The Chair...Week 4

The king of country music...George Strait has a song titled..."The Chair".  Well although that is a great song...this isn't the chair I am talking about. This isn't the chair that I am sure most people don't ever want to be in. This isn't the chair that I am sure most of us that have "fought" ever planned on sitting in. Yes...I am talking about "THE" chair in the CHEMO room. 

So last week I met "T"...and we shared our stories, concerns, and the will to survive. 

Once again...TODAY as I started week 4 of 7 of the 5FU...I sat in "THE" chair and waited for someone...anyone to come sit near me.  Sure enough after my port decided today it would be a stubborn one again (like last week)...it wasn't long before "N" came through the doors. I asked her what she was fighting...Breast...stage 4 actually. 

My heart sank!  As she began to explain where all it had metastasized to..."bones, lungs, oh and recently it has gone to my brain too".  Trying to emotionally keep it all together I took a deep breath...and realized once again just how short and precious life really is.   I asked if she had any children...she has been fighting her fight for three years-no kids.  But you can tell she has a very supportive family that is at her side.  She was in there today to determine what was going on with her lower extremity...and looked at me and said, "I have to miss a lot of my treatments because of my counts and now they just don't know"...I looked back at her and said this simple phrase..."Keep Fighting!!!"  She replied...with a half-smile..."I know!"

Once my port was hooked back up to chemo...I slowly got up out of the chair...and walked over to tell "N" it was nice meeting her and I would be praying for her. 

Both of us...34 years YOUNG...sitting in "THE" chair. There are a million and one other things I wish we could be doing. Instead we are battling what we haven't chosen to fight...but what we are faced with and what we MUST fight!

My prayers go out to "N" as she is up against a difficult battle...I see it in her eyes that she has the will to fight...I just pray for her strength, and determination to NOT give up!

I wish that we didn't have to even bring up the word "CHEMO"...so there wouldn't be "THE" chair where we must all sit...but until that day I will sit there as if it is a Princess-Warrior chair and meet all kinds of amazing people, hear their stories, share my stories and most of all pray for a CURE...that there won't be so many others sitting in "THE" chair.
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