When I went for my infusion treatment the other day, I told Donna I might blog about her. She said I could write anything I wished about her.
When I met Donna about 18 months ago, she looked like she had everything together. She dresses and acts professionally and graciously. She loves her patients and her job and it shows. I am sure she treats people with varying degrees of serious health concerns but she keeps a very upbeat attitude. Her husband is a college professor. They have worked hard to attain their goals, needing to be very frugal when they were first married but seem to be at a level of financial freedom now.
As I come in every four weeks, we have developed a friendship. I have told her some of my struggles and joys and she has told me some of hers. We of course are in one of my most hated words, "transition" (again:), and we have talked together through some of that. She has shared some estrangement between family members, which breaks her heart at times. We both shared some upbeat news about our daughters this week - hers going to a prom in a very specially picked and priced gown and mine in a dating relationship which looks promising.
Last month, she was not there. I have been a sub often so I tried not to make her replacement feel bad. I assumed that Donna took a few days off for a little vacation. When I asked her on Tuesday where she had been, she told me of some major upheaval in her family's lives. Her husband has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, not the worst kind but not the first two types, which can be treated easily. He most likely starts chemo/radiation? next week. Please keep "Terr", her husband in your prayers. As usual, Donna is keeping a hopeful and encouraging attitude for the most part. He is understandably down.
You never know when you meet someone what is really behind the "door" in his or her life... It is easy to assume so much until we really get to know people. We plan to stay in touch when I leave. Maybe she and her husband will be able to visit us sometime.
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