Ann's and Tony's Breast-Cancer Story

 

Before I tell you more about our Breast-Cancer Story, please note the following: everything I'm going to share with you is coming from me and therefore only reflects my thoughts, opinion and belief. I cannot speak for my wife and that was never my intention. So Ann might have a different opinion here and there, but I think we do fundamentally agree with each other on our point of views. Also, please ask me if you have any questions by just sending me an email to: planetcaravan@gmx.com

 

 

 

1. The first shock:

 

I remember very well when I was in my hotel room in North Carolina. I was attending a conference and it was the late afternoon of Tuesday, March 3rd of 2009 when I was on the phone and Ann broke the news to me. I knew she just had her annual mammogram done a few weeks before and because of some irregularities on the slides, the doctor had ordered a biopsy. We were not concerned at all, because Ann's sisters and her mom do have what's casually referred to as "lumpy breasts". So the possibility of a Breast-Cancer Diagnosis didn't even occur to me at that point.

But then she said the following words to me: "You gotta be strong for me now - I have breast-cancer."

 I can't describe what I felt because it's irrational. I felt completely empty but I had a million thoughts rushing through my head at the very same time. And I thought somebody just punched me really hard into my stomach, my throat clogged. I felt guilty - I don't know for what, but did I say that all this irrational, well there you go. In that particular moment though, the most stress was caused by the fact that I wasn't with Ann. That's all I wanted for now, just be next to her. But I was in my f..... hotel room in NC, and my flight wasn't before the next day.

Then Ann told me that her brother Gary was calling on the other line. She had already told him and I guess he had some information for her. When we hung up the phone, I literally broke down. In that very moment, my whole value-system got flipp-flopped and re-shuffeld. Our bills, mortgage, jobs.....completely irrelevant! Who cares! Ann needs to get healthy again. I started to pray and God knows how hard I prayed (ehhhmm...he was probably quite surprised by that, since he had not heard from me in a while. Well, I guess in the meantime I made up for my lack of commitment, we now have regular consultations again ;-)..) 

The thought of not being with Ann was almost unbearable. I went online and checked Continental to see if I could get on a plane to Jersey the same night. There was a flight going out at around 10:00PM and so I made my reservation. Five minutes later I received a call from Continental, telling me that they will most likely have to cancel that flight due to an imminent storm hitting the East Coast. But they said that if I can be at the airport within the next 40 minutes, they could get me on an earlier flight.  

Great - 40 minutes?? I haven't even packed yet, and what about checking out, getting a taxi to the airport, customs, etc.? Anyway, I knew I had only this one shot. I spare you all the details except for one: the hotel kindly offered to give me a ride to the airport with their shuttle. And I was very appreciative of that. Have you ever been to RDU (Raleigh-Durham Airport)? it is a very small airport and there is virtually only one exit off of the highway that takes you right there. Well, my dear driver missed the exit and the next "U-turn" was 15 miles away. "There goes my plane", I thought to myself.

But I made it. Continental actually "held" the plane for me and two other folks. I couldn't have been more grateful to them.

Three hours later I was home in Jersey and back together with my beloved wife.