Earlier this week I spent a wonderful day with one of the people I love most in this world. The day started with a nice girls-only walk as we took the dogs out early in the morning. Signs of spring were just beginning in the woods and fields along the side of the road......bushes beginning to leaf, grass beginning to green, birds singing and daffodils!
Back to the house to clean up and we jumped ino her car for a drive to the east side of Louisville. We drive up into the parking garage of a large hospital complex to the fourth floor. Through the doors into the reception area for the cancer treatment center.
Down a hallway and into a small room with two chairs, a computer, a sink and some medical equipment.....Treatment Room #9....where the "magic" happens. First a blood test to be sure her numbers were "good" so we wait. And then the first infusion. A slow drip of chemicals into her port, directly into her bloodstream.
We talked, she worked on a bright water color painting - happy, bright orange day lilies, I stitched the border onto a quilt. We laughed, shared some silly stuff on the Internet and then I ran out to pick up lunch for both of us. The first solution bag emptied and the process repeated two more times. Two other medication cocktails.
I watched, and I saw how my dearest friend interacted with the staff.....she loves them and they love her. Support all around! And we laughed at how slowly these chemical concoctions enter her body.....one drop at a time. Carefully calubrated. But at one point she laughed and said "Just give me a straw!"
I watched.....and I thought to myself......this is the person who has known me longer than anyone else left on the planet......we've been connected the longest. And this is not a chemical cocktail. This is love.....this is optimism....this is determination......this is hope.
This is SO much hope.
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