The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This week has been one for the books. I'm happy to have reached the end, and to be able to close the week on a positive note. Sunday was supposed to be a nice relaxing day. I was adjusting to some new medications, so the plan was to do some minimal housework and rest up for the week ahead. That plan was abruptly interrupted when I fainted and busted my face on the countertop. That little incident sent us to the emergency room. Jeff and I spent five hours there while they ran some tests and stitched up the wound above my right eyebrow. Needless to say, Sunday wasn't very relaxing. Monday morning snuck up on me. Before I knew it, I was in the thick of new treatments. I was not prepared for the battery of tests, and the abundance of radiation I would be put through that day. I got through it just to go back for more Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday night brought us another unexpected event. I was putting away a few groceries when my back completely seized up. The pain was indescribable. I couldn't even stand upright. Jeff and I made our second trip to the ER in a week. Slowly, but surely. Walking down the the steps at our apartment complex was a bitch! Excuse my language, but that is the only was to explain that pain. I received the necessary treatment at the hospital before we headed back home. My back is still very sore, but at least I can walk and no longer have to limp around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was ready to scrap this entire week, and forget all about the pain I endured. That all changed this morning. My phone rang just as I was crawling out of bed. I answered the call only to hear a woman sobbing on the other end. My heart skipped a beat. My thoughts immediately went to a dark place. Something awful must have happened. My mind was racing. I couldn't understand what the woman on the other end was saying through her sniffles and tears. I frantically asked her what was wrong. She composed herself, and told me the news was good, not bad. I cannot explain the relief I felt when she uttered those words. The woman calling was the mother of a young boy at the hospital. She is single mother of a six year old child battling a rare form of bone cancer. He has been going through so many difficulties with his health, and his mother has been going through extreme challenges at her job, as well as with the hospital staff. This boy and his mother are immigrants from Mexico. They moved the U.S. so that her son could receive the best care possible while he fights such an aggressive disease. The single mother was able to obtain a job quickly after moving to Memphis. Her employer told her that she would be able to work flexible hours in order to spend the most time with her son as possible. After starting the job, she realized that her hours were not as flexible as promised. When she confronted her employer, she was told that her hours could be adjusted if she was willing to do some work from home. She was ecstatic to hear that she could spend more time with her son as long as she was willing to work from home. Of course, nothing in life is ever that easy. The one stipulation to her working from home was having a computer. The expenses obtained from her son's medical needs, and other everyday expenses prevented her from being able to afford a home computer. Until she was able to purchase a computer, she would have to continue to work the fixed hours at her office. When she told me about her situation I knew I had to do something. I couldn't let her go on living with the guilt she felt because she was away from her son so much. I also saw how much happier her son was when she was there with him. I started a donation collection through the doctors, nurses and fellow family members at Children's Hospital. Before I knew it, we had enough money to buy her an at-home computer. The staff at the hospital presented her with the gift this morning when she went to visit her son before heading to her job. She was completely shocked by the generous donations made to the computer fund, and for the gift we all couldn't wait to give her. She called her office and said she was taking the morning off. She would be in later in the afternoon to set up her NEW computer with everything she needs to work from home. She thanked me profusely for setting up a fund to raise the money needed to get her a computer. Before we ended our conversation she told me that her son wanted to talk to me. She passed the phone to him. I heard a soft voice on the other end say "Thank you for fixing me mommy". I asked him what he meant by that. He told me that his mom has been sad for so long, and that her eyes always cried. He said that he missed his happy mommy, and that I brought her back. I fixed his mommy. My heart melted. I was more than ready to forget this entire week, but today changed my thinking. I will never forget the joy that phone call brought to me. It goes to show that there truly is a light at the end of the tunnel.