My hands were trembling as I fumbled with my phone to find my home number. Jesus Mark--settle down!!!!

Her cell was ringing, then it answered.

"Hi Kimmy, where are you?" I asked. Can she hear something in my voice I wondered? "I'm home, I just got back from Ohio....what's wrong?"

Welp, that answered that question...

"Dr. W called me with the MRI results from this morning and he says I have a lung tumor" Don't pussy foot around with something this serious I figured...

About a ten second pause then she came back with "Is it cancer?" I told her that they did not know and the Dr. wanted to do a CT scan and a biopsy. "When will they do that?" she asked. I said that the Dr. said he wanted me to go to Butler's hospital the next week. Kim said "No way you are going to Butler hospital, I'm gonna find the best cancer people at UPMC (Universty of Pittsburgh Medical Center). Can you come home now?" she asked with just a tremble in her voice. I said yes, I just had to call my boss.

"Mark", Kim said, "we're gonna get through this."

I kinda chuckled inside as I realized that Kim had just did indeed "make it better".

I laughed and said, "Hey Kim....." "What?" she responded.

"What goes easy for us?" I asked.

"Nothing" she responded instantly...."Please come home, I love you so much..." "I love you too, Kim. I'll be home in about two hours". She had just recounted our pat response we had for each other when faced with adversity. Everything from the builder of our first home running away with our life's savings downpayment down to the KFC Drive Thru "Suggestion Board" was again exerting it's influnce to make an 8 pc. meal a 7 pc. meal for the 1.213th time....Our entire life together over thse past 19 years had been spent witnessing everyone around us pass hurdles and bumps in the road with amazing ease and convenience. With us it was always going to be extra effort, scarifice, and a good dose of general pain in the ass.

I could breathe a little better now. My hands were not trembling. thank God I had Kim.