Sister, We're not Here for the Cancer

[wolf]

Okay, I didn't say it. But I really wanted to ...

momWolf had a doctor's appointment today. She has been going to see a hematologist because she has iron-deficiency anemia.

He has an office at a hospital down in the City, but he does one day a week at a Cancer Center that is less than five minutes from my apartment. It's also a much closer walk from the parking lot to the office. And I don't have to pay for parking. So, we go to the Cancer Center, which is also the site where momWolf gets her Iron Infusions.

We've just gotten waved into the exam room and are waiting for the doc to finish reviewing the most recent lab results, and tell us that things are better than they were, but still aren't totally up to scratch. This woman pokes her head into the exam room, and introduces herself as the Chaplain. She's wearing a massive name tag confirming her status as the Spiritual Support Professional.

She says an assortment of things that Chaplains are taught to say, encouraging words about the importance of faith in recovery and all that.

She seemed to be struggling a bit with her spiel, but forged ahead with it, and included a suggestion, after momWolf admitted to being Catholic, that registering with the Parish would be a Very Good Idea.

Had momWolf not been there, I probably would have said "Sister, we're not here for the cancer," but the Sister was so very sincere in her attempt to help, that I actually couldn't bring myself to do it.

I was also trying to keep myself from laughing.

Because in half-inch high letters on her ID was her name ... "Sister Scary."

They don't make nun-names like that no more.