Roy Exum: So How Am I Really Doing?

  • Friday, May 24, 2013
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

I’ve gotten hundreds of jokes since Tuesday when I wrote about feeling a little puny lately and expressing my belief that laughter is the best medicine. After breaking some bones in my arm as I slept last week and having no idea there were already some other fractures, it looked pretty certain I had a case of “The Big C.” I’ve always felt that stands for “courage” but the medical term for what I may have is Multiple Myeloma.

Everywhere I look I am a textbook case. Aside from the unexplainable fractures, the symptoms include bone pain, usually in the back and ribs; broken bones, usually in the spine; feeling weak and very tired; unquenchable thirst; frequent infections and fevers, weight loss, and nausea.

Trust me, I got every one of them but – mind you -- they are all “treatable.”

In the glorious way science and prayer work together, my bone biopsy was negative, the bone marrow was clear, the blood looks great, and I am thrilled to death. It’s not my style to publicly air my afflictions but after so many responded to my request to make me laugh, I can hardly leave the question hanging so let’s rejoice in the fact that I passed every single diagnostic test at Erlanger hospital this week.

Technically, I guess, I am as healthy as those who took time to make me laugh but, because the broken back, the ribs and the arm are worrisome, we’ll keep on searching for an explanation. Yes, we already have a miracle that all the tests have turned out in a way that thrills me and the great staff at Erlanger who have to endure it when others aren’t so lucky. So today I feel like we’ve won the lottery.

Get this: some wonderful things have already happened. The biggest for me is the news that my doctor, Melanie Blake, is staying at Erlanger. She had gotten a marvelous offer to go somewhere else and I was crushed because I have a triumvirate of brilliant females at Academic Internal Medicine who watch over me and this week they’ve seen me as often as three times in one day. How can I possibly be so blessed?

The reason Dr. Blake is staying is even better. She has seen first-hand the dramatic changes that the hospital’s new CEO, Kevin Speigel, is already delivering. The days of talk are over and she believes Speigel and his new staff will completely revolutionize and rejuvenate our region’s Level One trauma center. Other doctors who are my close friends, and who have also helped me greatly this week, feel the same way about the dynamic new leader.

And Spiegel himself? When he got word I was struggling, he immediately called and chastised me for not letting him know. “Everyone here cares about you and you are ‘family.’ We’ve got to treat every patient the very best way we can but you should have called me! If you have a problem, I have a problem, and we don’t want problems. Keep me in the loop!” (Houston, I think we have a winner!)

Then there is COTH. That stands for Chronicle of the Horse, a fantastic magazine that good horse people adore. Not long ago there was an ad on Craigslist in Nashville that showed an emaciated Tennessee Walking Horse for sale and horse lovers on the magazine’s forum went crazy. They soon got up a collection to rescue the horse, found it a home with safe surroundings, and wondered if they might name the 8-year-old for me because of my efforts to halt horse abuse. Is that “big medicine” or what?

So many people have written to me and I deeply appreciate such a vivid display of human kindness. Several have Multiple Myeloma and wrote they are in remission, that gigantic steps have been made in treating the disease and urged me to “keep on keepin’ on.”

But the jokes, oh the jokes. Tomorrow I’ll share just a few of the ones that have made me laugh and soothed my heart. A dear friend sent me one that has become an all-time favorite. As you listen, tell me how in the world you can be sick when there is joy like this to be had. Turn your speakers up and click http://zanylol.com/accident.html.

royexum@aol.com

Opinion
Democratic View On Top State Senate Issues - March 28, 2024
  • 3/28/2024

Constitutional amendment would ban state taxes on property. Who would benefit? 8:30 a.m. Senate Regular Calendar — HJR 0081 would amend the Tennessee Constitution to prohibit the legislature ... more

Democratic View On Top State Senate Issues - March 27, 2024
  • 3/27/2024

Gov. Lee reveals $797M of new spending, but withholds funding for legislature’s voucher proposals View the Lee Administration’s Budget Amendment — The Lee Administration made its last revisions ... more

UTC: Cradle Of Coaches
  • 3/27/2024

Given recent events, the UTC Athletic Department should put up a billboard or start a marketing campaign with the following message: "UTC: Cradle of Coaches" Michelle Rogers more