As you may already know from this week's 'What I'm Loving Wednesday' post, today was my mom's last day of radiation therapy for breast cancer. She began earlier this summer and has gone to the hospital everyday. You can read my post about her cancer HERE.
A common tradition among oncology centers is for a patient to ring a bell on his/ her last day of radiation, and my mom's hospital is no different. When it's someone's last day, the whole staff and everyone in the waiting area stand by as the patient rings the bell to symbolize the end of their treatment.
One thing that has really struck me about her treatment is the sense of comraderie among everyone involved. All of the nurses knew the patients by name and vice versa. Everyday, my mom would come home and tell me about the people she talked to in the waiting room, and as time went on, the names got more and more familiar. I could really tell how much they supported and encouraged each other, and it was really a beautiful thing to see that in the flesh today and all of the times I've gone with her.
Today, as my mom came back into the waiting room, tears welled up in her eyes. It really made me happy to see her so happy, as shehas been such a strong fighter and an absolute inspiration to me throughout these last 9 months.
When it was time for her to ring the bell, everyone gathered and I, of course, whipped out my camera to capture on video this momentous day! Since it was a very personal moment I am not going to post the video, but here's a photo to give you an idea of what the bell looks like (although this one is not from our hospital).
Ever since I learned about the tradition of ringing the bell, I have been reminded on a quote from the classic movie "It's a Wonderful Life":
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!"
This quote seems absolutely fitting for today. It is an absolute blessing that her cancer was caught as early as it was, and that her body tolerated treatment so well, and I know that someone has been watching over her these past 9 months.
Her guardian angel definitely deserves its wings.
Have a wonderful weekend!
A common tradition among oncology centers is for a patient to ring a bell on his/ her last day of radiation, and my mom's hospital is no different. When it's someone's last day, the whole staff and everyone in the waiting area stand by as the patient rings the bell to symbolize the end of their treatment.
One thing that has really struck me about her treatment is the sense of comraderie among everyone involved. All of the nurses knew the patients by name and vice versa. Everyday, my mom would come home and tell me about the people she talked to in the waiting room, and as time went on, the names got more and more familiar. I could really tell how much they supported and encouraged each other, and it was really a beautiful thing to see that in the flesh today and all of the times I've gone with her.
Today, as my mom came back into the waiting room, tears welled up in her eyes. It really made me happy to see her so happy, as shehas been such a strong fighter and an absolute inspiration to me throughout these last 9 months.
When it was time for her to ring the bell, everyone gathered and I, of course, whipped out my camera to capture on video this momentous day! Since it was a very personal moment I am not going to post the video, but here's a photo to give you an idea of what the bell looks like (although this one is not from our hospital).
"Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!"
This quote seems absolutely fitting for today. It is an absolute blessing that her cancer was caught as early as it was, and that her body tolerated treatment so well, and I know that someone has been watching over her these past 9 months.
Her guardian angel definitely deserves its wings.
Have a wonderful weekend!
