"When Our Knees Hit the Floor."

 

I recently met a man I know I will never forget.

It sounds weird to say I'll never forget a complete stranger, but it's true.

When I met this man for the very first time I asked how he was, just as a conversation starter. With a smile, he responded, "I'm not kicking too high today, darlin'." We didn't chat too much during that first visit, but I walked away knowing that I wouldn't forget him.

Then recently, when I wasn't expecting it, I came across that same man again. He waved me over, we made casual chit chat, and then he informed me that his cancer had returned. Right there, in an unexpected place, this stranger told me that 8 years after his original diagnosis, the cancer is back.

He wasn't asking for my sympathy. He just needed an ear to listen. He needed to say it out loud to a stranger who he may never see again. He needed to say it to know that it is real.

I can't stop thinking about him.

It wasn't his recurrence that hurt my heart. That goes without saying. What broke my heart and inspired me the most was that this stranger, this beautiful man with tears rolling down his face, looked at me and said, "I've done it once. I will do it again."

And I do, without a doubt, believe he will.

F**K Cancer.

"May I Pray For You?"

I never talk about my cancer at work. Sometimes patients will say little comments that make me wish I knew them on a personal level so that I could share with them why I am "so" pale, but I know it would be unprofessional. Today, however, something happened that made it impossible for me to keep quiet. Today I heard the words, "I have been battling Stage III Melanoma for the past five years."

I couldn't hold back.

I grabbed his arm, and said, "Oh! I have Stage III melanoma too!"

(What can I say? I meet very few people who truly understand this cancer so I got a little excited.)

There we were, a 24 year old girl & a 60 year old veteran, bonding over cancer in the middle of a busy waiting room. We swapped war stories, he told me how he is glad I did not stay with a local oncologist as he is a patient at Duke, and then he looks up quickly at me and says, "Can I pray for you?"

I assumed that this sweet veteran who has his own battle to fight was going to pray for me on his own time. Oh no, this was not his plan. He wrapped my hands with his own, bowed his head, and began to say a beautiful prayer requesting God's healing and love. When he looked back at me again, we both had tears in our eyes. He kissed my hands, looked directly in my eyes, and said, "Take it from me, I am blessed to be here. Please never give up."

I will never give up.