My older brother dropped me on my head when I was a baby and he was only four.
They rushed me to the hospital, and my brother tells the story of seeing Mom, worried look on her face, not knowing what the doctors would say, nor whether there would be any permanent damage (whether there was or note is a debate we can have—later).
He wanted to help, to fix things, make things all right again.
He somehow managed to get a cup of coffee poured, and he went to Mom in the living room and said “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Today, Mom got to follow the ambulance carrying Dad down to Virginia Mason hospital in Seattle. He’s been fighting pancreatic cancer, and a number of other ailments that plague eighty-year-old men. She had to drive in the pouring rain, of course.
Dad is probably fine, and he’s receiving the best of care, but from 1,500 miles away it’s frustrating.
I want to help, to fix things, to make things all right again. I want to go to the hospital and sit there with her and say “Mom, would you like a cup of coffee?”
If you’ve ever had a situation like this, tell me about it in the comments section below.
Both my Mom and my Dad have cancer. That eminently helpless feeling is one I know very well. It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure. It is very frustrating to have to hear how the person is in pain and is just not feeling well and not be able to do anything about it.
Oh, dear, both of them? I can barely imagine the heartache.
My father has had brain cancer for about a year now and my mother was just recently diagnosed with breast cancer I have a blog if you want to know a little more!
How the heck did you remember that story? IIRC Dad was at the hospital with you and Mom was just sitting in an upright chair against the wall in the hallway (I remember it vividly) trying not to cry. I just felt so helpless…
I think it sticks in my memory because when you tell it I can see you, a wee cone, desperately trying to be a man, and be helpful, and so *something* so that Mom won’t have that look on her face, the one she gets when bad things happen like cats dying and kids cutting their heads open and such like.
It was a perfect memory for yesterday.