Be Careful What You Ask For

In one of my entries this week, entitled Funny, I stated how satisfied I am with my life, how I have been able to find the humor in the worst times of my life, but rarely feel the urge to be funny in my writing lately.  Well, be careful what you ask for - God has a sense of humor. 

I went to the doctor yesterday since I've been unable to shake a virus.  Turns out there's something else wrong.  The doctor told me not to worry and to just go to the hospital to get some tests done when I'm feeling up to it.  I wasn't worried, but was definitely surprised that they found something totally unexpected during a fairly routine office visit.

The funny thing is that the doctor got so excited he found something during the exam that he does to every patient that he forgot to listen to my lungs until I asked.  (I have asthma, so the goal of my appointment was for him to listen to my lungs.)  He was really pleased that he finally found someone with that one problem he's been looking for every day for twenty years.  How nice for him. 

While sitting in traffic, I called my husband and told him. I told him I'm assuming the tests are to see if it's cancer.  He got worried and googled it.  He called me back and told me this cancer is very rare.  I asked him if he has noticed that I am a magnet for rare disorders.  He said he did.

When we got home, he said in a sweet, sincere little boy voice, "Please don't die."

While he was gone to the pharmacy to get my meds, I did an internet search as well.  It looks like there are several ways this could go, depending on the test results, none of them very good.  I have about 20 symptoms of the worst case scenario (the one worse than cancer).  This still wasn't funny.

What was funny was the discussion I had with my daughter in the car later that evening.  I told her what was going on, that cancer was rare, but the treatment for the other possibilities was going to make me wish I were dead.   I told her what her stepdad said.  She said, "Aaaaawwww" and thought he was adorable, which is true.  I told her about the 20 bizarre symptoms I have that when put together match the one scenario.  She said, "What about the memory loss?"  I told her I forgot about that one and forgot to mention that to the doctor too.  That is how it is with memory loss.... She thought that was hilarious as well and offered to go to the doctor with me next time (I think she did - maybe I thought it - I seriously cannot remember).

I think when you have kids and need to talk to them about bad things, it helps to have a sense of humor about it.  It helps them and it helps me.