No Day is Dull

I managed to get all the laundry done this morning. No mean feat, with nearly 100 residents, only three washers, and one of them broken. I felt pretty bad pushing all those chemo people aside....I'm kidding.

In that basement laundry room, I met an interesting woman, named C. She had spent most of her childhood in the hospital. Born with defective kidneys, the condition was not discovered until she was 3 years old. Shortly after C. was born, her mother contracted polio, and had to be hospitalized. The little girl cried a lot, but everyone just thought she missed her mother. What she was missing were healthy kidneys. By the time her condition was discovered, not much was left of her kidneys. She was tried out on an experimental gadget back in the 50's, a kidney dialysis machine. She was told all sorts of things, including that she would never have children. She has two, and some grandkids to boot! She is currently existing on 1/4 of one kidney. "I didn't know you could DO that! " I asked incredulously. "Oh, yes," she replied. "You only need an eighth."

Now, lest you think SHE is waiting for a kidney, she is actually the caregiver for her husband, who is being treated for cancer.

I will never cease to be astounded at the backgrounds and histories of folks who end up here. There are many varied and tortured paths to this place. People from all parts of the country, rich and poor, are here, "doing time." And the support they give to one another is just amazing. You don't even have to know someone's name. It is downright humbling.

I am thankful to be here.

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