Author: Jacob

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T minus twelve hours

We spent the day talking with highly trained medical professionals.  We revisited the choice of procedures again.  The doctors wanted to give Veronica the choice between a long shot of keeping her hearing, or a procedure that would give the neurosurgeon the best chance of getting all of the tumor out.  She chose to stick with her original decision and will lose her hearing as a result of the surgery.

After the appointments, we went with Fr. Joseph (who flew in from STL to be with us for the next few days,) to the Marine Recruit Base.  There, Fr. Joseph and his friend Fr. Joe Coffey concelebrated Mass for us.  Afterwards, Fr. Joe took us on a tour of the Navy base on Coronado. Veronica said it was a nice distraction from tomorrow’s reality.

We had a nice dinner at Hotel Del Cornado and spent a little time walking on the beach and listening to the ocean.  Veronica is now tired enough to sleep to be ready to get to the hospital at 6am.

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So How Are You Doing?

“So, how are you doing?”  Even though this question has been asked multiple times, I still don’t know what to say.

Our first meeting to discuss Veronica’s diagnosis was with Dr. Adams at the University of Minnesota.  While Dr. Adams talked about what they found in the MRI with us, the resident who was with Dr. Adams pulled up the MRI images on a screen behind her.  In that moment I recognized this is something real and monumental.  I felt very small and unprepared, but I knew I would do anything to help Veronica.

At first when people asked me the question of “How are you doing?” my thoughts went right to the little guy that on the Axiom in the movie Wall-E.  The whole situation seemed epic and on its own trajectory, while I just needed to be around to help remove “foreign contaminants.”

I soon realized that this was completely wrong.  This isn’t just about Veronica, it is about all of us supporting her.  When we started to tell people about the diagnosis we were met with an outpouring of compassion and offers to help from almost everyone that we shared with.  Even people I consider casual acquaintances have offered time and resources.  I need to allow everyone around us to do their part.  This makes me feel like Veronica, the kids and I can get through to the other side of this not unscathed, but well cared for.  So how am I?  I feel well.  I feel at peace knowing that so many people are prepared to help in any way they can.