I'm Thankful for Good Health!

-- Vonnie Davis

I think age has a lot to do with what we’re thankful for. Teenagers are thankful for an easy quiz at the end of a boring social studies chapter—or the latest iPhone. Young mothers are thankful for a good night’s sleep as opposed to two am feedings. Workers are thankful for steady employment and a modest raise. Grandparents are often thankful when the grandkids go home. Senior citizens, like myself, are thankful for good health.

Calvin and I have been on a worry treadmill these last two weeks. I had surgery four weeks ago to remove a cyst in one of my saliva glands. Medical personnel at our local hospital sent the offending grape-sized cyst to University of Virginia’s lab for review. When pathologists there couldn’t identify some of the cancerous cells, they forwarded it to the Mayo clinic. Folks, my cyst has traveled more than I have of late.

All we knew was that I had cancer. Was it a slow growing kind or more aggressive? Was it contained within the cyst? What?

I met with a radiologist and chemotherapist today. Good news: the low-grade cancer was contained within the cyst. The term “low-grade” in reference to cancer means slow-growing and less likely to spread to other parts of the body. Although another cancerous cyst may form in the same area, it is only 5% likely to happen. So, for now, I am cancer free, good-to-go, sassy as ever.

I am relieved.

I am truly blessed.

I am beyond thankful.

Cancer is such an insidious disease. Lives are altered. Families dunked into a pool of fear and financial stress. Yet, research seems to move at a snail’s pace to find a cure.

In my debut book, Storm’s Interlude, the hero’s twin sister has leukemia. Believe me, it did not go unnoticed that one year ago today, I signed my publishing contract with The Wild Rose Press for this book, and today I went from doctor to doctor at a cancer center, waiting word of my own fate. How ironic. Yet I fared much better than my secondary character whose cancer was not cured by her first round of chemo.

My heroine, a nurse, comes to stay at a ranch in Texas to care for her new patient. I’d like to share a scene between Rachel, my heroine, and Sunny, Storm’s twin sister.

Sunny turned worried eyes on her. “I’m afraid I’m running out of time. What’s your opinion?”

“Well, I might have thought that initially, but,”—she shook her comb at Sunny—“if you can come into my room, stomp around and throw a bit of a tirade, tossing pillows and bitching about things around the house, I’d say you’re a fighter.”

At Sunny’s widened eyes, Rachel smiled. “Sunny, a fighter always wins. Two boxers step into the ring. Two emerge. Both are victors because both had the guts to fight the fight. You’re in the boxing ring of life with cancer. Do you have the guts to fight the fight?”

Her patient shoved up the sleeves on her robe. “Believe me, I’d love to fight someone right now. To feel alive again.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. “I did throw a bit of a tirade, didn’t I? God, it felt so good! You never once told me to sit down or be calm. Why was that?”

“All women need to bitch now and then. We were born with the bitch gene, after all.” She shot Sunny a wry look.

Sunny laughed. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy having you here. I can tell we’re going to be great friends.”

Rachel walked over to Sunny and knelt by her knees. “Training for the fight won’t be easy. You’ll have days where you’ll hate me for pushing you so hard. I’ve found the stronger a patient becomes, the better they can handle the fight. When I’ve pushed you too hard, I expect you to tell me. I need to know exactly how you’re feeling.”

She took Sunny’s hand in hers. “Promise me. Promise me you’ll give me honesty every moment of every day, so I know how you’re feeling both emotionally and physically. In return, I promise I’ll be honest with you. I promise you’ll feel alive again.”

Sunny blinked several times, her eyes locked on Rachel’s. A slow smile curved her lips and her face shone like the star she’d been named for. “Girlfriend,” she purred, her Texas twang especially pronounced, “you’ve got yourself a deal.”

** I'm giving away an eCopy of Storm's Interlude to one lucky commenter today. Please include your email address so I can contact you, should you win. And please, you know your body; report any changes to your doctor.