Friends made the time fly by

So yesterday was the first in a series of my IV Infusions of iron. I went to my appoitment armed with a good book, a bottle of water and nerves of steel. Yeah, right! I was scared to death about the idea of having myself hooked up to an iv for over two hours. I was surprisingly put to ease as soon as the nurse took me back to my "station". I was greeted by smiles of the nurses, a comfy la-z-boy type recliner, a portable dvd player and a basket full of fun movies from which to select. The walls are adorned with framed pictures with words of comfort, and I was even given a pillow and blanket to wrap around me while I sat and waited for the iron to work its way into my system. I was put to ease, made to feel like this whole thing was as normal as could be. I felt pretty ridiculous feeling bad for myself as I look around at other patients who, some of them, receiving their chemo treatments. I am very lucky that I have a treatable, and by comparison, minor health problem. It's easy to lose sight of just how fortunate I am. While there, I kept thinking of my friend Carole, who braves her chemo treatments with an amazing amount of strength and quiet determination to not let it get the best of her. She has been going through this for years and instead of complaining just makes a joke or speaks nothing of it if she is having a particularly difficult time. I admire her greatly for how she lives her life and how she deals with the ups and downs and all the things in between. Hopefully she and I can get our treatments at the same time one of these upcoming weeks. Instead of watching Friends on DVD I can spend time with my real friend.