Wednesday, November 30, 2011

357 Days later

Last year, Christmas came late for the D'Imperio family.  As I've documented here, my younger brother was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer on December 8.  Life as we knew it was changed forever.   Surgery after surgery, complication after complication.  Colostomy bags and chemotherapy became a part of our everyday vernacular.  The Patient was in the hospital for Christmas; the first time I haven't had a Christmas with my brother since I was 4.  As the family gathered for our Christmas gathering, we called him on the phone to give the illusion that he was there, but it certainly wasn't the same.  We did finally get to celebrate with him, a week or so later, but still, knowing what was to come definitely put a damper on the day.

This year, Christmas came early for the D'Imperio family.  After almost a year which included 6 months of chemotherapy, various complications, infections, surgeries and countless antibiotics, The Patient is now The Survivor.  Bloodwork and the 'ill-fated' follow-up colonoscopy have revealed that the cancer is gone.  Our Christmas will be normal once again, we will all be together like it's supposed to be.  The events of last year will just be a memory.

It will be a very Merry Christmas, indeed.