Sometimes something compels you to write. I have not written in a long time but now I need to write.
Nearly 7 years ago I had my last day of chemo. My mam and sister sat with me as we cried looking at the monitor displaying the light and the beep which meant my chemo was done, it was finished hopefully forever. I was aware of a girl and her mam sitting to my right. I could see the young girl was upset. I looked at her and said ” are you ok” . You see in an Oncology ward you don’t want to be too invasive with people. Not everyone wants to chat
She looked at me and said she was only starting treatment and was scared. I told her it would be tough but to look at me and she would get there.
A few weeks later I was invited to have coffee with a group of ladies who had gone through the shit show of cancer. I walked into the restaurant and there was the young girl whom I had met that day in the ward. We hugged like we knew each other all our lives.
We became friends. We had drinks, meals, pink runs, Costa coffee, visits at home, lifts from the shop , chatting in the shop and texting in the early hours. We discussed getting reconstruction,marks and Spencer post mastectomy bras, upcoming holidays, our familys , our dogs, our lives
This was a young girl whom I never would have met apart from our mutual experience. An honest, selfless, kind, and unassuming young lady. Never a bad word, never gossip, never negative. Just a really really good person.
We looked forward to our lives without cancer. But sadly cancer decided to visit my friend again. Wow was she so positive, always smiling, always asking about you and the news. One day after a few hours out we had a chat . We spoke about her illness. I got upset for my friend but she told me ” don’t you be getting upset now “.. always concerned for the other person.
I said goodbye to my friend last week. My sadness was overwhelming as sometimes you just make a connection with someone, you understand each other, you just know. If my friend only saw the numbers of people who came to say goodbye and the respect shown to her the lovely family she would not have believed it.
My friends name was “Gemma”. A truly special person. I was blessed to have crossed paths with my friend. I just hope there is another place where the drink WKD is on tap and Internet shopping is for free ❣️
The Lonely Boob 