Cancer patient uses humor to fight

Submitted by Marlene

My mother, who ultimately succumbed to breast cancer, refused to let it diminish her spirits. You'll see what I mean in this exchange, following her mastectomy.

Jonas, a male Ethiopian nurse is attending Elva, scurrying around, making her comfortable, anticipating her every need. "Are you nauseous?" he asks, grave concern in his voice.

She shakes her head. "Not nauseous. Hungry! When do they serve lunch?"

He chuckles, fluffs her pillows solicitously, and prances out of the room to get her food.

In strides the surgeon, a good-looking man in his early 40's. He turns to me, "I must tell you. Ordinarily, we can't wait to put the patients to sleep. We grow tired of their whining. Their fears are all the same and we've heard them all so often.

"But your mother--we kept her awake as long as we could. She had us all in stitches. She made me promise to remind you that if she didn't survive the surgery, you had to place her grave next to Frank Sinatra's in California. And you had to have it engraved, 'Let's do it your way.'

"In fact, she asked me if I had a brother," he reveals. "She said to me, 'I could make him very happy.' It prompted me to ask if her husband was still alive. 'He was when I fed him breakfast this morning,' " she replied.

Jonas returns with her meal. Before he places it on her tray, he leans down to cover her foot with the blanket. "Are you warm enough?" he inquires gently.

She turns to the surgeon: "You know, I haven't had this much attention since my wedding night!"

There is no doubt--we witnessed a blushing Ethiopian!

Submitted by Marlene on November 24^th, 2010