live like we're dying

My roommate had a near-death experience this past weekend. Kind of.

At around 2:30 on Friday, I was having the time of my life at Gap. The buy-one get-one free sale was making my head spin, and I was in a state of sheer ecstasy. Until I got the phone call.

Me: "Yo."

Alison: "I need you to come pick me up from the eye doctor."

Me: "Huh? I don't get it."

Alison: "I need you to come pick me up and take me to the eye foundation."

Me: "What? Well, can you wait... like... 30 minutes?"

Alison: "From now or from the time you leave?"

Me (selfishly wanting to finish trying on clothes): "Uhhhh... from the time I leave. Well, ok... I guess from now. I'm on my way."

I then proceeded to make my way back to the dressing room to continue trying on clothes. I didn't realize the severity of the situation until she called back and said her optometrist told her she had to go straight to the emergency room after discovering some abnormal pressure around her optic nerve.

Having no idea what this could mean, we began to prepare for the worst. Alison (who we affectionately refer to as a "hypochondriac," and who likes to spend time on WebMD looking up every type of questionable mole on her arm) immediately expressed concern over the possibility of losing her hair. On the way to the hospital, we started to make plans for her memorial service. I practiced my speech, and we discussed what songs would be played and where it would be held. We reminisced about the past and came to the conclusion that she had lived a wonderful life. I promised to take good care of her wardrobe. I also promised to make her a website to keep her memory alive. Then we played "Live Like We're Dying" by Kris Allen on repeat. Dramatic? Yes. Funny? Absolutely.

Possibly the last picture with "the poof."

Upon arrival to the ER, we met several interesting characters. One man (who thought he was Jeff Foxworthy), kept us pretty entertained. Imagine the most obnoxious redneck voice in the world. Now imagine it saying (yelling) things like this: "This place might as well be a morgue... We gon' die before we get back to see a doctor!" and "Hey y'all, if there was a lady that was three months pregnant, she'd prolly have the baby 'fore we ever go back there." Good one. And my personal favorite: "I'm gonna miss karaoke night!!!"

When we weren't trying to avoid eye contact with this man, we enjoyed some nice easy listening courtesy of BET. Before we knew it (two hours later), we got to go back into a room. I tried to entertain her with some Step Sing moves and poetry readings, but we mostly spent our time laughing at the fact that all she wanted were new contacts, and now we were in the UAB emergency room waiting on news that could potentially change her life forever.

One CT scan and three more hours later, Alison was declared cancer/tumor/infection free. The diagnosis? I can't remember... "pseudo osmosis catheter drusen" or something like that. Treatment? A visit to the eye doctor every six months. Praise God.

Celebrating Alison's life.

I want to make something very clear. Many people may find it odd, even borderline-sacrilegious that we were talking and joking about death. But for a follower of Christ, death is nothing to fear. We were able to joke about hair loss and memorial services because we have a deep confidence that this life isn't all there is. I know Alison is beyond thankful to have received a good report. But even if she had received bad news, I know she would have a peace knowing the Creator of the Universe had everything under control.

Friday night was definitely one for the books. I can think of no better way to start off the weekend. Even though I didn't gain another wardrobe, I'm so happy that my friend is alive and that my rent does not increase. And I'm also quite happy about my Gap purchases.