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Cancer patient slips away from hospital to give stranded bus riders a last Christmas gift
December 31, 2011By: Jack Strickland
Florida
NOT TOO FAR FROM TALLAHASSEE –
It was an unusual Christmas request coming from a terminally ill cancer patient.
“Help me brighten the holidays of shut-ins,” he pleaded from his hospital bed.
And, he had a plan . . . provide transportation and cheer for for people who depend on the bus service for transportation while it is shut down for the holiday.
During his long battle with cancer he has learned to rely on city buses for transportation. He knew their routes and procedures. With Christmas falling on Sunday, the bus service closed on Monday, the 26th, so the bus drivers and other employees could have a paid holiday. (Union rules, you know!)
This would leave regular riders who depend on the service stranded. He knew what is is like to be depending on the buses and be left high and dry. He keenly understood how devastating it can be when you are without transportation.
He had a workable plan. Drive the bus routes and look for people around bus stops who appeared to be waiting, not knowing bus service for the day had been cancelled. He wanted to offer them rides to anywhere they wanted to go. He also wanted to look for people walking the sidewalks, who appeared to be disgruntled. He mused that missing the bus can ruin your whole day.
The plan had one major flaw. He is very sick and and needs to stay in the hospital. He wanted me to “kidnap” him from his depressing bed for a few hours while we played bus driver. While his health is no concern to him because he knows his life expectancy is measured in days, I did not want to subject him to unnecessary pain or stress.
I cheated. I checked with his nurse and sought her advice. She thought it was a great idea. She wanted to become our partner in crime. Her number one objective is to make him comfortable and happy in his final days.
What an adventure it turned out to be. He was medicated and was disconnected from his I.V. pole. I smuggled him out of the hospital in a wheel chair, acting like I had good sense.
My rented club-cab pick up was ideal for the purpose. The four doors gave easy access. We were able to prop him up comfortably in the back seat. From that vantage point he had easy access for unhampered conversation with our passengers and new friends. Somehow, he had gained access to his bank and held in his hand a stack of ten dollar bills to pass out to our riders.
Riders were easy to find and were plentiful. I think we got a different reaction from each person we approached. Some were initially skeptical. No one turned us down.
Some were moved to tears in expressing their appreciation. One became hostile at the end of the ride when he was given the ten dollar bill—He demanded more.
Others insisted on giving us something in return. Several wanted to pray with us. Only a few were told this was probably the last ride of their benefactor. That was tough on all of us. Those riders saddled with the personal news did not want to leave us when we arrived at their destination. It was hard to say good-bye.
We did have fun! We made a bunch of people happy AND got them where they needed to go. We learned a lot about how Christmas is celebrated by the down-trodden. For many, I think our ride was the only Christmas present they received.
The most lasting impression on me was made by a family – mother and her five young children. They were in dire need of a ride. We were able to accommodate them with some grade school aged kids riding in the back of the pick up.
We were concerned that riding them without restraints might land us in trouble with the law. Having grown up in pick-ups before passenger vehicles came equipped with seat belts, I was sure we could transport the group, safely. The young mother sobbed, uncontrollably, when we arrived at her destination and each passenger was given a crisp ten-dollar-bill. She asked if it would be too much to ask to be taken to a grocery store. Her purpose in bringing the family out on the day after Christmas seemed to be to find food.
We accommodated her and gave her extra money for groceries – and promised to swing back by the grocery store to “haul” her purchases home. It has been a long time since I have seen any mother look as happy as our new friend did when she came out of the store with her family pushing grocery carts filled with her purchase.
What a day. It was a wonderful way to cap off a beautiful Christmas. My friend will enjoy telling – and retelling – the story of our adventure to everyone who will listen—and to some who will want to refuse to listen – for the remainder of his life!
We returned to the hospital exhausted but fulfilled and very happy. My friend thanked me profusely for making his last Christmas so special. He lapsed into a deep sleep as soon as we got him back into his bed and the I.V. re-connected.
The next day his nurse told me that our adventure brought happiness to her patient that may extend his life instead of shorten it as we had feared. I hope so. Our world is a better place each day that my friend is with us.
Happy New Year! May you enjoy the joy and peace—all year long—that my friend and I found as we celebrated his last Christmas.
Note: Names, facilities, and specific information has purposely not been disclosed to protect the guilty.
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A sad announcement: We are sad to say the man affectionately known as “Gator Bill” succumbed to cancer Jan. 12. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and his many friends.