Dear Editor:
In late August I was diagnosed with throat cancer. Never having been truly ill in my life, this really threw me into a tailspin. The young woman across the hall (I teach her daughter) found out and informed me that I now had a “health buddy” and that we would see this through together.
My health buddy took me to Christ Hospital for radiation treatments, sat in on doctor conferences, helped me fight my doctor-patient battles when necessary, checked in on me several times a day to be sure I was OK, kept in frequent contact with my family in St. Louis, cooked for me when I could eat –basically she was everything a person could want in a friend — even in those dead of night moments when everything seemed so bleak.
Radiation treatments are ending, as are chemotherapy treatments. It appears that all of the tumor is gone. My friend has gone through every step of this road to recovery that I have gone through and perhaps even more. I would like to do something for my friend but nothing seems adequate, so I thought that perhaps if I tell my little story others might be inspired to go that extra distance the next time a terrible illness attacks someone you know.
By the way, her name is Lorna and she and her daughter Samantha and her husband Jeffery have become my second family.
Phillip Dieckow, Hoboken