I'm done. Radiation ended Saturday (they were able to move my Monday appointment to Saturday). I have an appointment with my oncologist on Thursday, and eventually have to get my port removed, but that's it. School ended last Friday. We leave for our trip this Friday. A couple endings and some new beginnings.
I would never have gotten to this point without Stein. Sure, I would've muddled through and found my way here eventually, but not without a lot of pain, tears, and exhaustion. These past eight months have been some of the most difficult, tiring, challenging, and emotionally-charged months of our lives. Yet, he has stepped up to the plate and beyond to try to make the best of it and ease the pain for me along the way.
When I first met Stein, I knew immediately that he was a kind person. Behind the sarcastic, gruff personality, was the most helpful, friendly, and big-hearted man. He talked about his friends and family often, and he loved to tell me stories about his siblings and niece (later to be nieces) and nephews. He was ready to jump in and help anyone who asked, and many times didn't need to be asked in order to help. He loved going to visit people spontaneously, just to say hi or bring some food or a gift he knew they would love.
He hasn't changed throughout the following years we dated and then got married. He will still drop everything the minute he hears someone needs help. He still drops by people's houses to bring something over that he knows they will love. He loves to get friends and family together whenever possible to share a restaurant he loves or a new place he's discovered. He asks people how they're doing, and listens intently when they answer him. Just before we were getting married, I had a conversation with his mom and she said, "David is one of the nicest people I know, and I'm not just saying that because he's my son and he's marrying you." I agreed with her and added, "He really makes me want to be a better person. He is a great example."
It comes as no surprise, then, that during this roller coaster we rode for the past eight months, that he was front and center waiting and willing to help out whenever and wherever necessary. He was master of the calendar when I had appointments scheduled. He has never missed one appointment that I have had, whether it be a blood draw, a chemo treatment, a CT, PET, or MRI scan, a doctor's visit, or a radiation treatment. For most of these appointments, he has sat in waiting rooms, sometimes for hours upon hours, waiting. For most of the appointments, especially the 6:40 a.m. radiation treatments, I told him that he didn't have to go, that I would be alright. Yet, he insisted on going. "It will make me feel better if I'm there," he would say.
While I was going through chemo and just recently when I was going through radiation, he would let me sleep when I felt tired, made dinner when I couldn't muster the energy or didn't know what I wanted to eat, and slept on the couch to make sure I had a good night's sleep. Every morning, he asks me how I'm feeling. When we talk on the phone during the day, the first thing he asks, even if I can tell he's had a bad day, is how I'm feeling.
Caregivers are truly the unsung heroes. Stein has sacrificed so much in these past months and hasn't shown that he is tired or frustrated or too busy. In the midst of trying to help me, he has also been dealing with the loss of his dad and brother, while simultaneously working to keep the office and business running as usual.
A lot of people don't realize what the caregivers go through when they are faced with the challenge of taking care of a sick loved one. Most people only pay attention to the patient and offer help for the patient. But it's the caregivers who deserve the credit. Stein absolutely deserves the credit here. I wouldn't have been able to get through this adventure smoothly and successfully without him by my side. I'm so lucky in so many ways. Being married to him is the biggest one.
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