A tall man's hand

I was just at the grocery store moments ago and passed a short woman trying to reach the top shelf in aisle 3. The product this woman was going for was soy sauce. Me being just 5' 10" I didn't attempt to help this 5' 2" lady. I didn't do it because I was snubbing or ignoring her helpless grasp but I did it because it was too tall for me. As I was watching this lady come up short an extraordinarily tall man came to this woman's rescue. He not only reached the soy sauce, he could see on top of the shelf and rescued lost bottles that had fallen far back.

The reason I mention this unusual observation is for a reason which I'll share in a moment but I have to explain my day first. I was getting ready for work this morning and I was all alone with Garth our dog. He looked so uncomfortable and sick. His weight and muscles in his neck and limbs have disappeared. I took him in 2 weeks ago for blood work and all sorts of other things. The tests all came back negative. The blood work found no cancer and the Doctor has no explanation for the major weight loss. So I felt OK, I guess, because they had no explanation. But I could tell that something was wrong. I gradually saw the decline happening more and more the last 2 weeks but we had high hopes for him. He is 10 years old and I'm realistic about Labs and life expectancy but I have family members scratching for alternatives to the fact that he is growing old. One of my teammates here believes its a chicken bone lodged in his throat. Another has it due to sadness. All sorts of reasoning but the truth is he is old.

I decided to take him into the Vet immediately today because I love my dog with all my heart and felt like I had taken the Vet's word that there was nothing wrong out of convenience. I could do the x-rays and send him to the university for open chested this or that but where does it end. So I had my son go with me to the appointment and the doctor said that his tumor we removed months ago had grown inward into his spinal column and has damaged and infected his nervous system. He is in irreversible pain and sickness.

I asked Christian to step out of the room as me and the wonderful Doctor talked it over. She said it was time to let him go. My heart broke and I could hear my child sobbing in the other room. I explained that I had to take Garth home for all the rest of the family, and so we decided to wait until Thursday so we can spend a couple of days with him. They administered pain medicine for the delay. I can't tell you how hard it is to see my boy cry uncontrollably all night long. He knows it's for the best but he is young.

We decided on Thursday because we have Children Mercy spinal taps on Wednesday and Kaylee is going to be occupied and sick Wednesday. I know that we all have responsibility towards our families and I take pride that I look out for us. I might take more pride in the fact I have a family I get to call my own and a family I can make the decisions for. Believe when I say that I don't make the decisions solely but I initiate the action when I see it needs tending to. Today I wish it wasn't one of those situations but it is what it is. We have to do what's best for one of our family members and unfortunately it means he won't be with us anymore.

So back to the tall man. This man's height was an advantage and definitely an asset at a time when needed. He lent a helping hand to a fellow human being who needed it. I had to lend my hand to my son today because he needed me as he felt more sadness then he has in sometime. I was lucky to be there for him to reach that place he needed me to. It wasn't the top shelf but it was a certain place that needed a special hand to lift his spirits. I can't make miracles happen but I am lucky enough to be called dad and be the one that my child hugged and held as he worked through his hurt. For that I felt honored and I felt like a father who did his job for the day!