CLAY AND WATTLES

My Husband's Hands

I've always thought Paul's hands were so pretty. His fingers are long and dexterous. I love watching him do close work with them, such as holding a nail and hammering it, using a screwdriver, typing, holding tiny things in place - and those things stay in place! He doesn't fumble and rarely drops things like tiny bolts or washers. When he washes our vehicles, his hands are large enough to hold that big spongey thing, strong enough to get all the dirt off, yet slim enough and flexible to get in the tiny places like the wheel wells and behind the bumpers.

So I'm very thankful that the doctor's report today was so wonderful! After an MRI that took two hours to complete after one or two repeats, and a CT scan, and waiting to see Dr. Nicholas for a couple more hours, the doctor told him he does not have cancer, there are no other lesions anywhere else and he is dismissing him. He will need to follow-up with an x-ray in three or four months to be sure this lesion has not gotten larger. He told Paul he could have had this place for years and it has just begun to be bothersome. (I think Paul was so relieved, he didn't even ask him what he should do for the pain!) And he will have some physical therapy sessions to strengthen the muscle in that arm especially. Bones have bubbles occasionally, and evidently this is what Paul has. Dr. Nicholas is an orthopaedic oncologist and a specialist in his field, so after all this thorough testing, I'm relieved and confident in his diagnosis. He said he would not operate because of the potential for nerve damage to his fingers.

It's a terrible thing to have to live with pain, and many people do. I know it has made me appreciate those who must deal with it daily, trying to lead a normal life. And we do; we just have a "new normal." I'm thankful there is not something worse we have to confront, like surgery or cancer treatments. I'm thankful for my husband, thankful for all he is to me, all his hands have done for me and for Amy and for many other people. Most of all I'm thankful for his faith in God and generous spirit that motivates those hands to serve others.