That was the moment when we stepped through the
looking glass. Nothing about my father’s life and
expectationsfor itwouldremain thesame.Ourfamily
wasembarkingonitsownconfrontationwiththereality
ofmortality.Thetestforusasparentsandchildrenwould
bewhetherwecouldmakethepathgoanydifferentlyfor
my dad than I, as a doctor, had made it go for my
patients. TheNo. 2 pencils had beenhandedout. The
timerhad beenstarted.But wehadnotevenregistered
that the test had begun.
Myfathersentmetheimagesbye-mail,andwespokeby
phoneaswelookedatthemonourlaptops.Themasswas
nauseating to behold. It filled the entire spinal canal,
extending all thewayup to thebase of his brainand
downtothelevelofhisshoulderblades.Itappearedtobe
obliteratinghisspinalcord.Iwasamazedthathewasn’t
paralyzed,thatallthethinghaddonesofarwasmakehis
handnumbandhisneckhurt.Wedidn’ttalkaboutanyof
this,though. Wehad troublefindinganywheresafefor
conversation to take purchase. I asked him what the
radiologist’s report said the mass might be. Various
benignandmalignanttumorswerelisted,hesaid.Didit
suggest any other possibilities besides a tumor? Not
really, he said.Two surgeons,wepuzzled over howa
tumorlikethiscouldberemoved.Butthereseemedno
way,and we grewsilent. Let’stalkto a neurosurgeon
before jumping to any conclusions, I said.
Spinalcordtumorsarerare,andfewneurosurgeonshave
much experience with them. A dozen cases is a lot.
Amongthemostexperiencedneurosurgeonswasoneat
theClevelandClinic,whichwastwohundredmilesfrom