In front of the door on staircase C, Irina looks for the intercom number she was going to type, for both of us to go in. I am with the nurse visiting a little girl from the home care services for children with cancer. On our way, Irina told me about Deea, the young cancer patient we were about to see, so I was already picturing her in my mind:
“Deea has something that we don’t have“, Irina tells me. “She has an extraordinary power to fight and an unusual optimism, with which she manages to keep the whole family in balance. Yes, she encourages her parents to make plans for the future, for when she beats cancer.“
Irina went on to tell me how, every time she goes to Deea’s house to perform blood sampling after rounds of chemotherapy, the little girl greets her at the door with a large smile and a long hug. I got them too – the hug and the smile. Deea invited us into her colorful room, where she was waiting for us with cookies she made with the help of her mother.
I listened to their conversations, for 45 minutes, and looked at their smiling eyes. While Irina was collecting samples for analysis, Deea turned to me and said:
“Alina, you don’t even know how good it is that you come to my house, so I don’t have to go to the hospital with mommy anymore! Can’t you also go to Alexa, my friend and roommate from the hospital? She lives in Hunedoara!”
This is also our dream, to be able to go home to all these children. To avoid as many trips they need to make to the hospital as possible… I struggled to contain my tears.
Sometimes I accompany the nurses on home visits, as today I accompanied Irina. Deea, the little patient I met today gave me another life lesson. And the confidence that one day we will be able to offer all children in Romania the opportunity to be cared for as much as possible, close to their homes, where they feel best.
Alina