At a Loss

The diagnosis: leukemia.

“Leukemia?” we asked the doctor, stunned.

“Leukemia,” he confirmed.

My family was thrown onto the cancer rollercoaster. With his positive attitude and upbeat personality, Chesky was a trooper. All he wanted was to get through this and be done. Chemo, radiation, blood transfusions, and hospital stays became part of his life. Part of our life. My parents, and us four sisters, rallied around him with lots of love and support.

He did well. He even went into remission.

It was a dark day when he went for routine bloodwork and was told the cancer was back. Three weeks later, the day was even darker when the doctor gently told my parents there was nothing more to do for him. It was up to them to decide if they wanted him to die at home or in the hospital.

It feels like yesterday that my parents came home and repeated those words to us. The way my mother broke down into sobs will forever be seared into my being.