The Big Caper...

Sometimes when one is hospitalized for a long period one can make a friend for a lifetime... 

 

When my blood counts were plunging out of control my doctors wanted to try a new drug that went into the bone marrow.  So I was admitted to a pediatric cancer ward in my twenties.  

However, there was another young man my age named Michael who was battling leukemia like most on the ward much younger than us.  We immediately bonded and became the "pied pipers" of the ward.  

Years prior to this I had read the beautiful book written by Doris Lund detailing her amazing son's leukemia battle.  Eric was diagnosed at 17, fought hard, yet died age 22 in 1972.  

One of the things Eric did once while hospitalized for a long while was to put a live goldfish in what looked like a glass I.V. bottle then attached a line which appeared to go into his arm.  When his team of doctors came in they saw him uncharacteristically hunkered down in bed.  They asked what was wrong.  Eric replied, "I'm feeling very scaly."  That's when the doctors then noticed the goldfish and loved it.  

So this brings it back to Michael and I...  

When we both weren't desperately ill from the treatments we were getting we found ways to keep ourselves going and the whole ward going with courage and laughter.  Since the ward was kept in very sterile conditions we were isolated so moments of laughter in the midst of hell could go a long way.  

One day I told Michael about Eric and that was all it took.  We had to try to do what we then called The Goldfish Caper.

Our first priority was to make absolutely sure no goldfish would be harmed in any way.  Since we were confined to the ward we had to enlist our friends "on the outside" to help.  And it all had to be done secretly.

First, I had a friend get a large glass bowl for the fish, besides a decanter which resembled the glass I.V. bottles on the ward.  I painted numbers on so it would appear real.  Michael was able to get his hands on some I.V. tubing.

Then Michael had a friend get two goldfish and food.  We were ready.  

The next morning we got Michael situated when the doctors came to make their rounds on the ward.  I expressed concern to them that Michael wasn't doing well at all.  They entered his room.  Saw him "miserably" hunkered down in his bed.  Concerned, they asked what was wrong.

"Doctors, I feel very scaly inside," said Michael.

That's when they suddenly caught sight of the goldfish in the I.V. bottle.  I don't think I have ever seen doctors laugh so hard!  Then we were applauded.  They loved it!  We were immediate heroes of the ward for the kids.  Soon the whole place heard what we did.

I treasure the memory of this because Michael later lost his fight.  We had talked about death and dying late nights when the ward was quiet.  For at night was the time to stare deeply at our hopes and fears and talk.

This has been another one of those "deeper the sorrow, the more joy" moments of many on my journey.  For you see, had I not been so ill with plummeting blood counts I never would have known Michael.

And never had the "Goldfish Caper."

Oh, and the two goldfish?  

They blissfully lived a long time on the ward.  I later heard the nurses had named them Michael and Adelaide.🐎😃🐎💕💫