Exploring the Jungle —Mary Lott

“Mike, please come and hold the pan for me while I pour the batter in.” I wiped the sweat away from my forehead as I stood next to the large pot of boiling water.

“Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!” I shook my sister awake and we made our way to the stairs. “Are Mom and Dad up yet?” My sister signaled no and we sat down to wait…

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to thy name, … to declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night.” — Psalms 92 I…

Carefully, I put my full glass of soda on the tray on my bed. Pokey, my companion and loyal canine, snuggled next to me. Sighing contentedly, he sensed that we’d be together for a…

Turning my head away from the fiend with the needle, I closed my eyes and began mentally walking down a path through a forest. I had only “taken” a few “steps” when the nurse…

“Pokey, I’m back!” I called out as I returned from shopping. I staggered backward as Pokey assaulted me — slurp! slurp! slurp! — in an effort to jump on my shoulder and lick my…

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” —…

“But I’m leavin’ on a jet plane/ Don’t know when I’ll be back again.” — John Denver That song was running through my mind the other day. “Zip!” I jimmied open the zipper of…

“I’m going to prescribe Rituxan [rituximab] for you,” the doctor said. I immediately envisioned myself losing all of my hair. I had no idea what to expect, nor did I understand anything about…

In May 2018, I entered the unknown “jungle” of a cold agglutinin disease (CAD), accompanied by what my doctor calls chronic lymphocytic lymphoma. CAD is a rare disease, and in April 2018,…