Ron Smith

Though I am unlucky to have a rare and aggressive cancer, there are many ways in which I am very lucky:

I am lucky to have wonderful wife and a daughter that is too cute for words.

I am lucky to have friends and family that express their love and caring each and every day.

I am lucky that my chemotherapy hospital is only a mile away from my home.

I am lucky that my oncologist understands how important seeing my daughter is, and bent the rules to allow that to happen.

I am lucky to work for a great company.

I am lucky that because of my company I am being given the time off I need.

I am lucky to have “great” health insurance.

I am lucky that I do not have any pre-existing conditions that could make dealing with the insurance company more complicated

I am lucky that I do not have to worry about money while I worry about getting better.

I am lucky to have the option to travel to Texas to be seen and treated by the best cancer hospital in the world.

I am lucky to have a brother who was willing to be a donor for my transplant.

I am lucky that even though my brother did not match me for a transplant, that the registry has hit multiple matches that mean, I may have a better  chance at living.

In all these ways, and many more, I have been given a leg-up in fighting my cancer.

Everyday I read accounts of people that are not nearly as lucky as me:

People who do not have insurance.

People who do not have family to support them.

People who do not have a employer that has shown such caring and support.

People that have to worry about providing for those they love, while laying in a hospital bed.

People that have to choose between putting food on the table or medicine in their bodies.

People who do not have a match for the transplant they need.

People whose chances at beating cancer are less than my own.

People have complimented me on my ability to persevere and stay strong through this ordeal.  When they say these things, I shake my head, because I wonder how in the world people get through this, when they are not as lucky as me.

cancer, hope, Personal Ramblings