It seems a little strange to write and say that I had a good day this long since stopping chemo and having surgery. Hey, it’s been a year. Look, it’s not like this past year has been a horrific experience that nothing good has happened in my life. That is not the case at all. Never the less, I had a good day. No a great day.
One of the things about going through chemo was seeing the same people every two weeks at an infusion appointment. What would bother me was not seeing people at my next appointment. It really was the why I didn’t see them that week. Did they come to the end of their treatment? Did they end their fight? Were our schedules just off and by machinations of the calendar I just didn’t see them?
My wife and I were at the grocery store on Christmas Eve picking up some food for that evening and the next day, when I saw someone I recognized. Not a nurse or a visitor, but a fellow patient. It was quick. She was walking in as we were walking out.
We didn’t talk. We didn’t do the “chemo wave” that so many of you have seen and wished you could take part in like Jeep and Harley owners. I actually recognized her during one of my treatments. She and her husband ran a convenience store that I used to go to. I mean like I would see her every single time I went there. It didn’t matter the day of the week or the time. She was there. Until one day she wasn’t. I remember thinking then, wondering what happened. I saw her during one of my infusions a couple of months later.
Now, I’m not the smartest guy around, but … I think I know why I didn’t see her at the convenience store.
We walked out. She walked in. It was enough to make my day.