Phone Calls, Follow-ups and Naps

I called Kevin's brother today. We hadn't talked to his siblings yet about Kevin's cancer.

An email from a friend reminded me that we had more people to update.

At first it was a deliberate decision to wait until we had more information. Then it was lost in the madness of getting life rearranged for surgery and treatment so quickly.

Kevin's mother is in a nursing home and at a very demanding stage in adjusting to the changes in her life. We both agreed we did not want her to know about Kevin's cancer at this point. Maybe never, depending upon how he does. Some days she is very lucid, some days not. And her physical ability to do much is never strong these days. Telling her seems cruel and like placing a lot of additional burden on his family who deals with her needs on a daily basis.

It does impact his brothers and sisters though. There is a genetic connection with rectal cancer so immediate relatives--children and siblings--need to know and begin being screened at an appropriate age.

His brother was actually vacationing away from home but he said he would pass the information among the siblings. I gave him my cell number as well as our home number. Kevin isn't on his work phone much this early in his recovery.

There are other people we owe phone calls to but something more important needs my attention first. I am going to crawl in bed next to Kevin, find a not sore place where I can slip an arm around him and enjoy a nap together.