her peony beds. A few times I gave her some raspberries from our neverending thorny patch; I know she likes raspberries on her cereal in the morning. At the chain link fence, she told me her heart has been giving her some trouble and she can't stay out in the heat for too long. She said her doctor put her on a new medicine that is helping her feel better.
"I don't know what he expects, though," she said. "That I'll live to 100?"
She laughed and coughed a bit into her napkin. Then she looked into my eyes. "I don't want to," she said.

This spring we've had a few nice warm days, where the sun sits plump in the sky. Luka and I were making dandelion crowns one day next to the grape arbor when we saw Mary standing next to her magnolia tree.
"It's good to see Mary out," I said.
"Why, Mama?" said Miss Luka.
"Because. She's old. And sometimes she doesn't feel well enough to come outside."
"Are you old, Mama?" Luka said.
Tears. Dandelion crown. Tears.
"No, Luka, I'm still pretty young."

I need to be here. I refuse to let Luka go through school and breast buds and mean girls and sweaty boys and makeup and deodorant and pimples and SATs and learner's permits and embarrassing fashion trends and impossible decisions without me.
I don't think I want to live to be 100 either. I will settle for 75. Or even 70. But I need to be here.

"Palliative treatment" is a phrase I do not like. As in - your treatment doesn't have to be on a rigid schedule because it is only palliative. And it is a good thing I can disregard this phrase and keep my own curative treatments on a rigid schedule. Tonight I will take my vitamins at 11, before bed. Tomorrow I will go to Kundalini yoga at noon. Take vitamins. Meditation at 7. Wednesday I will go to acupuncture at 10:30. Sauna at 1:30. Vitamins.

Thursday, when I go for Day 8 of Round 4 Chemo, I will ask for hydration even though the nurses say I don't need it. They will say that the nausea meds will be enough and you don't need hydration for this chemo. And I will say, You are Wrong. Because I spent two days throwing up with the nausea meds. So please give me some hydration. And please stop saying Palliative Treatment. Because I'm sure you doctors and nurses are good at your jobs, but in this case, the case involving my life and how long I am going to live it, you are Wrong.

***note to self - I am not in denial. I am merely excruciatingly determined. And I need to be here.

7 comments:

  1. I adore your attitude. And I know that it ebbs and flows, depending on the day, the hour, the millisecond.

    This is the first post I've read on your blog and it really moved me. I'll try to check in regularly, though I've been horrible at keeping up with my blog buddies lately (thank you, chemo!).

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  2. I am so glad I found your blog. You are inspiring to me. I love your quote about "buds". My daughter is 9 (and a 1/2 the other day) and I agree with you 100%. Keep up the good fight!

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  3. Being here is the most important thing. Never give up hope.

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  4. Hi Julie, a very close friend of mine is going through the same fight with cervical cancer as you and would like to get in contact with you. Can you email me at mattredback at gmail dot com (wrote it like that to avoid spam) thanks matt

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  5. hey folks,

    just wanted to thank everyone for your support and comments. they help me to keep this up.

    thank you all for reading and following this blog and for sending your thoughts my way.

    xo
    julie

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  6. Hi Julie, I am new to visiting your blog. Your mom found me on the Crazy Sexy Cancer website, & recommended I check out your site. I understand everything you are going thru. Just forge ahead, & be hopeful. I also read your blog about your unfortunate hospital stay in recovery. I can relate to that too. Some people are in the wrong profession. You just have to put all that behind you, & move forward. Being your own advocate helps in choosing the best doctors, & facilities.
    Wishing you all the best. I will be checking in on you to see how you are doing. Stay strong.
    Barbara

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  7. You are stubborn and beautiful in every way and we all pray for you in our own ways every day.

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