For as long as I can remember, Dave has told his players and coaches that there is no clock in this game. For those who watch baseball, sometimes you wish there was a clock. Maybe it is a nine-inning sloppy game that sees the teams make 10 errors between them. Add in the 12 walks and baseball has taken on a new look. Possibly, it’s that five-hour, 14-inning game that has gone back and forth. Both teams have exhausted their pitching staff. Neither team shows any emotion. Nobody seems to care. The fans are fidgety with the poor play. Will this game ever end?

But one thing is for sure. Nowhere in baseball is there a rule that states a game can not continue after a certain length of time. It could take two hours or it could take 20 hours.

There is no clock in baseball. 

There is no clock in this leukemia journey that we are on, either. We learned with the first bone marrow transplant that 100 days post-transplant was to be celebrated, only to find that the 107^th day made that celebration wishful thinking, only. We have realized that with each blood draw, we hold our breath and wait for the counts to lean closer to a 9-inning crisp victory than a long, exhausting 14 inning game, which is loaded with miscues. But either way, we keep moving forward in order to put a “W” in our win column.

Last weekend was no different. While sitting in the emergency room waiting for results, I prayed that it was something simple and begged for God’s mercy. “Enough. Dave has been through enough,” I said over and over again. I’m not questioning God’s wisdom, but only asking for a 7th-inning stretch. We need time to rest our weary bodies, time to regain strength and time to enjoy some normalcy.

God has been good to us all along, but this time for sure. As always, He answered. He blessed us with simple. In addition to the UTI and blood transfusions he needed, Dave has a common cold. That’s it. This time, it is as simple as a cold. I know you are saying, “You’re kidding, right”? but even a cold right now sent him to the hospital for six days. It reminds us that we need to be vigilant. We must avoid any environment that could compromise his health. Because at any given moment, we may need to drop everything and head to the hospital to evaluate the seriousness of any new symptom. Because, there is no clock in this game either. It could take six months to a year before he is even able to attend a ball game. When it is safe to attend, I think we would enjoy a 14-inning game. That’s actually the best part.

There is no clock in baseball.