Childhood Friends

When I was four I was diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma cancer. During my many years of treatment, I traveled to numerous different hospitals and Ronald McDonald houses. Along the way I met many different people who were in the same situation as me that became lifelong friends. These friends that I met, were people that I could count on and they could count on me. We would often hang out with each other or help someone when they needed it. It was always helpful to have someone who understood what was going on as they were going through it too.

One of the places that I Traveled to is Vermont where I met two other kids with the same cancer who were going through the same treatment as me. After I got to know them, before we knew it, we were visiting each other in the hospital and trying to help each other get through difficult situations. We would pull pranks on the nurses and get in trouble with our parents. As well as go down to the cafeteria together and have lunch while we had a break. It was always nice to know that someone would come and visit in order to break up the monotony of the hospital.

Another reason that it was good to be around friends during treatment is because it helped relieve the boredom. Hospitals are BORING there is generally not much to do at a hospital asides from staring at the wall. Having a friend around to play on the computer with or watch a movie with was a great way to help each other take our minds off of the situation that we were in. We could spend hours on the laptop playing free web browser games and the various consoles that the hospital had for the children. Back then all we had was time there was no set amount of “screen time” as there was nothing else to do. Back then having a laptop was amazing I could bring it anywhere I went. It was essentially mobile entertainment because if you wanted to watch a movie you could watch it right on the laptop instead having to find a T.V. with a movie player. Keeping yourself entertained was a very important part in making the situation feel not as serious as it was.

Having friends around you who are going through the same thing that you are, helps greatly when talking about what’s happening as they understand as they are going through the same thing. For example, when I was going into my next stage of treatment I was worried about what it would entail so I went and talked to my friend who was already in that stage in order to understand what I was getting into better and relieve myself of that worry. I always found it to be very helpful to talk to someone who understands and gives first hand information on what they’ve been through. As I progressed through my journey, I was able to provide the same help to my friends with their questions and fears.

Throughout my various visits we would try to find local places that we could go to with my friends. The hospital that I was receiving treatment in was in Burlington and luckily it had many places to go to. One of our favorite places to go was a mix between a restaurant and Chuck E Cheese’s. We loved going here because they had very good pizza and we enjoyed messing around in the arcade and mini golf areas. Every time we went there, we would play a round of mini golf and laser tag because those were some of the most fun activities there. When we were staying at the Ronald McDonald house, we would often walk into downtown Burlington and head to the original Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop. This was always the best part of being in Vermont, getting that ice cream after a couple long days right before you’re about to go home. Another favorite of ours was to go visit the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, which is a large aquarium that sits on lake Champlain. This aquarium was always very fun to visit because they had a lot of interactive exhibits. The one exhibit that I remember fondly is one that was teaching about how rainwater travels to a lake and what can obstruct its path. There was a faucet that would simulate rain and there were handles that you could turn that would cause a dam or some other blockage to pop up so you could divert the water’s course. Lastly, there was a local movie theater that we visited every once in a while. It was always nice to get out of the Hotel and Hospital and doing what normal kids do instead of being stuck with medical stuff all the time.

All in all having friends around during hard times was often a great way to be able to power through it. Being able to go to places such as the ECHO aquarium, Pizza Putt & Play, Ben & Jerry’s and the movie theater with friends was in my opinion, one of the most important things that helped make treatment not so bad. Just being able to have someone to talk to who can actually sympathize with you and what you’re going through is invaluable. While we haven’t been in touch for a long time, since I stopped treatment. I still remember the times that we helped each other out and the good memories that came from being around them.

Photo by Matt. Create. on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA