We’ve been to the clinic before together as one of the stops along our journey. I go about every six weeks - alternating between just bloodwork, and bloodwork + an F2F visit with Dr S. The clinic is a combination of: a doctor's office, a medical lab for the collection of bloodwork and “samples” (of the urinary variety), and the infusion center where the real deal goes down.
As I look around the waiting room I see: patients alone, patients with caregivers, couples, as well as parents with their offspring (not babies, as this is not a pediatric practice). At times it is not abundantly clear who is the cancer patient and who is the care provider (sufferer vs supporter).
But when you can discern that the child is the one with cancer, you can see the look in the eyes of the parent (moms or dads) that this is clearly not what they expected - not the place they would have ever imagined spending even a minute of time shared with their heirs. And you can also see the look in the eyes of the all-too-young patient - a collage of fear, confusion and surrender, mixed with a tinge of guilt over what they are putting their parents through. Clearly this is not their fault, but kids tend to INSTINCTIVELY feel bad when Mom and Dad are upset.
The circumstance is far beyond the imagination of the parents for the life of their child. But the feelings of love and support and commitment that are coursing between them are palpable. This type of energy can't be seen or captured/harnessed - but is clearly evident, and I would contend it is even clinically effective.
