Sisyphus

According to Greek Mythology, Sisyphus, was punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, repeating this action forever.

My son is my personal hero.  My son has very painful arthritis yet, for the most part, many folks wouldn't necessarily realize just how sick he is.  He puts on a good show, he hides his stiff hands, masks his pain, and stretches his sore and stiff limbs discreetly.  It affects his everyday life greatly, it takes him a lot longer to do simple things, and he is unable to tie his own shoes anymore.  His hands won't cooperate.

A few weeks ago, he walked into the doctor's office and pronounced he had enough of monkeying around with medications, he looked right at the doctor and said, "Pull out the big guns, I want you to give me your best stuff."

So they did, and Mr. Boy started chemo treatment.  It's been rough, he is exhausted all the time and falls asleep mid sentence sometimes. The hardest part is just when he feels better, it's time for another dose.  He takes it every week and it is beginning to feel like groundhog's day around here.  It's a constant cycle and it's a mental game to keep him going, keep us going, and do it week after week.

The good news is that is working, we see little improvements here and there, and today they could actually see a measurable improvement in his mobility.  We joke that he is Sisyphus, pushing a boulder up a hill all week long and just when he reaches the top and pauses to take a deep breath and enjoy the view, the boulder is back down at the bottom of the hill.  Time to start pushing it back up the hill, but we are hoping one day we can stop pushing that boulder up the hill and enjoy the view at the top of the hill for the rest of our lives.   We have hope for the first time in a long time, and that is a gift, to have hope that we can,  Hang On Pain Ends.