From Cancer to Candy

My consciousness (see last entry) has lead me directly to the hospital bedside of my poor step-mom. She's been battling cancer for years and if it not for a hospital just north of Chicago she wouldn't be here today. The Hospital is called the Cancer Treatment Center of America and it's one of the last and best alternatives for stage 4 cancer patients. Like their website describes "Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) offers patients the most sophisticated forms of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy in combination with complementary therapies, including nutrition, spiritual support, mind-body medicine and naturopathic medicine." Miracles abound here and my step-mom is just one shining example of defeating the odds. There are only 2, maybe 3, cases of her type of cancer ever seen in this hospital and so doctors are literally writing chapters on her prognosis. Her results wax and wain every 6 months, tumors come and go like the seasons, but in the end she's still living life fully with dear 'ol Dad.

Of course, this takes a toll on dear 'ol Dad as well so to lighten up the moment we decided to escape the hospital and visit one of the official "Jelly Belly" museums. After a train-ride through the guts of the storage warehouse we taste-tested hundreds of Jelly-Belly candy to mixed reviews. The crazy Harry Potter Bertie Botts flavors included pickle, bacon, dirt, booger, spinach, sausage, grass, vomit, earwax and rotten egg. I spit out the latter instantly. I think the chemo affected my step-mom's taste buds though because she kept on chewing even with a nasty grimace on her face. Pomegranite was a big winner and we took home bags of it. Ever since Ronald Reagan started the Jelly Belly craze in 1985 this corn-syrup concoction has been a favorite with America, Europe and now even Southeast Asia. A plant is being built in Thailand now.

Today's adventures continue just over the border into Wisconsin in a town called Geneva and another called Greendale. I'm sure I'll have something to write home about after these as well. Thanks always for reading.