Today's appointment was reassuring in the normalcy of Annie's blood counts and chemistry panel. She had two more immunization shots and her next appointment is scheduled for February 13th. We were especially relieved as we felt we had tempted fate a bit by taking a celebratory trip to Hawaii after Christmas. It was great to see that she came through it stronger than ever on both the inside and outside.
Her strength was especially apparent on the last day of 2013, our last on Oahu. We were dressed for dinner and had an extra half an hour before our reservation. We decided to drive to Diamond Head and see what we could. We arrived just as the last visitors were permitted to enter. We tossed off our dress shoes, put on our sneakers and figured we'd hike into the crater 15 minutes then turn back 15 minutes. It was a lovely time of day to hike, the sun was setting and the air had cooled. The crowds were gone. As we walked Annie kept pulling ahead. Katherine and Tom are both distance runners but Annie was heading the charge and leaving us out of breath. With each switchback she pushed on and we struggled to keep up. Each turn revealed stunning new vistas and surprising terrain. Outlooks, tunnels, winding staircases and steep ones. The pace was relentless but Annie never slowed.
As we rounded the bend towards the first major lookout I was overcome with the reality of what was happening. 2013 was ending, a year that began with a heavy heart and so much struggle ahead, and Annie was sprinting up Diamond Head in Hawaii. I turned to Tom, overcome by tears and emotion. We never would have believed the year could have ended this way. I asked what would it have been like if someone could have told us that this is how the year would end. In that moment I realized that's the feeling you have when you have faith. You just live each moment, dark or light, with the conviction that the journey is taking you somewhere special. At that point we realized, damn the reservations, we were going to the top, and that we did.
When we finally returned to the car we learned that the average time up and down is 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Annie had led us in 45 minutes, round trip.
