Empathy

Yesterday as I was waiting for my husband to walk out of the clinic (he works at BMC too) so we could have lunch together I noticed a man walking from the parking lot to the back door of the clinic. He was tall and very slender. He was being assisted by his cane and a lady beside him. He looked to be around the same age as myself. As I watched him struggle to walk into the clinic I was overcomed with emotion! I felt so much empathy for him. I wondered if he was a cancer patient too. If he had just finished a treatment and was going in for fluids. In the past I would have looked at him and not thought too much of it but not anymore. He reminded me of the times Duane would pick me up at home because I was too weak to drive to the clinic. He would drop me off at the back door while he would park the car. So many times I would wonder if my "noodle" legs would give out before I made it in. It was such a struggle just to walk. I would feel so discouraged and would cry at times in the waiting room. Sometimes I would look around the waiting room and wonder if anyone was feeling like me. Those were such hard times. With treatment #8 I haven't had to go in for fluids or experience the side effects to the degree I have had with all the other treatments. It's been such a blessing!! Today when I walked our dog I wasn't going at my usual one mile per hour pace but I was able to crank it up to about 2.5/hour. Though I was winded (due to low red blood cell count) it was great! Going through cancer treatment has changed me forever. I hope I'll be able to apply the lessons I have learned to help and comfort others. I don't want this to have been all in vain.