The Milk of Human Kindness

Walking into Dana Farber last week felt foreign instead of familiar. I didn’t have the usual butterflies in my stomach. Today was easy, my father’s annual checkup.

Nineteen years ago, he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He had a 5 percent chance to live because it had spread to his liver. He beat the odds. It was well earned - by changing many ways of being and doing to get here.

First stop labs, we sat down in an enormous waiting room filled with people of all ages and all walks of life from all over the world. Suffering hung in the air and on every face.  Overwhelmed with compassion, my thoughts went to…

Imagine what love could do

Lift up and heal you

Next up to the tenth floor and another full waiting room. The doctor was on time, and my father received the best news. He doesn’t have to come back! No more annual checkups just colonoscopies.

Prepping for the long ride home, I suggested we hit the restroom. In the hallway by the bathroom, a modestly dressed, older African American man was struggling to get out of his wheelchair - a reminder of his new reality.

A moment later, exiting the bathroom, my father saw the struggle and walked right over. He gently helped him upright, held open the bathroom door and said,” Have a good day, sir.”

Let the milk of human kindness be

The offering of love

Between you and me