I have related this story to many friends and family, so forgive me if you've heard it before. But it was a powerful experience that reminded me of some very important things and has since brought me a lot of hope and comfort. The end of May, two weeks into my radiation treatment, I woke up with a nasty headache. Most likely due to swelling in my brain at the site of the tumor bed caused by the radiation beams. I have been pretty lucky to be able to manage my pain at home solely with Tylenol, but this morning I was reaching for the stronger narcotics leftover from my hospital stay. I went about my day as best I could and went off to my regularly scheduled radiation treatment at the hospital that afternoon. When I arrive at the hospital each weekday the procedure is the same: I check in at the front desk and walk past the nurse's desk into the dressing rooms. Fortunately, I don't have to change into a hospital gown because they are just zapping my head. So I continue through the dressing room to the women's waiting room where I may wait with others receiving various radiation treatment. When it is my turn a technician leads me from the waiting area down a long hall to vault 5 where I receive treatment.
This day I made my way to the waiting room. When I opened the door there was an older woman sitting there in a wheelchair. She was obviously miserable holding a hospital-issued, (thankfully unused!), yellow "barf-bucket" in her lap. I also noticed a small can of apple juice beside her. Recognizing how miserable she looked, I decided that making small talk wasn't a good idea. I considered what I might do to help her and that's when the idea of the straw came to my mind. Out by the nurse's station there is a drinking fountain. I recalled that they had placed some cups and a container of straws nearby the fountain. I timidly asked the woman if she would like a straw for her apple juice. She silently nodded her head. I made my way back through the dressing rooms to the nurse's station, grabbed the straw by the fountain and headed back. I explained to her that I was unable to remove the paper around the straw for her her due to the fact that I still had limited mobility in my left hand. She didn't seem to mind, and expressed her thanks for the straw. That little act opened the flood gates. She started ranting about how she needed to lie down, she felt so sick and sitting in the wheelchair was not working for her. And why couldn't her husband just be with her? She needed him and didn't understand what the big deal was. She had been waiting so long. Why was it taking so long? To be continued...
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December 2020
About MeMy name is Andrea. I'm a Mormon mom in my 40's and I am fighting a rare type of brain cancer: Anaplastic Astrocytoma. |