I’m at home today, having taken a sick day for a cold. It’s amazing, really.
By: Robin Harry
I’m at home today, having taken a sick day for a cold. It’s amazing, really. I’m actually grateful to be taking a sick day for a cold. For one, it’s nice to take a sick day for something that’s not cancer related at all. Also, it’s nice to have a cold without fearing for my life – thank God I got the normal-immune-system news last week. So I’m home from work today.
A lot of people have asked me why I continued to work while I was in treatment. One person was surprised that I didn’t milk it for all it was worth – why go to work when you have the absolute perfect excuse to NOT work? Well, there are a few reasons. I work at the hospital where I was treated and where all my doctors are, so it was convenient to be at work. Also, I wanted to keep as much normalcy in my life as I could, and work was a big part of that. But the most important reason would be this; my workplace was a refuge. Not only do I enjoy my job, but the people I worked with were one of the best support systems that I had. These people were a God-given blessing.
There were so many things not documented by photographs. The months of rides to and from work, to appointments, to various places around town. Covering all my work duties. The times they’d come visit and bring me lunch while I was in chemo. Letting me put my head down when my energy was gone halfway through the work day. Being willing to laugh at the absurdity of cancer and being okay with cancer jokes. (Still laughing at the jokes about the tumour being an undeveloped twin or hot air). Tolerating the months of chemo brain when I’d ask the same question thirty times. And so much more I’ve probably forgotten to mention. They did all these things without complaint, and without me ever having to ask.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is why I went to work.
