Radioactive

A current favorite song at the moment is "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.  I must admit that I usually don't watch music videos because they only seem to be getting more strange these days.  However, I did check this one out and was not proven wrong.  A specific concept from a specific image really caught my eye and attention because I can connect it to my sibling cancer experience.

In the video there are these mostly cuddly and innocent stuffed animals (there is an evil one).  What American adult can't remember having a stuffed animal as a kid?  I'm sure there are a few, but the point is that stuffed animals are childhood icons of cuddly creatures.  They are your friends, they make you feel safe, and you even go on fun adventures with them.

Well, the stuffed animals of the video are not your average stuffed animals.  If you haven't watched the video by this point, you really should, or you're going to think I'm under the influence of something.

The stuffed animal that stuck out to me is the hero; it's pink, old, and pathetically lovable looking.  Reminds me of my old pink teddy bear I named "Pinky." (I wasn't much for creativity).  Well, this pink teddy bear is literally radioactive.  Think Cyclops from the X-Men series.  One bad look and you're toast.  Why is this seemingly cuddly and reassuring child's toy really a deadly assassin?

My thoughts went down the weird cancer road in my mind and came up with an analogy.  The pink teddy bear with deadly powers is really like some of the medication we take these days.  I was specifically thinking of radiation because my brother had total body radiation for his bone marrow transplant.

The short story is that the total body radiation is what finally "killed" the Leukemia he was originally diagnosed with.  So while radiation treatment "saved" him, it also doomed him.  His second and third cancers were caused by the radiation that saved his life.  His third cancer required low-level radiation.  Do you see the cycle of doom?  Suddenly that teddy bear doesn't look so cuddly.

A lot of things in life can be summed up in a phrase: "Damned if you do, damned if you don't."  That phrase fits Jon's treatment to a T.  He would have died had he not had radiation.  We've all realized that he'll probably die from a secondary cancer or a long-term side effect of radiation.  Unless you've lived this, you do not know what it is like to look forward to such a future.  Of course, the future isn't written, but I must remain grounded in reality and not expect miracles to keep happening.

Now you know the sword that [possibly] hangs over our heads and has for over a decade.  Each day, month, and year is precious.  Don't waste yours.