Finding Meaning in Human Connections
Conversations in a hospital setting
When I stepped foot in a cancer hospital yesterday to get a second opinion for my diagnosis and course of action, I had a visceral flashback of making the rounds with my father to the cancer ward in a hospital in India and his stay in the intensive care unit (ICU).
That was over ten years ago.
However, the atmosphere was the same — walking into a space with people wearing masks, accompanied by their loved ones, waiting to be seen by their doctors.
The masks were a constant — pre- and post-pandemic.
Each patient had a unique story and personal journey of why they were sitting there, yet all connected by the common thread that every one of them was fighting some form of cancer.
While waiting for my mammogram images to be read by the radiologist, I met Nancy, who also just had a mammogram and was waiting for her pictures to be read to get the clear to go home.
Nancy was nervous. She started to make conversation, and the next thirty minutes were the most informative and reassuring minutes for me.
