My Dad and Anna.
My father stayed with me through my duration at MD Anderson. We were definitely an unusual dynamic. Most patients are there with there spouses, but John had to stay behind in Denver for work. Then
next obvious caregiver would be someone's mother. My mother had flown out and stayed with me in Denver while I went through treatment there. It just happened to work out that my dad, who is semi-retired, could leave his life in Florida behind for several months
and look after me. He and my stepmother, Anna, have an orchid nursery in Fort Myers, so she stayed behind to run things while he was with me in Houston.
One
day while we were waiting to see my Radiologist, me and my dad were talking with one of my nurses Gary. Gary was probably my favorite nurse. He, like most, was also curious why I was there with just my dad, so that day he started asking more questions. He
asked where my mom was, and if my parents were still married. They are not, so then he asked if my dad was remarried.
“Yeah, I've been remarried for
20 years.” My dad said.
“Do you get along with her?” Gary was asking me now.
I took a second before answering. Of course Anna and I had our own
growing pains, but we get along incredibly well. She'll never be my mother, but she is still a parent to me. Her sense of humor is probably even more crude than mine, which might be part of why we get on so well.
In an attempt to through Gary off guard I replied, “That bitch? I've been trying to get rid of her for years.” Both Gary and my dad did a double take before they realized it was a joke. The funny part
is if Anna had been there she would have laughed instantly.