Finneran: Three Bells at MGH
Tom Finneran, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Finneran: Three Bells at MGH
A medical diagnosis had put him on edge. And his family history was not reassuring. Happily, for him, it was that family history which had compelled him to pay attention to yearly physicals and the occasional pain in the butt tests. Colonoscopies anyone?
It was one of those intrusive tests which brought us to the Mass General cancer clinic.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe clientele was mixed—men, women, black, white, older, and chillingly, sadly, children too.
Cancer knows no bounds and respects no decencies.
Needless to say, the faces of those present—patients as well as supporting spouses, family, and friends—are pretty grim. But a gallows humor and a carmaraderie develops pretty quickly. As does a quiet determination to fight back.
There is mutual support and encouragement among and between all the patients as they compare notes and swap stories. It’s a funny thing—no ones wants to be there but a clubhouse atmosphere creates bonds of friendship and well wishes.
The staff at the clinic is special. They know that each patient is bearing an emotional burden as well as a serious medical challenge. They’re upbeat without being gushy. They are professional. They are thorough. They are kind.
Some patients face consecutive weeks of consecutive days of radiation, some for only two weeks, others for a more challenging duration of several weeks. All patients know their “release date”, a date as important and exciting to them as their own birthdays. The staff know it too and they are happy to celebrate it with each patient.
Which brings me to the three bells.
On the wall near the doors to the clinic is a ship’s bell. When a patient reaches that happy day when treatments are concluded, the staff and the patient gather at the bell and the patient rings the bell three times.
And then something really special happens—all the other patients waiting for their daily treatment break out in heartfelt applause for the journey their fellow being has endured. They face their own harrowing journey, yet the shared experience forges a human bond of love, of hope, and of kindness.
The three bells of MGH. Long may they ring.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio
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