Seven years have passed since I first ventured to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be treated for multiple myeloma. My youngest daughter was nearly five when I began my journey. When she recently asked me to tell her again about what happened, I put a different spin on the tale:

Once upon a time there was a King who lived with his beloved Queen and their two young Princesses in a tiny castle at the edge of the forest.

They were a happy family. Laughter filled their daily lives. They prospered and got along quite well with neighbors from other nearby kingdoms.

Although there had been occasional hardships here and there across the land, the King knew in his heart-of-hearts that they were richly blessed. He often mused that even the most beautiful roses have their own share of thorns. The King was grateful that his family’s thorns had been few in number.

Unbeknownst to him, however, there was evil lurking within the kingdom that would put the family’s happiness to the ultimate test.

The trouble began when the King started feeling unwell. He had a dull pain deep within his bones. Tiredness enveloped him like a heavy cloak.

Perhaps he was just an aging king getting somewhat long in the tooth, he thought to himself. Dismissing any serious worry about his mysterious aches, he carried on with his kingly duties as best he could.

As one day turned to the next his pains increased. His energy and spirit waned. The King was falling apart. He prayed fervently for relief, but the spiral continued.

He was reminded of the children’s rhyme that intoned ‘All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again.’ He knew how poor, scrambled Humpty Dumpty must have felt.

Sadly, he didn’t have any horses or any men-in-waiting to call upon. Yes, he had his Queen, his Princesses, and three pups of pleasant temperament, but none of them could help stitch him back together.

The King’s pains eventually became so bothersome that he surrendered to the Queen’s pleadings to go seek the counsel of the wizards. He trusted the local wizards. They had successfully soothed the ailments of his family in the past, but like many kings, he did not like going to them.

Upon examining the King, the wizards humbly confessed that they were perplexed as to the origin of his pains. They encouraged the King to seek the wisdom of higher wizards far more powerful than they were and far more familiar with such odd maladies.

The King and Queen set out on their journey to find help for the beleaguered King. When they arrived at the place where higher wizards held court, they were amazed to meet many others from far and wide who were also seeking help for similar ills.

This was the first time that they realized that they were not alone.

After verifying that the King had the proper resources to sustain a relationship with the higher wizards, he was quickly ushered through a maze of pokings and proddings.

His life’s blood was siphoned and his bones were studied. He was given potions to make him feel not so sickly and other elixirs that made him feel so sickly that he wondered if his illness was perhaps made worse by the wizards’ alchemy.

The King was instructed to lie perfectly still in various magic chamber boxes that somehow gave the wizards a peek into his insides. Not content just to see his insides, they reached into him and extracted bits and pieces of his aching bones so that they could touch them.

After the higher wizards conferred, they agreed to help the King. While they gave no assurance that their efforts would be fruitful, the wizards were confident that the King would pass away without immediate action.

The King consented to allow the wizards and their apprentices to help rid him of the evil within and save his life. After several months of excellent progress, the King was allowed to return home to his loved ones.

That was nearly seven years ago and the King, Queen, and their lovely Princesses, and their pleasant pups are living happily ever after in the tiny castle at the edge of the forest.

The King continues to visit the higher wizards who keep a watchful eye on him. So far, so good.