who refused to give them grandchildren in a timely manner. The latter was the best job in the world.
His Katherine was always saying he was a meddler, but as she found herself surrounded by all of those babies, he knew she wasn’t too upset with the results of his planning. She just wasn’t too thrilled with the methods he used, well at least in the beginning. Over the years the more grandchildren that were around the less she seemed to complain about whatever methodology he used to get his children, nephews, and close friends’ kids married and reproducing.
But something had changed when he’d retired. He’d turned off the technology. He’d no longer been at the beck and call of machines and the blinking notifications so many couldn’t ignore. It had been like cutting the strings to a kite, allowing it — and him — to fly free. Now his time, attention, and focus were where he wanted, and more importantly needed, them to be.
The older he grew, the more he realized that time was a valuable resource. He only had so much of it, and he wasn’t wasting it on emails and phone consumption. It seemed as if this new generation couldn’t make it through a meal without a phone in their hands. That was sad in his honest opinion. The art of a good game, and an even better conversation, had seemed to have gotten lost in all of this technology. Of course, when he did need answers, like he did right now, he was quite grateful a miniature computer fit in his hand.
He opened his family text and typed a quick message to let them know he was awake and ready to get started for the day. Good Morning. Your mother is stable and her color seems to be a little better today. There’s a tiny hint of pink in her cheeks this morning. Please meet me at the hospital in one hour.
Joseph went to the cabinet and pulled out his overnight bag. His sons hadn’t hesitated in giving him whatever he needed to stay with Katherine. He had time for a shower and shave before he jumped into his email. Maybe today he’d hear back from some of the doctors Spence had notified.
Before showering, he sent Lucas a private message. After the family talks, we’ll have the other meeting. Make sure Chad is here again.
They’d had their initial meeting with Chad, but too many family members had been there, so Chad had assured them he’d begin doing research and they hadn’t had time to come together again. Joseph needed that to move forward.
He rushed through his shower and shaved in ten minutes, coming out of the bathroom in Katherine’s room, feeling fully alert and ready to take on what needed to be done. Sitting down in the corner of the room, he immediately got to work, feeling invigorated, his mind sharp, and his energy high, grateful to have something to focus on other than feeling helpless.
Joseph had expected a few replies today, but was humbled at what he saw. There were thirty-three responses from sixteen different doctors around the world. There was a group thread where they were consulting with one another, Dr. Whitman taking the lead and replying quickly. It was enough to awe Joseph, and he wasn’t easily impressed.
Time was quickly running out before his family arrived. He read each email — twice. He wanted to make sure he didn’t miss a single word. Joseph considered himself on the higher end of the intelligence spectrum, but this was an entire new world filled with technical medical terminology, varying philosophies from around the world, and professional recommendations for next steps.
What stood out most to him was that all of these men and women agreed, nearly one hundred percent. Their disagreements were minor. These people were considered the best of the best, highly sought after by every institution worldwide, with degrees from Ivy League schools, training in multiple locations, and innumerable research papers published and validated.
Their research on the brain and how it affected the body was indisputable. And each of these men and women were saying the same thing. They each had a clear plan of action that concluded with what Spence had said. The mass had to be biopsied, but there was little doubt it was cancerous.
From everything Joseph was reading, they’d reached this conclusion based on the size and location of the mass. Though this was terrifying, and some might find it hopeless, Joseph