Day 164, Year 9: Ringing the Bell
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day, Temp in the Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
For sure, the highlight of today was Mark ringing the bell. At Mass General, as well as at many other cancer treatment centers across the country, the tradition is for the patient to ring the bell to signify the end of treatment—in this case, radiation treatment. Everyone in the waiting rooms clap and cheer when they hear the bell and well wishes are given. Mark came through the six weeks in good health. He looks great and feels good and is so happy to be home. He won’t know the results until Friday, May 5th, so my plan is to keep him busy working on the boat until then so he doesn’t have time to think. There never seems to be a problem finding things to keep oneself busy around here, so I’m sure Cinco de Mayo will be here before we know it. Thanks to all of you who have sent your congratulations on the end of treatment and the well wishes for a positive outcome. Your positive thoughts are certainly appreciated.
I’m so glad I was able to go to Boston last night. It was nice to meet some of the people Mark has gotten to know at the Hope House. The American Cancer Society has these cost-free temporary residences for patients in cancer treatment all around the country. The password for getting on the internet last night was “relayforlife” so I am assuming that the money raised in these relays goes to support the Hope Houses. Mark’s sister and all of her family in Florida are active Relay for Lifers and I’m thinking we are going to have to get a New England group going. How lucky and thankful we are that Mark was able to stay in the AstraZeneca Hope House for more than half of his treatment time. Thank you, thank you, American Cancer Society.
We spent the early morning today washing bed linens and towels and cleaning the suite. This is a requirement for all who stay there. Mark had a bit of double duty as the old duvet, sham covers, and blankets had to be washed, dried, and folded and put in a bag that will be donated. He then had to wash the brand new covers and blankets and leave these folded neatly for the next resident. The ‘old’ covers looked great to me, but evidently they replace everything on a set schedule. So we did our part to get the room ready for the next occupant and then we went to Mass General for the treatment and the ringing of the bell. We had lunch in the hospital Eat Well Café and then headed to Cambridge to do a bit of food shopping and to stop by Sue and John Reed’s home. This is where Mark stayed for the first two and half weeks before the Hope House was available and we just wanted to say hello. Sue and John have opened their home to us on numerous occasions and we are so appreciative of their warm hospitality. Unfortunately Sue was not at home this afternoon, but we had tea with John and a family friend from DC that is a house guest this week. Then it was back to the Cape, but not before one more stop at Costco to buy more goodies. We also went to Home Depot to look for garden fencing for Heather and Jed, but they didn’t have what we are looking for. So that search will continue.
Tomorrow life will be back to normal. When I say that, Mark always adds, “Whatever that is.”
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| 140402 Day 164 Cape Cod, USA–Ringing the Bell |
