Leukemia is different from most malignancies in that it afflicts young people. What strike me most during my time in the haematology ward (where leukemic patients are treated) was not just the suffering but something else.
The story usually goes like this. A young girl is found to have leukemia and admitted for chemotherapy. During the first admission, her bed is filled with flowers, ballons and cards wishing her well. Her good friends visit her everyday and her boyfriend stays with her til the ward is closed late night. You hear laughters and words of encouragement as her friends supports her through the ordeal. Strangely, the patient in the next bed with no visitors never seemed envious.
After a while, the flowers disappears and the friends dwindle. You see the boyfriend reading his book and the patient listening to her walkman (MP3 player not invented yet), quietly looking at the ceiling. You start noticing the mother, often a small plumbish lady. Perharps you missed her earlier as the patient was surrounded by too many friends. The mother comes day in, day out, preparing food for the young girl. They seldom talk.
Into the 3rd admission, her bed is quiet. No cards, no ballons, no flowers and no friends. Her boyfriend who was still coming on alternate days last admission has stopped coming altogether. You see signs of resignation on her face. She is not depressed, just resigned to fate. The girl chats with the patient in the next bed. The patient tells her, "Its like that." She has been through it. Now you notice her father. He comes after work in the evening, standing quietly beside the mother.
It is not easy. The many cycles of chemotherapy. Her hair drops and with that her morale. This time, the girl hugs her mother and cries. Her mother cries with her. You wonder how long they have not hugged each other. Her father still stands there, his eyes are wet too.
With treatment, she will pull through. With her family's love she will recover. She will wear a cap until her hair grows again. She will go back to school and her friends will once again flock to her with words of encouragement. But this time it will be different. It is different.
thank you to all doctors. :)
ReplyDeleteSucks, isn't it? That's life for ya.
ReplyDeleteBut such experiences will make you realise who are the ones who will truly go through thick and thin with you.
almost moved me to tears.. (:
ReplyDelete...but those who didn't get to go back to school and succumb,who knows what's running thru their minds.We can't always be there for someone physically but don't let that stop us from being there in spirit.....
ReplyDeleteThat's the kind of situation that will clearly show you who are your real friends and who are not. And most of the time, your family will be the ones holding you up. Not friends, not boyfriends who proclaim eternal love till the end of time.
ReplyDeleteFamily.
we can't do alot... i jus recall someone.. who had leukaemia. she was young, a foreigner here to work. but she's gone now. i suppposed her parents only got to know her illness after she's gone. 'cause i know she didn't tell her parents, she didn't want to..
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ReplyDeleteat the end of the day when you feel defeated by the whole system, you can go back home to your folks whom you know accept you unconditionally for who you are.....
ReplyDeleteillness brings out unconditional love. but the realization/journey of just who these people who offer unconditional love is usually more painful than the real battle with chemotherapy.
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