![]() The strangers in the hospital with us are hotel employees. Over the summer, he consulted sarcoma specialists at the Abramson Cancer Center, and after weeks of commuting from New York City for radiation treatment, he and my aunt Terri took refuge at the nearby Kimpton Hotel Monaco. He’d been in remission for months, but now the cancer is everywhere. ![]() Doctors amputated his leg from the thigh down to stem the tide. Robert’s cancer is rare, a soft tissue sarcoma that formed on the crown of his left ankle three years earlier. The souvenir was meant as a joke, but the doll never wandered from his bedside. Robert was too weak to attend the procession but had wanted to go, a surprise given he wasn’t a particularly religious person, nor a Catholic. The pontiff had recently traveled through Philadelphia-where the hospital is located-only the second papal visit in the city’s history. I wish there was alcohol in it.Ī plush doll of Pope Francis lies on the blanket next to my uncle. One of the strangers passes me a Styrofoam cup filled with tart sparkling cider. We’re all standing in a semicircle around him wearing adhesive identification tags from security. A tangle of shiny helium balloons sways on the nightstand. The longer I stare at it, the more the cake’s soft edges blend into the stark whiteness of the hospital walls. The generous layer of vanilla frosting reflects the fluorescent light above like a moonlit snowdrift. Malignant tumors are blooming along his spine like mushrooms on a log, which makes lying on his back incredibly painful.Ī square-shaped cake studded with plump, bright strawberries rests atop a tray stand at the foot of the bed. My uncle Robert is propped upright in the hospital bed in the center of the room, leaning limply to one side like a resting marionette, awake, but looking like he hasn’t slept in days. ![]() ![]() Worry is the enemy of hope, and cancer spreads faster in the crevices where hope slips through. I do my best not to look worried and take a deep breath, inhaling the antiseptic odor that permeates the air-a sterile cologne of surgical masks, latex gloves, and industrial-grade cleaning solvents. Join Longreads and help us to support more writers.Īdam Reiner | Longreads | J| 4,992 words (17 minutes) ![]()
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