One of the hardest things in the world is to inhale and exhale and mean it.

Another is to say you are sorry for any hurt you may have caused. It could be a round pebble or a sharp pebble; still a pebble.

That is what Beethoven’s Symphony Number 9 has brought out in me.

I am obsessed.

I fell upon it reading my fabulous Dig magazine. There are four movements that total about an hour long.

The Dig writes, paraphrased:

“The Ninth’s First Movement is barely audible and the opening passage suggests no particular key and the tempo is anyone’s guess. But after 16 measures, darkness suddenly gives way to blinding light –

The second movement is a joke, which is not unusual, as all symphonies in Beethoven’s time were expected to include a joke movement – better known by its Italian name, scherzo. The joke ought to have appeared in the third movement, not the second, which makes it a double joke.

In the Ninth’s scherzo, it is more whimsical than hilarious. The laughs never come at the expense of beauty.

Beethoven knew how to cheer himself up by creating joyous music, and he did so every day.”

My favorite – “Beethoven was so good at creating musical joy that it became of one his greatest gifts to the world.”

The third movement’s features are melody and harmony. “The hushed tenderness of the Ninth Symphony third movement is nearly as famous as the fourth.”

The fourth movement is the loudest and most jarring with Beethoven’s personal international anthem – “Ode to Joy.” A global demonstration of hope and brotherhood.

Lewis Lockwood noted that Beethoven Symphony Number 9 is about utopian faith in mankind and in the power of art to redeem the world.

It is a small ambition.

I love hushed tenderness. 🙂

You will recognize the fourth movement right away.

Pause.

Do you know that my treatments become a blur? They do. I sometimes I gasp and go “I have to do a treatment.” Then I am like, wait . . . didn’t I do it? That’s right, I moved it up.

Last night I would have bet money I did my 3-min antibiotic before going to bed. This morning the whole little contraption was still in my travel bag, from work, yesterday.

I did not do it.
I thought I did it.
I sure did it in my mind.

Then, I forgot this little metal do-dad for the contraption today at work. This morning I pulled out a new one out of the box, but shoved in the corner was the little metal do-dad. I did not see it. I can’t do it without it. I just rolled my eyes.

Too many little things. I think routinely I am going to start leaving my 3-min contraption at home. I am supposed to do it 3-times a day, 4-hours apart. It makes it tight in the evening. Sometimes I do it at 3.5 hours.

Off I go with this glowing light –

I wanted to say, I do not think I have mentioned a new drug coming out. It is a Trifecta – 3 medications in one.

My current med addresses two of the three difficulties with my cells. This new drug is doing quite well. The company just submitted to the FDA for the heterozygous of my mutation.

I am homozygous, and the Phase III is doing quite well too. Phase III should be done by late August, September.

I am leaving all stats, numbers aside. One step at a time.

I am thankful for today.
For my meds; my drugs; my great insurance. For my job; for my health; my house, my dogs, just everything.

I have these copay programs separate from my insurance now that took one monthly copay from $125 to $15. Another monthly copay $50 to $0. Zero. The combination is amazing.

“Ode to Joy” – have a listen.

Work cited: The Dig. April 2018. Number 4. www.cricketmedia.com 

Article written by: David Joel Edwards