The Price Paid

I read an article in a free local publication basically asking what a life costs. Of course it was tied closely to dollar amounts incurred by cancer patients and it got me thinking. I can tell you to the penny what Joe's treatments and surgeries cost; even how much we are still paying for them each month.

But I never think about that when my mind wanders back over the past four years. Joe's visible price paid was losing his hair, scars from his leg resection, removing two thirds of his right lung and chemo port surgeries. Out of plain sight was the loss of memory during his second protocol. He had no recollection of anything that happened before January 2008. As a family we would repeat stories of him growing up. Soon the "inner circle" of his friends picked up on it and adopted the same practice.

My memories never include the monetary cost, instead I am reminded of the incredible price Joe paid for a slim chance of survival.