Friday I had to come to work early. Out of routine for me, I had to go to one of
the buildings across the street from where I normally work. As I was walking over, a patient standing
outside smiled and said “Oh, you must work in the surgery department”. I assume she was referring to the fact that I
was wearing a cap on my head, so I just smiled and said “No ma’am it’s because
I don’t have any hair.”
She was an older lady, so she immediately started saying
things like “bless your heart” and “oh my goodness”. I’d told her how I finished chemo and was
getting ready for my surgery. She paused
for a minute and said her husband was inside the oncology clinic now and was
being treated for prostate cancer. She
said he was afraid of going through chemo since he didn’t know how it was going
to make him feel, so she asked me could I tell her what it was like. I told her his fear was understandable, and
although everyone is different and handles chemo differently, I told her some
of the problems I had during chemo. Her
eyes got a little wider and she said “But you look so healthy!” I gave her some advice about ensuring he eats
right and stays active when he can (however little that is) and that it can
keep the body going and help rejuvenate itself.
I asked her who he was seeing, and it was a Dr. K. that I
used to work for. I assured her that he
is a great DR and in fact is the chief of his department. She said they were very relieved to be able
to get her husband in within days and start treatment right away. I told her someone (as I pointed upward) was
looking out for him because Dr. K. is usually booked out for months and often
has to refer patients elsewhere. She was
so happy to hear that and I can tell it made her feel better to know that.
As I parted ways with her, I couldn’t help but feel like
this was an odd encounter. I’m a
friendly person, but I rarely talk to people I don’t know, nor do I just start
spilling my business to someone I just met.
Some would say is was coincidence – some would say it was some kind of
spiritual intervention. Whatever it was –
I know that she’ll be stuck in my head for a while and I’ll silently wonder if
her husband decided to go along with chemo or not.
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