I’ve got one today. Snap!!! Say nowt to no-one. Not worth the confusion, in my experience.
My only exception to this self imposed rule was when I was in the Royal Marsden Sutton Canteen, waiting to go into isolation for 4 days as they pumped radioactive isotope into my blood stream, and I saw a young family , two parents ( they looked drawn and exhausted and my heart went out to them silently), and a group of kids loudly giggling and stuffing their faces with cake and sandwiches and fizzy pop. In the middle of this gaggle (?) of excited kids was one kid who was bald and had a tube into his or her nose. Obviously ill with cancer. I dithered and made my mind up and I went over. To my surprise the parents smiled at me, I turned to the kids and said “can you little shits pipe the fuck down you horrible noisy cunts some of us are ill and the last thing I want is to hear your inane squawking and screams”
So I never did it again. Children’s tears are bad enough but the inconsolable tears of a child with cancer is even more nauseating.
I’m joking I went over and asked the parents if it was ok to give their kid a tenner to buy something for their birthday. The kid was quite surprised but took it and gave the mum and dad a lovely smile. Unforgettable.
I was once waiting for a scan during my cancer treatment, which cured me, and a woman sitting next to a clearly very ill 16 or 17-year-old girl politely but urgently asked if they could please put her IV (sorry, American, like really sorry) now even though her time wasn't soon because she was so dehydrated every minute that passed would make successful insertion harder and more painful. The person said they'd try and I offered my earlier slot, but the US health care system doesn't generally work that way, so she sat. Children suffering needlessly is what turned me from a lifelong atheist to a believer in God the Asshole. Thank you for writing so well and so often and letting us into your life.
It’s tricky to know what to say to other people waiting in hospital; there is the “all on it together” feeling and potential for banter but you could also get it badly wrong. Having had a couple of MRI scans for injuries I remember thinking others may be waiting to hear a life changing diagnosis. Good luck with your incurable but treatable illness.
Oh, I've had one of these! I've had barrages of brain tests from time to time because my arms and legs do weird possibly-brain-related things. So far, nothing out of the ordinary has ever been found. And none of the tests have ever made me feel like I pissed in my pants.
Though I did notably have an MRI scan where they piped Ricky Martin into the claustrophobic tube. To willfully torture me, presumably.
Hope everything goes okay with your results & treatment. I had an MRI scan ahead of an operation during the height of Covid & kept sliding off the platform as they hadn't strapped me on properly. It was a very surreal experience!
I’ve got one today. Snap!!! Say nowt to no-one. Not worth the confusion, in my experience.
My only exception to this self imposed rule was when I was in the Royal Marsden Sutton Canteen, waiting to go into isolation for 4 days as they pumped radioactive isotope into my blood stream, and I saw a young family , two parents ( they looked drawn and exhausted and my heart went out to them silently), and a group of kids loudly giggling and stuffing their faces with cake and sandwiches and fizzy pop. In the middle of this gaggle (?) of excited kids was one kid who was bald and had a tube into his or her nose. Obviously ill with cancer. I dithered and made my mind up and I went over. To my surprise the parents smiled at me, I turned to the kids and said “can you little shits pipe the fuck down you horrible noisy cunts some of us are ill and the last thing I want is to hear your inane squawking and screams”
So I never did it again. Children’s tears are bad enough but the inconsolable tears of a child with cancer is even more nauseating.
I’m joking I went over and asked the parents if it was ok to give their kid a tenner to buy something for their birthday. The kid was quite surprised but took it and gave the mum and dad a lovely smile. Unforgettable.
That’s nice. Perniciously cruel that this can happen to kids. I don’t care if it’s an old sod like you (or me)
I was once waiting for a scan during my cancer treatment, which cured me, and a woman sitting next to a clearly very ill 16 or 17-year-old girl politely but urgently asked if they could please put her IV (sorry, American, like really sorry) now even though her time wasn't soon because she was so dehydrated every minute that passed would make successful insertion harder and more painful. The person said they'd try and I offered my earlier slot, but the US health care system doesn't generally work that way, so she sat. Children suffering needlessly is what turned me from a lifelong atheist to a believer in God the Asshole. Thank you for writing so well and so often and letting us into your life.
It’s tricky to know what to say to other people waiting in hospital; there is the “all on it together” feeling and potential for banter but you could also get it badly wrong. Having had a couple of MRI scans for injuries I remember thinking others may be waiting to hear a life changing diagnosis. Good luck with your incurable but treatable illness.
Oh, I've had one of these! I've had barrages of brain tests from time to time because my arms and legs do weird possibly-brain-related things. So far, nothing out of the ordinary has ever been found. And none of the tests have ever made me feel like I pissed in my pants.
Though I did notably have an MRI scan where they piped Ricky Martin into the claustrophobic tube. To willfully torture me, presumably.
Hope everything goes okay with your results & treatment. I had an MRI scan ahead of an operation during the height of Covid & kept sliding off the platform as they hadn't strapped me on properly. It was a very surreal experience!