As mentioned in my blog backgrounder, I sometimes share the odd-servations that cross my eyes and ears as a person with cancer. This past Saturday was my monthly infusion session and during that time I noticed a young couple, very young couple - each not more than 30 years old, if that. This is the second or third time I have seen them - she is the wheelchair-bound patient and he is the caregiver. Due to the pandemic, patients have to come in on their own unless their extenuating circumstances warrant the presence of a family member being allowed to stay with them during the entire session. This couple qualifies for that exemption.
They were in the infusion bay next to me. Nothing but a curtain and about 10' separate us, yet everyone still feels an almost innate/invisible sense of privacy. Their nurse spoke to them in fluent Spanish, so I couldn't understand anything about her condition, treatment or prognosis - not that it was any of my business. But my point is that despite not REALLY knowing anything about them, I could tell that she was extremely weak and frail. Her eyes revealed a look of quiet withdrawal - almost as if sunken into an abyss of uncertainty and fear. I suspect her diagnosis is recent and her therapeutic regimen is still being explored/determined. Yet I could also appreciate that his support for her was caring, attentive, patient and at times even encouraging.
I'm going to exercise poetic license here and assume that they are married (not newly-weds, but somewhat "newly"). No one envisions themselves being diagnosed with cancer when standing at the altar - especially not when young. But I'm certain that when they both agreed to care for each other in sickness and in health, that this present scenario was never in their forecast of the future. Yet here they are, living out their vows; her needing him, and him honoring those words. In the midst of this challenging major medical moment - that loving commitment was being played out.
n-PS (non-Political Statement): I was listening to the news on the radio in my car (yes, some people actually still do use their car radio - even the AM stations - and listen to the news), when I heard a report about the safety of Covid vaccines for young children. The doctor being interviewed acknowledged that more testing needed to be done, but when looking at the fundamental scientific make-up of coronavirus vaccines and their potential adverse effects on people (kids), that the chemical composition of a Covid-19 vaccine has less predictable long-term danger to young children (under 12 years old) than the artificial ingredients in common snacks that they eat.
