North to Alaska!

It’s been a long time since my last blog.  I have been keeping a secret for the past few days.  My doctors gave me a week off from medical visits to go back to Alaska.  I kept it a secret because I wanted to surprise my students with a visit to the advanced band.  I was expecting to say “Hi” and spend a few minutes giving words of encouragement.    Music classes are unique in that a typical student will take the class for four years in a row.  They get to know their teacher and their teacher knows them extremely well.  

I walked into the band room and it was indeed a surprise.  But I wasn’t expecting the spontaneous reception of cheers and applause.  There were some tears and emotional moments.  The reception was also a moving experience for me and it felt so good to see so many bright, smiling familiar faces.  My plan was to offer encouragement to my students but their kind and enthusiastic response made my intentions backfire.  I was the one who was encouraged to rid myself of disease and get back to work.  

I explained that I was done with one transplant and starting another.  We talked for a bit, took some pictures and had a great time just visiting.  But sadly my visit was both a hello and a goodbye.  I’m going back to Seattle for about four months for the next transplant.  Seeing my students was uplifting but saying goodbye again was very difficult.  This experience leaves me with two conclusions that have gone through my head over and over since my cancer was first discovered.

First, cancer is such an awful disease.  Second, even though I was somehow selected to have cancer, it could be a lot worse.  I have a good chance of experiencing long term remission.  As difficult as it is to be in treatment for several months, I’m one of the lucky ones.  And although I miss my students, I will go back to Seattle feeling inspired by their support and the support of all the wonderful people I work with at Chugiak.