lizartist's Cancer Blog
May 11, 2007
| There's an Angel in my Bathroom | Views: 812 |
A few days ago, in the midst of chemo-hell, I read an email from a friend who has organized my daughter’s school community to bring groceries and dinners. The message mentioned a friend, one whose husband is recovering from lymphoma, and that this stranger would like to help me, us, now.
I have never met this woman, but I emailed her. She called me a few hours later, and I don’t mind telling you her name. Kim Hamer. That’s what they call angels these days, I guess. We talked about cancer, we laughed about the indignities it foists, both physical and economic. She offered to help. And then she did an extraordinary thing.
She offered to come over and clean my bathroom.
For those of you who haven’t seen this bathroom, well, it hasn’t been scrubbed in a month. I do know some of you will understand.
I get queasy just looking at the sink sometimes, even though my daughter cleaned it the other day. On the other hand, it doesn’t take much to make me queasy.
Kim offered to clean our bathroom, which includes our toilet. Now, our toilet isn’t the grossest one in the world, maybe, but it is our toilet. How could someone do that? Offer to clean our toilet? After she’s just spent months taking care of her gravely ill, but now much better husband? She should be too tired, too sick of sickness, all “gived-out”.
I wept at the kindness, the humanity of it. Through my tears I spluttered, “Uh maybe sometime next week”. Kim said, “That’s fine, but I’ll keep calling you every day until you let me come clean your bathroom”.
I relented, but only because another angel had asked for our help earlier in the week. The mom of one of my daughter’s friends has been consistently and selflessly taking care of Morgan weekend after weekend since my surgery. Before all this, we had only once met this woman (Hannah Galloway, another angel), and our daughters didn’t even hang out. Rather out of the blue, this mom began taking Morgan to and from school when needed, having her over for two and three days at a time on the weekend, even bringing food.
But a week ago, I learned Hannah is having neck surgery today. She asked if we could take her daughter for a couple of days. Although I knew this is my chemo week, I replied we’d be glad to take her, and we are.
Then Kim called, insisting she come clean our bathroom. And because we have a little houseguest this weekend, I found myself saying “Yes, please come tomorrow at 10am”.
And at 10 this morning, Kim was here, at my door, with a wash bucket and rubber gloves in hand. I had never even seen this woman before, and she is the cutest thing in the world. (Angels are cute!)
She gave me a strong and gentle hug, warming my ears with that fabulous laugh I’d heard on the phone, and then set straight to work on the bathroom.
I hobbled over to my bed, and collapsed. As I lay there, I heard her scrubbing away, rinsing, spraying. Industriously, yet quietly cleaning. Once in a while I’d call out to her, to tell me about herself, and her family, and we’d talk for a bit, but then she’d excuse herself, saying, “I have to get back to work”.
When she finished, she came over to my bed and gave me a hug. We talked for a while, and I encouraged her to not only be the one who gives, to please let others give to her, too. She smiled and said, “Thank you for letting me do this for you.”
I guess that’s what angels do.
09.13.08 - 
Thanks for your support -
Oh my gosh. Thanks so much for sharing this story! I’m touched. Ok, I’ll admit, I’m crying! Thank you for sharing. I want to clean someone’s bathroom.
What a wonderful story. I guess there are angels all around us if we just have eyes to see.
Liz – It is so great to hear from you. Glad things are going so well. What sweet angels you have in your life.