She Was Amazing

When my son was about 9 months old, he had something growing on the right side of his neck. It started out the size of a pea, and I thought it was a lymph node infection. We were sent in for an ultrasound, but those images came back inconclusive.  

We were then scheduled for a visit with an ENT at St. John's Mercy. But by the time we made it to the office (just three days later), the small pea-like growth had grown profoundly. It was now red with a white head and at least the size of a golf ball.

We were sent straight to the emergency room (my greatest fear) for an MRI or CT-scan and then were admitted to the hospital (another great fear) so we could have surgery (another great fear) the next day to remove and clean whatever it was that was growing on his neck.

I was understandably upset. I made it out of the office and down to the ER okay, but as soon as I had to tell the timeline of events to the ER staff, I broke down and started bawling. I was alone in the ER with my son. It was my husband's first day of work at a new job, and grandma was at home with my 2-year-old daughter. I felt so alone and scared.

Someone in the ER asked if I would like to talk to someone from clergy, and I said yes. After about five minutes, a woman walked into the room and sat down with my son and I. She just amazed me. She started talking and asking me questions about my family and if I had other children. She asked the name of my daughter. We talked about her family and her decision to go into her line of work, and how she was so blessed to have such a fulfilling job. She was just delightful.

She asked the nurses to get me something to drink, bring me crackers and get my son some applesauce. She made sure the nurses gave me a bottle and formula for my son. She was so calm and reassuring that I was able to stop bawling my eyes out and then start focusing on what he needed. She assured me that all the feelings that I was going through were normal and that anyone in my situation would be upset. I'm so frustrated that I forgot her name; someone as kind and generous as this woman is deserves to be remembered. I remember her kindness, how gentle she was and how she stayed with me for at least two hours (even though her pager kept buzzing) because she knew I needed someone to be by my side until my husband could get off work to be with us.

She knew that I needed something to think about, someone to talk to me, someone to do something to get my mind off whatever it was that was growing on my son's neck. She was all that and more, and I just wish that I could remember her name. She was amazing.

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