Waiting for the All-Clear

Tuesdays are clinic days in the E (neuro-oncology) clinic. I am always sadly amazed at the sheer number of new faces, the never-ending stream of new families seeking desperate treatments to keep their children with them.

Waiting is part of the game in E Clinic. We wait to be called, to see the doctor, to have our fortunes told. Steven plays Age of Empires and I chat with other families and we all pretend that we're not nervous.

Dr. Gajjar walks through the clinic waiting room and waves, but doesn't give a thumbs-up as he does sometimes. Steven wonders if the absence of the thumbs-up portends bad news.

On previous visits while we wait, sometimes a child life social worker walks through the waiting room attended by the chaplain, they head through the clinic doors and enter a patient room. We pray for those families.

On Tuesday we are called to a room about an hour after our appointment time, where we wait some more. The E Clinic rooms have I Spy posters on the wall, a distraction while we wait.

Dr. Gajjar's nurse Lizzie comes in and says she still hasn't seen the MRI results but thinks all is well. She gives Steven a neurological exam.

Finally, Dr. Gajjar enters with good news, the MRI is clear. We are grateful for another six-month reprieve.

- Kathleen