Transfer from Surgical Oncology to Chemotherapy

The day Mathew was transferred from 5 South to 5 North, the chemo floor,

Mat’s Dad, Arpie, was there when we received the good news. The transfer meant they could finally start treatments!

For weeks, I had been sitting in the lobby between the 5 South and North watching the other patients. I saw some walking the halls with their IVs in tow. One man told me he had to do more walking so he could go home. Home! I saw patients obviously being discharged and wondered when and if Mat would go home. I saw other families waiting. I overheard one conversation between family members, several were in tears and one person said, “Can you blame him, can you imagine living with that cancer like that. He can’t even eat.” I realized someone they loved was at the end of their journey. I wondered then, if that would be us, those of us who loved Mathew so much, having a similar conversation. 

Often during any given twenty minutes, sitting in the lobby area on the 5th floor, I saw ourselves coming and going in the other patients and their families.

I was so happy Arpie was there this particular day. It was the three of us. We were told Mathew was being transferred and then there was a flurry of activity. Arpie helped me gather everything while the nurses prepared Mathew.

It was a short trip. There is a hallway that goes behind the lobby/elevator area that connects North and South. Along the back of that hallway is the patient elevators. The elevators transport used to take Mathew to scans, IR, and other tests.

Mathew’s new room was a third the size of the first room. (Different rooms on the same floor were different sizes and setups.) It seemed very small but as we settled in it seemed like a normal sized hospital room. 

I understood that on 5 North there were nurses who “hung chemo," a few of them came in immediately and introduced themselves to us and Mathew. Everyone was very nice but the same as when we first transferred to Moffitt from Zephyrhills, it was a host of new faces. Shakespeare was wise when he said we would rather deal with a familiar situation (even if it is a bad one) rather than move to another one. And I suppose that in a life-threatening situation, we cling to those we get to know and depend on.

Arpie and I found places for Mathew’s, belongings, sweets and his guitar. He had played it several times for the nurses on 5 South, I don’t think he ever played it again in the hospital.

There was a definite shift from waiting and fear to hope and gratitude that treatment was starting.