Attach label here...

My birthday started officially at 12:00am on October 1st.  At 12:05am my phone rang and Andrew was on the other end.  He asked me to come outside as he was in my backyard and wanted to sit on my porch swing with me.  We sat out there for a while talking about nothing, holding hands, looking at the stars, caring about nothing.   He finally looks me in the eye, and ever so understated says to me, Ryan Joseph Aubin... would you be my boyfriend?

Until next time...

Jamesline

Theres a facebook application that lets you choose locations around the globe which you have traveled to, this is one of a very select few that I participate in because sadly, I don't want to be on your pirate ship, I want to give your farm H1N1 and I hope your Mafia dies from a heart attack courtesy of that last cannoli!  As such, I've selected all the fun places I've been fortunate enough to visit in my 27 years, from different states to different countries, I think I've been pretty blessed in my travel endeavors.

I miss traveling.

Lauren and I every year would spend outrageous amounts of money we should have saved to go on vacation with each other.  At the time I didn't regret it because I always have had the opinion "it's just money"  and  "you never know whats going to happen to you, and if you'll ever have this opportunity again".   Wow - what an oracle I am, right?  Knowing what I know now I am so grateful I was able to travel both domestically and internationally, and more importantly, share the experience with the most important person in my life.  The person who says "for your birthday, your mother and I are surprising you with tickets to see Wicked in Orlando while we're there..."  and I reply "oh that's great, Im really excited - but can we go to the Magic Kingdom afterwards?"  and without missing a beat, she says "... of course"

I think my travel partner is like me in a lot of ways, more so than I think either of us realize at times.  We tend to live in the moment.  When an opportunity is presented we go at it full force for the opportunity may not present itself again.  Do what we do without regrets.  To be spontaneous.

I, never in my wildest dreams, could be the type of person who plans out a trip to Kentucky four months in advance.  The person who has their life scheduled out so far in advance the calendar doesn't reach the dates yet.  What happened to saying "Hey, xxxxx, if air and hotel are affordable you want to take off to Florida in a couple weeks?"

Being spontaneous isn't a bad thing, in fact being able to exhibit that behavior reminds me Im still healthy enough to do a lot of things many others aren't.  It reminds me that I am still alive.

But alas, I've become sidetracked... As I was filling out my locales on facebook which I had visited I got to thinking about a place I had traveled a lot to, that wasn't on the list.  It's played a big part in my life the  past 2 years, it's a place I'll never be able to forget, filled with people I didn't know, but grew to trust with my life.  The long name...

  The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

 Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital 

For short

The Jimmy

My feelings about The James went from fear and anger, terror, both physical and mental pain... to unwavering gratitude.  I've been an inpatient there twice, both lengthy stays, neither time I wanted to go.  The second time in fact, I was convinced they were sending me there to die.  I figured if the people at Grandview couldn't help me, no one could.  It took the reassurance of the one physician I trust without question telling me the help I needed was there for me to go.  I trusted her, and she was right again.

Where did my gratitude come from?   Obviously I was pretty tickled they managed to save my life,  but mainly how professional and courteous the staff of The James really was.   I was so nervous in going there because I didn't know anyone, nor did my family as we do at Grandview/Southview what I didn't realize was it didn't matter, because the staff treated us as though we were all a big family getting through a tough time.  

I've never met a group on individuals who are so kind, and non-judgemental.  They do the jobs most people would scoff and turn their noses at without question but more importantly do it with compassion. The one misconception about The James is that it is a sad place.  The building and what it stands to fight, are not joyous, but the way the staff treats its patients and visitors is something to be celebrated.  The hospital itself is designed like a hotel.  My first room could easily accommodate 8-10 people comfortably. From carpeted floors, recliner chairs, private bathrooms, mini fridges, to the in house chef, and dvd/vcr combo I wasn't in a standard bleak hospital room, I was somewhere that I could relax comfortably.  But it truly is the staff that sets it apart from the main house.  You as a patient aren't "patient xxx with non-hodgkins lymphoma"... You're Ryan, a guest of The James.   It's true some patients go there when no hope is left and they use it as a palliative resource.  Be that as it may, you are still treated as though you just a normal person, which in reality - is what we are. They make happy a place which could potentially be covered in sadness.

The sad part about my trips to The Jimmy is that by the time I was well enough to thank the countless staff who tended to me night and day, I was back home in dayton, and couldn't remember their names.  So this is my humble attempt in thanking them.  Maybe somehow google will one day route one of their searches to this and they'll read it or something along those lines, who knows, but its out there for consumption.  

I don't want to participate in this ninja thing on facebook either!

Until next time...