Skip to main content

'LABISI: Chronicles of a Breast Cancer Warrior


CHAPTER 7


Journal Entry by Karen Delgado- 6/21/2010
'My new picture is of the middle school students, dressed in pink. They are in a 'breast cancer awareness' formation. In another shot, they are in the formation of 2010...the picture was used as the front cover of this year's yearbook.'

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned- Peter Marshall

Have you ever felt so indebted to someone that you couldn't say 'thank you', because those two words couldnt adequately capture the magnitude of your indebtedness?

Have you ever willed yourself to like something beneath your taste, something otherwise tasteless to you- a bland shirt which you never would have bought if you had enough cash reserve, 'healthy' fish rather than 'unhealthy' chicken- not because you were considering the health implications but simply because you were short on cash?
Sometimes, we learn to live in situations and be thankful for them, not because we love those situations, but because well...they are here, and we'd rather wade through the storms than commit suicide.

More importantly, we sometimes choose to remain hopeful because that's the closest thing we can do to repay the kindness of those to whom we are indebted- family, friends, parents, children.
You know, I found myself in these shoes when I was handed the earth-shattering news that I had breast cancer. The mammography that changed my life was right on the heels of my 40th birthday, but that wasn't even the issue. Talk about the expenses my family incurred. The fact that because of my treatment, the kids had to be consistently harrased in school for lack of fees, that because of my chemotherapy, my husband had to sacrifice a lot from both his financial and emotional purse.

My amazing friends weren't left out, and even when I lost hope, they brightened my days on the ward.On one such day, 3 of them: Lola, Kemi and Rahmat had visited me on the ward and brought along with them, some gossip about the latest news at our place of work.

How Rukayat was the newest kid on the block with her latest RangeRover Sports which an Alhaji had bought for her (I have no idea how they knew it was an Alhaji who bought it for her, so don't ask me!).

How two of the teachers at the school where we taught, whom we had always suspected were dating had finally tendered their invitation letter before the jury, comprising of them 'amebo' teachers.

They routinely brought fruits and tins and tins of milo and milk; bottles of groundnut which I mostly couldn't touch, from themselves and sometimes the entire school. One thing that touched me the most was my students- the care they consistently showed their Home Economics teacher who was sick. I can almost never forget the look of love in their eyes.

For the sakes of all of these ones, I couldn't give up. They were more than pivotal to my ability to live through the menace which seemed to have befallen me.

And for the care in all of their eyes, I learnt to say, 'thank you'- without words.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LOVE-CLERKING

A few days ago, we discussed clerking. We’d use that basic knowledge in clerking an individual presenting with certain complaints. History Taking Biodata: Patient X is a 22 year old male Afghanistan student. Presenting complaints: Tachycardia, Sleeplessness, lack of focus History of presenting complaints: first symptom- insomnia (sleeplessness), followed by tachycardia (increase in heart beat), and then, loss of focus. First noticed about 3 weeks ago. Past medical history: Relatively healthy individual, treated for malaria 2 months ago. Has no history of insomnia or tachycardia. Physical Examination Examine cardiovascular system with stethoscope. Examine the lungs as well as the neurological system. Provisional diagnosis Patient is undergoing mental stress, and this is taking a toll on his heart and brain Investigations Laboratory tests are carried out on patient’s blood Due to the neurological and psychological nature of this problem, other areas are also in...

#POETRY# MOMENTS

So, it’s another Monday. Today’s poem is on moments, appreciating them and taking second looks at the seemingly mundane. Enjoy! MOMENTS You never know, you just never know There he was last night, holding your hands, Looking into your eyes with passion beyond expression, And then; here he was this morning, telling a sad tale of never! Who knew love could become so tasteless overnight? It had seemed over in less than a flash; So much for the deep love you shared. Where it all ends, you just never know! Memories of baby’s not so far away childhood, Flickered before her eyes like a dimly lit flame Was it not just last summer she had started crawling? And in what appeared to be less than 24hours, She had walked, jumped and taken sandwiches to school And now, she fit smugly into a graduation gown, cape and all, Her baby was now a grown woman And those memories were all she had left! He stroked her tapered fingers lovingly as he wept by her beds...

LIKE FAITH AND LOVE

Gal 5:6 - For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love. The heart and the lungs are like faith and love, their functions intertwined, their locations proximate, the feelings that they generate just as conclusive. They produce hope for the survival of the physical body, just like faith and love produce hope for the spiritual body’s survival. Experiences of today made me realize something: we need faith intertwined with love to breathe as spirit beings, as much as we need the functional capacity of our cardio-respiratory apparatuses to breathe the breath of life. It’s that important…faith and love I mean.