Interesting Experience

Last Fri. I did something I had not done before. I volunteered to take a lady to her chemo treatment in Mason City. I'll call her "G". The hospital there is very good and is sometimes called "Little Mayo" and is affiliated with Mayo Clinic. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from here so for those that have to go for several treatments it can be difficult just getting there.

This is a woman who turns 60 this month and had never had a mammogram but found the lumps herself. She is a teacher and has told her story to those she works with and her students hoping it will encourage others to be sure to get their mammograms and other preventative check ups which is also why I'm blogging about it and sharing her story.

We left her house in Emmetsburg at 8:00 to be there by 10:00. She first had blood work, then a talk with the dr. where he checked her blood levels which were ok for her treatment. She was to have a 4 hour treatment, but this day also needed blood which added an hour and a half. They have small alcoves large enough for the patient's reclining chair and a chair for their driver/guest and a TV with floor to ceiling windows overlooking a courtyard with some trees, birdhouses and a small waterfall. There were 11 of these. Very nice. They bring around a cart at lunch time with sandwiches and chips for the patient. "G" likes their egg salad sandwich and was able to have that again.

I went out for lunch. I wanted to see what the Mason City mall had in it. I was driving around and found this cozy looking coffee shop which had a "Lunch" sign in the window so I stopped there and had a chicken salad croissant.

The mall was nice and I did find a few more little gifts - one I will post about after Christmas! I was gone for a couple of hours which gave "G" some time to doze.

"G" was nice to show me things like her port under her skin where they can easily stick the needle in each time for her treatments, talked to me about how nice the American Cancer Society is and how much they do for people that you would've never known and talked about her hair loss and wigs and hats, etc. She just kind of wanted me to know how it all works. She and I had a lot in common: she has been divorced and single for many years like I was, has bought a home where things are handy and in a good location etc. thinking of her later years - all things I had thought of. She faces surgery in about a month and then radiation treatments. Her dr. says she has an 80% chance of being in remission after treatments.

I'm thankful to not be working so that I can help Bill in spring and fall (and whenever) which I love, but also want to do things like this when I have a chance. I hope I'll get to be "G's" driver again. Just wish I lived closer so I could share some meals with her! And chocolate - we're both chocoholics!

(: a person who craves or compulsively consumes chocolate) ha ha! I had to look up how to correctly spell chocoholic! I read this definition to Bill and he said "we know what they are - we are them!" But, sadly, "G" says that chocolate doesn't taste good to her right now - but she thinks maybe that's a good thing. :)