After aggressive surgical treatment and chemotherapy, Scott and Holly had a sigh of relief after the latest round of test results from August of this year. Summarized that way in two sentences, Holly’s story is artificially neat and tidy and has a happy end. Since Holly’s diagnosis, I’ve had on my mental white board of potential totter guests someone who would climb aboard – not just virtually – and talk about colon cancer. I didn’t have a particular person in mind. But that person turned out to be Bridget Weise Knyal.

Bridget’s story of her husband Jarrett’s illness is neither neat nor tidy, nor did it have a happy end a little less than a year ago. Part of that story involves the binder of explanations of benefits received from the Knyal’s health insurance company along the way. Part of it involves looking back at the why’s and the what-if’s. Part of it involves looking forward to a future returning to the workforce. The important part, though, is now, whenever now happens to be.

The now of two weeks ago was tottering with Bridget (and Violet) on my front porch. This Talk is like all the rest of them – not neat and tidy, served up rough edges and all. And now that the Talk is published, readers can read about that now.