Waiting through the pain...

On January 18th I began part two of my writing course with Wilma Derksen. A lovely one morning a week zoom call with many aspiring writers across North America and even Mexico. Wilma leads us with discussion and presents a powerpoint presentation. At the end, she gives us assignments to work on, and we turn those in at the end of the week.

A deadline is helpful in avoiding procrastination in a writing project. I was able to get most of my first draft of my autobiography done in the first 8 week course. A miracle!

My instructor Wilma lost her husband Cliff to gall bladder cancer in May of 2022. I emailed her recently to let her know that we just found out that my own husband Darrell has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It is so similar to her own story.

Due to loss of nurses at the St. Boniface Hospital, my husband spent four nights in cramped quarters in the emergency ward. He slept on a narrow stretcher with a bright fluorescent light on the ceiling above him 24 hours a day. He couldn't remember what time of day it is. Every hour felt like ten hours to him. Other patients lined the hallways of the emergency ward. There was a promised bed upstairs, but it never materialized. Waiting.

But there were kind people looking after him. His son and daughter-in-law are medical professionals, and still keep close tabs on him. He endured dozens of tests, the last ones being on Wednesday Jan. 25th, the glad day when I brought him home.

I hurt to see him suffer. He is in a lot of pain and discomfort, and is now on serious pain-killers.

Telling people is hard. Everyone is shocked by the suddenness of Darrell's diagnosis. The aggressive cancer has spread to other areas of his body. 

But we know many praying people. Family, friends, church members, my own co-workers, and many others are praying. One thing I've learned in life is the power of prayer. No matter what the circumstances, prayer can buoy me into the ability to be calm, loving and wise.

We wait for more information. We wait for the next steps.