I had to go to the hospital yesterday for an x-ray. I brought a book with me to read in the waiting room. I know, smart cookie. Anyway, I looked up from my book yesterday when a young man (wanted to say “kid”) sat down next to me. He was in his 20’s, I’d say. He had placed two containers of a “smoothie” type substance on the table between us. I saw that they were “berry-flavored” and made some kind of smart-ass comment about that. Something like “ooh, berry!” He laughed.
We then went on for a few minutes talking about the faking of flavors in medical products and how it never works. That his drink was now just berry tinged chalk. I thought it was for a gastrointestinal test of some sort.
The person at the desk calls him up to answer a phone call. He comes back to me and says “Yeah, I just got permission to drink my berry radiation treatment at home!”
I smiled. Sweetly, sadly, emotionally. Here’s a kid (younger than me equals kid) with cancer and we’re cracking jokes. I guess that’s good. It also goes to show you why sometimes you should just shut the hell up and keep your sarcasm to yourself. I don’t think this was a faux-pas, at least not in his eyes. I hope he just thought “hey, some goofy lady made me laugh today at radiation treatment.”
Here’s to you, kid. Please, take care of yourself. Get better. Beat it. Whatever the “it” is.
That was no faux-pas. Cancer patients are human too. The last thing anyone wants with a dx like that is to feel patronized, pitied or ostracized in any way. Little comments like yours are much better than dead silence. I think it makes sense why.
And to cheer you up, many cancer patients are able to live over a decade with their illness. That makes it more like a chronic illness than the death sentence it was once.
The biggest barrier is whether your insurance or Medicaid will cover it adequately. I think most people would be shocked to discover the answer is no.
I completely dis-agree! Do NOT keep your mouth shut, because I am betting you totally made his day! At the very least you made a “miserable” trip to the doctors office (and trust me, they become miserable) very enjoyable! Putting a smile on his face is worth more than someone giving him a million bucks (I can almost guarantee it!!)
You rocked his world I am sure! I am sure he is probably sick and tired of people feeling sorry for him, you know? It sucks, but there is nothing you can do. You made him laugh and that is great.