A Fight for Survival
My story begins on a hot August day back in 2004. I had just graduated high school in May, and I was working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a local hospital in my home town. I loved my job, but I never expected how much it would affect me. I worked in the Oncology department, which at times was a struggle. Patients would come in and out of the hospital all the time to have chemo and radiation done, and we used to call these people our "frequent flyers".
That hot August day I met a woman by the name of Marcie who was 28 years old. She had a seven year old daughter, and her husband was in the U.S. Navy. Unfortunately, she was my patient. She had colon cancer and had already been fighting it for several years. She would come to the hospital and receive chemo for three days and then go home for the rest of the week. Then she would come back and do it all over again. Her husband was always with her and he would bring in a massage table to give her a massage when she just wasn't feeling good. I was just in awe of these two people and how much they loved each other. Even though she was going through this hard time, they always had each other to lean on.
Unfortunately after meeting these two wonderful people I had to quit my job and move to another city. I promised them I would write when I got settled in, and two months later I did just that. I received a reply letter in the mail from Marcie's husband, and the excitement I was feeling quickly dwindled. He was glad to have received my letter, but informed me of Marcie's passing. He explained how she was done fighting and how much she had missed me. I bawled like a little baby as I read the heart-wrenching letter to myself. I wondered how her daughter must feel to lose her mother at such a young age, and I wondered what Marcie had gone through during her last days. Her husband said that she died at home with her family and friends, and that they had discussed with him getting remarried for the sake of their daughter. I never heard from them again, but not a day goes by that I do not think of Marcie and the bravery she showed during her short life. One out of every four people in the United States dies of cancer, and I hope one day we can find a cure to save people like Marcie.
R.I.P. Marcie! You are missed.
That hot August day I met a woman by the name of Marcie who was 28 years old. She had a seven year old daughter, and her husband was in the U.S. Navy. Unfortunately, she was my patient. She had colon cancer and had already been fighting it for several years. She would come to the hospital and receive chemo for three days and then go home for the rest of the week. Then she would come back and do it all over again. Her husband was always with her and he would bring in a massage table to give her a massage when she just wasn't feeling good. I was just in awe of these two people and how much they loved each other. Even though she was going through this hard time, they always had each other to lean on.
Unfortunately after meeting these two wonderful people I had to quit my job and move to another city. I promised them I would write when I got settled in, and two months later I did just that. I received a reply letter in the mail from Marcie's husband, and the excitement I was feeling quickly dwindled. He was glad to have received my letter, but informed me of Marcie's passing. He explained how she was done fighting and how much she had missed me. I bawled like a little baby as I read the heart-wrenching letter to myself. I wondered how her daughter must feel to lose her mother at such a young age, and I wondered what Marcie had gone through during her last days. Her husband said that she died at home with her family and friends, and that they had discussed with him getting remarried for the sake of their daughter. I never heard from them again, but not a day goes by that I do not think of Marcie and the bravery she showed during her short life. One out of every four people in the United States dies of cancer, and I hope one day we can find a cure to save people like Marcie.
R.I.P. Marcie! You are missed.
