Hi Packer 66 and very supportive wife who sports pom poms for cheering:

I agree being a health care professional is almost more difficult because we are taught to anticipate the worst then back up from there. On top, I was an oncology nurse and have held many an emesis basin in my day and don't want Dave to have ANY yucky stuff (Pollyanna, I know but hey, I love the guy!) let alone a choice between "poisons" as it's been dubbed. We are currently grappling with the surgery versus non-surgical chemo/radiation options and neither sounds like a walk in the park but I'm trying not to let past cases I've seen color my thinking.

This kind of feels like wanting to tell your kids not to swim because you've seen one in a thousand dive into an empty pool and get a head injury(very nurse like thinking here). I'm trying to balance out healthy caution about "modern medicine" with my knowledge that the goal here is really to help Dave make good choices and I will be alongside him the whole way with my own set of pom poms but sans the short pleated skirt-I think though no amount of Xanax might make me feel relaxed about my legs!

Of course, there is also the "watchdog" side of me that wants to post a sign telling all who enter that they have to go through me to get to Dave. As you can see, I'm still working on my attitude! Alot of nurses I know are like dogs with bones-I like to think this makes us good at what we do!

Many thanks for taking the time to write and offer support.

Say hi to Packer.

Kim