Amid a barrage of disconcerting news last several days, we got wonderful news today. Jon was accepted ED to Bucknell University - his first choice school, and where he would like to take his Army ROTC scholarship to. The school provides free room and board, and it makes his college education at a great academic institution a completely free ride with a monthly stipend to boot. A quick, back of the envelop calculation puts the total cash value for four years at over $250K. Quite a win fall. Though I was more or less anticipating it, it sill made my day!
Now that the surgery date is set, there is a lot to prepare.
First, a visit with Jon's high school guidance counselor. Jon does not know yet that I will go in for a major surgery and there will be a long recovery process that includes several months of chemotherapy with an outcome that is not guaranteed to be successful. I wish his last semester of high school, which should be a carefree and relaxed time especially given the scholarship and admissions outcome, wouldn't have to be marred by this meteorite that hit this family. But, it is what it is. He was told clearly by the Bucknell admissions officer that he needs to keep up his grades for the mid year school report. I need to consider all contingencies. In case he does not handle this family crisis well, and in case his school work suffers as a consequence, I need to create an allay. His guidance counselor was very supportive throughout the entire ROTC scholarship and Bucknell application process. I can count on her to keep an eye on Jon.
I went to a gourmet bakery and bought several trays of fancy holiday cookies to the tune of ~$200. I have never spent that kind of money on something so frivolous. But I figure, if I am going to do it, I'd better do it in style. I brought the cookies to his school and arranged them on a table in teachers' lounge and also in guidance counselors' office. I told his guidance counselor what's happening. I asked for her help - not as an active agent but as something who can quietly watch over him and intervene when necessary. She was extremely gracious.
Next on the agenda. I went to B&N to buy some books that I can read while I am recovering from the surgery. One book caught my attention: a travel book. Its title was "1000 places you must visit before you die" I thought "Geez, they should come up with a more manageable goal". Having a disease with a high mortality rate does change your perspective.
Speaking of travel plans, we were supposed to go on a cruise from Dec 17 through Dec 29. A Mediterranean cruise. We were all looking forward to it. Kids were excited about it. Well, it is not to be this time around. We had to cancel it. The problem is, we did not get any travel insurance. Given that we have grave medical issues, we are trying to see if we can get them to give us partial refund or credit for future cruises. Normally, I would be the one calling them and working aggressively to see what we can salvage. However, somehow, in this particular case, a dying cancer patient assertively and authoritatively asking for a break does not seem right. Better that Amir calls and plays the "grieving husband" routine. The problem is, it did not work. The airline gave us a break: use the ticket next year. OK. we can live with that. However the cruise company won't budge. We called the American Express, the credit card we used for this trip. Hopefully, they can do something for us. We will see. I would have to lose all the money. If we use it next year, that will be great.
One more privilege I am going to lose is the false sense of security and confidence that we can predict what our life will be like six month, year, or five years down the road. Based on everything I read, cancer discovered at my stage is not considered "curable", even if the patient remains in remission for decades or permanently. As such, I can never be sure that six month down the road, I will be able to go on a trip with 100% certainly. Additional testing may be needed. Recurrence can happen. I guess we will have to consider travel insurance as part of the cost of "doing business".
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