Day one of pre-treatment week was being admitted to a room, given lots of pre- chemo meds, a very unfortunate seven tries at an IV line and lots of other drugs that hung from bags, slowly dripping.
Drugs I swallowed in pill form and several that were injected straight into the IV line itself.
Was not counting on any of that actually.
I woke up early day two to a woman taking my blood. Seriously.
That day took on an even surreal level when I turned on my phone and iPad.
There was a message from my brother Jesse that Katie Meyers was looking for me on Facebook. She found him and reached out hoping he’d contact me.
He did.
I immediately logged on and went to messages to send her an OMIGAWD how are you , etc., message when I notice another message in my inbox from mid- June, weird that its just coming through and weirder still it’s a last name I know but not a first name.
Click on to read anyway and it’s from Julie Bell.
It’s been sixteen plus years since I’ve seen or spoken to either of them.
OK, Julie I met in August of 1987 when she knocks on my dorm room door at Oklahoma State University to tell me I have the same room number as her
boyfriend from another college, hours away.
Kinda of strange but she’s looks just like Snow White so I let it slide.
We talk, she doesn’t know anyone, I do, one frat party later that night and she’s my roommate and bestie by morning. Perfect.
When Julie went home to Oklahoma City, I did too. When I went back to Wagoner for one of my very, very few trips home, she came with me.
We did everything together and when she got sick and decided to leave at the Christmas break so did I.
I announced my decision on Christmas Eve to my family.
There was the expected stunned silence.