THE DAMAGE IS DONE
No one ever heard of sun screen when we were kids. To screen yourself from the sun you had to find a rare piece of shade, which is no small achievement in the Arizona desert. It was that or park your behind in the house. And that wasn’t about to happen when we were grabbing the world by its horns.
It was so hot that we figured the less clothes the better. It was kinda cool to see how dark our skin could get. Some of the girls would even slather themselves up with baby oil to get even darker.
As a young man framing houses I dressed similar to the way I did when I was a kid. By then I’d spent so much time in the sun my back was the color of Coca Cola. My poor nose peeled more times than it should have…
About ten years ago I began to pay the fiddler… I get regular skin checkups and the doctor freezes, which is so blasted cold that it burns, the pre-cancer spots off my tired skin. I have a small hole in the end of my nose where the pre-cancer was burned off six or seven years ago.
I always hold out hope for my annual skin check up. I think that this could be the year that he checks me, always a young female nurse with him and me stripped down to my underwear…๐คจ, and says, “It all looks good. See you next year.” But it’s yet to happen…
Sure enough, the trigger happy freezing fiend didn’t take long to find spots to burn, but this check up took a new twist. “Did you know you have a mole on the bottom of your foot?”
“No,” I said with dread.
He went on to tell me that he would have to cut it out and get it biopsied. Then he explained that moles on the bottom of your feet or on the palms of your hands are often melanoma.
By the time the young nurse was shooting the bottom of my foot with an unpleasant needle to prepare me to have a hole dug in my foot I didn’t care so much about being in my underwear. Those kinds of things fade to grey when faced with real issues, like possible cancer.
It’s hard to walk around with a chunk of meat dug out of the bottom of your foot. It’s also a couple of sobering days waiting to hear the results of the test.
The days are gone when I thought I could outlast the sun. I never considered mortality back then. And I cheated death almost daily. These days I step off curbs carefully… a far cry from jumping off roofs to be the first in line to the catering truck. And you’d be hard pressed to find me outside without a cotton long sleeved T-shirt on, but the damage is done…
I reminded myself that I don’t know the number of my days, but I know Who does. I’m called to make the most of the days I’m given so that each one brings Him honor. I still fail at that…
I was relieved to get the phone call to let me know the test came back negative. But our days are like musical chairs and one day we all have no place to sit when the music stops.
Those words of wisdom we memorize early in life come back to us; “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” Learning the words is different than living the days.
I was disappointed, but not shocked when I discovered the site wound was infected. Another massive needle in the butt and ten days of antibiotics four times a day. And all because of a freckle on my foot… Maybe I’ll laugh about it someday… that would be a gift in and of itself.
bill (cycleguy)
Sunday, July 7, 2019 @ 11:47 am
I spent my summers in the sun as well…in PA not in AZ. I used to pride myself in how dark I got but those days are gone. I wear sunscreen when I cycle. I lather my nose with it especially. I have a grandson I want to see grow up. I, too, wonder how much I have cheated death. Fortunately, I have not had moles are any other type of foreign matter removed from my back or my arms, etc. Inside is another story. Time for another one of “those things” come September…after vacation. ๐
Pam
Sunday, July 7, 2019 @ 5:23 pm
Always glad when that yearly skin check is over. My stomach was in knots as you told your story. So glad you had a happy ending (at least cancer-wise). Praying for healing, Floyd.
Lisa notes
Sunday, July 7, 2019 @ 7:54 pm
I’m thankful your test came back negative, but a bummer still to get an infection. ๐ Jeff and I need to go for a check again soon. I grew up in that era of baby oil and deep tans, too. I pay the price today with age spots and spotted skin. Tons of sunscreen, long-sleeve shirts, and shade are my best friends now when outside. But in the end, yes, it’s God that has numbered my days. I just need to live the ones I have to be the best of my ability to bring him glory. Thanks for this poignant reminder, Floyd.
Hazel Moon
Sunday, July 7, 2019 @ 10:27 pm
I am happy your test came back negative but sorry it was infected afterwards. Yes, it has been awhile since I got a real sun burn. As a teen, my friend Gracie and I would lather up with baby oil and lay on towels on her garage roof. We did not stay long enough to burn but wanted to get tan. She was already a nice ruddy complexion, but I was fair and needed some color.
Cheryl
Monday, July 8, 2019 @ 12:05 am
Oh, wow, I am so grateful you got great news!! That is one time you surely want to hear the word “negative.” I hate to hear about the infection and trust the Lord will heal it all quickly and without too much pain. Oh, the joys of getting older and facing the music for the carelessness of our youth! I just had one of those “freezing” episodes, also. May God have mercy on us all and soften the repercussions. I hope you feel much better soon.
Betty Draper
Monday, July 8, 2019 @ 12:34 am
In the last 10 years I have paid the skin piper several times. Through the years I joked how the sun would make all my freckled run together to give me that dark tan. Now I have huge white patches on my face where they froze and cut out only to find it was only pre-cancer cell living freely on my face. The sun damage to my face and other parts of my body has made for looking older then I am. Even with all of that, I love the sun, my favorite line is, even fat looks good tanned. But I do cover myself more, swim at the indoor YMCA verses an outside pool, use creams to lightened my sun damage. One thing about freckles is its hard to tell if it’s a sun spot on my face or just a freckled. I can tell the difference but with a little light makeup no one else can. Just one of the foolish choices I made in my younger days that just keeps on giving me problems. Praise the Lord for good news on you on your sun damage.
Martha J Orlando
Monday, July 8, 2019 @ 8:32 am
So thankful for the good news about your foot, Floyd, even though it did get infected – sigh! But at least you’re on the mend.
And no, we can never know the length of our days, so it’s vitally important that we live each one to the fullest.
Blessings!
Diane Ronzino
Saturday, July 13, 2019 @ 7:50 am
Oh, Floyd, you do know how to keep us holding our breath! So glad for the good news but so sorry you have to go through this. UGH. I will be praying for you, my friend.
I love this line, “But our days are like musical chairs and one day we all have no place to sit when the music stops.” Oh, but to stand in the Presence of our King….