Laugh Away The Pain

Imagine receiving a phone call from your doctor with the news that the tumor board recommends a below knee amputation. What thoughts run through your mind?
My mother received that very phone calls three years ago.
She had already been through radiation in hopes that surgical intervention would be less extensive and learned that it didn’t help shrink the tumor. We talked to the tumor board, now, their concern was that the radiation damage to the bone and soft tissue would prevent healing and result in a worse outcome. This was very upsetting, so we tried to reach her primary surgeon. We, were unable to reach her primary surgeon, so we were left to process the information over the weekend. Throughout the course of the weekend, we used laughter many times to help lift our spirits and make the situation more bearable while we waited for more information from doctors to coordinate care and determine if there were other options. In preparation for this becoming a reality, I spent time with my mother that weekend viewing prosthetic legs on-line. We laughed as we looked at running blades and joked about her being able to run a marathon when she couldn’t do it before. This situation and the news we were given was difficult. It was hard thinking about the effects there would be because my mother was losing many things, including her active lifestyle, not to mention the fact that she was in the middle of nursing school. My mom kept using these quotes, “If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry” and “Laughter is the best medicine”, these quotes helped us stay positive. We tried to keep the weekend not super serious, we tried not to dwell on the seriousness, we just tried to laugh about things. We laughed a lot over the weekend, but there was one laugh that I remember best from that weekend. That laugh was when her friend told her that she thought my mom could get half price pedicures.
Seriously though, there was at times a heavy feeling in the room and I’m sure it wasn’t just me who wanted to cry. But, crying wouldn’t change the situation so using humor and laughing to reduce the stress level reminded us all to keep a positive outlook. As it turns out, my mother was sent to another surgeon in Boston who was willing to take a risk and was able to perform surgery that allowed my mother to keep her foot.

Through a lengthy recovery and a change in lifestyle, there continues to be stress and frustration. We continue to use laughter to make light of situations that otherwise may result in anger, frustration or embarrassment. Something as simple as a shopping trip requires more effort but is always sure to bring more laughter, as my sister nearly drives my mother into a wall with her wheelchair or off the sidewalk. The one thing we continue to do is use laughter to make things less stressful, lighten the mood and maintain a positive attitude.