I'm prefacing this story by saying, I wrote this tale because I think the absolute worst thing in this world is seeing young kids with cancer or some debilitating illness. This is not a true story, I don't think a child should ever have to face cancer. I hope you enjoy it.
My name is Jason, I am married with a wife and daughter, this is a tale about my family. It was a beautiful May day, birds were singing, the trees were swaying in the warm breeze and the sun was shining brightly. As I love warm weather, I should have been in a buoyant mood but I was not.
Today I was bringing my 6 year old daughter Chloe home to die.
About 6 months ago, Chloe had been having a rash of severe headaches and had even passed out once. We rushed her to our family doctor, who referred us to a specialist. Many tests were run and after several grueling weeks, a grim faced Oncologist announced to my wife and I that Chloe had brain cancer. The tumor was inoperable and could only be treated with chemotherapy and radiation. It was the most aggressive form of cancer and the prognosis was not good. My wife and I were devastated. Chloe was our life and now we were told we were going to lose her.
We put on our best brave face and we decided we are not going to let this horrible disease destroy our family. We told Chloe she was very sick but with the medicine and care, she would be ok. She was a brave little fighter. She never complained through all the sickness, pain and headaches. She kept faith that her Daddy and Mommy said she would get better and continued to fight the good fight.
The disease gradually devastated her small body and overwhelmed her. She became weaker and weaker with each passing day. The grave looks on the doctors and nurses faces told the story. In my heart, I knew Chloe was dying and didnt have much time remaining. My lovely wife Cindy, took a leave of absence from work and stayed with her 24 hours a day. I had to continue to work and came to the Hospital each day after work. We had been married 10 years and the situation was putting unimagined strain on both of us and our marriage. Our little girl, our reason for living was dying and there was nothing we could do.
One day after months and months of treatments Dr. Vickers, the Head Oncologist, asked us into his office for a quick chat. He told us there was nothing left they could do for Chloe at the Hospital. Chloe had slipped into a coma and she would soon die as the cancer attacked her central nervous system. He asked if we would like to take her home for her remaining days. I immediately responded yes and Cindy nodded in agreement.
I gently carried my brave Chloe into our house and up to her room and softly laid her on her bed. Both Cindy and I were crying tears of pent up sadness. This is how it was going to end. We sat there holding hands and caressing Chloe, each absorbed in out own thoughts. Suddenly out of the blue there was a knock on the front door. I said to Cindy "Who the hell could that be?" She just shook her head, tears dripping down her face.
I angrily marched down the steps to the front door but first peered out the peephole to see who it was.
I was quite startled when I saw "Old Man" Haggerty, a neighbor from down the street, standing there holding a small cat.
Haggerty was a very odd fellow. The strange, eccentric neighbor you really don't want to talk to or deal with. We had lived in this house for 7 years and I never once spoke to him. He looked to be in his late 60's. He dressed shabbily and was quite unkempt. His yard was full of junk and the house looked like it could collapse at any minute. He walked past our place several times a day, either going or coming from the store or bar. He would stagger back from the bar sometimes singing or talking to himself. All the neighbors said to stay away from him because he was weird and could be dangerous.
The neighborhood kids would mock him and tease him something fierce. He would swear at them and tell them he would squash them like bugs. I only had one encounter with him. I was trimming some shrubs and he walked right by me so I casually gazed at him. He angrily said "Why don't you take a picture it? It will last longer." I just turned my head and went about my business. Now here was "Old Man" Haggerty on the worst day of my life, standing at my door.
I opened the door and said "May I help you?" Haggerty responded "I heard your daughter was ill and I wanted to give you this cat to comfort her. Animals seem to relax and help children when they are sick. This cat is named Willow and she is real special. She comforted me greatly when I was sick."
I said "Oh no thank you, Mr. Haggerty, we appreciate your kindness but I couldn't take your cat from you." He was insistent and would not take no for an answer and I finally relented. He asked that I let him know how Chloe was doing and stumbled off the porch back to his house.
I took the cat up to Chloe's room and Cindy's eyes opened wide and she exclaimed "Where did you get that!" I replied "Old Man Haggerty gave her to us and wouldn't take no for answer." Cindy said "Oh Jason, why would you take a cat from that old fool?" I said "He was very sincere and insistent, I couldn't say no to him." She said "Let me take it back please." I replied "No, lets see what happens, it will be alright." I set Willow down on Chloe's bed and she immediately went right to Chloe rubbing softly against her and purring. She curled up with Chloe, still purring, the tension seemed to melt away. Cindy and I looked at each other and decided Willow the cat could stay with us.
Several days passed and it seemed like Willow never left Chloe's side. Cindy and I stayed with her too, praying and hoping she would go to heaven and be in a better place with no suffering. The 3rd day she was home, I commented to Cindy that Chloe's skin color looked better. Maybe I was just deceiving myself. The 4th day Chloe started responding to our touches and voices. Cindy and I were in disbelief. Was something happening here? Then on the 5th day her eyes opened. Those beautiful blue rays of sunshine were open. She gradually awakened. It was a miracle. She was talking "Mommy and Daddy its so good to see you, I love you so much" We were crying tears of joy, our lovely daughter was awake and talking to us. I called Dr. Vickers and told him the news. He said this could be end of life syndrome, which happens when a patient is about to die wakes up for a short while before they die. Cindy and I were devastated by this news but still we were happy to have our Chloe back even if just for a short while.
On the 6th day another true miracle happened. Chloe felt even better and was able to get out of bed and walk around for a bit. All the while the beautiful friendly cat Willow was part of what was going on in my daughter's bedroom. I phoned Dr Vickers and told him what happened. He said to get to the Hospital immediately for tests. We happily scooped up Chloe and and drove to The Medical Center. We all 3 walked into Dr. Vickers office and you would have thought he saw a ghost. He took Chloe for a battery of tests and said it was going to take several hours. Cindy and I anxiously sat in the waiting room, wondering what was going on, hoping that against all odds our daughter was ok. Could we allow ourselves to believe. It was the longest 4 hours of my life.
The door to the waiting room opened, Dr Vickers and Chloe appeared with 2 big smiles on their faces. The hardened old Dr. Vickers had tears in his eyes when he told us Chloe was completely cancer free. He said he had no explanation. Sometimes in medicine things happen that can not be explained. Cindy and I embraced, tears of pure joy streaming down our faces. We hugged and embraced Chloe and Dr. Vickers. I had my reason for living back. My lovely daughter was healthy and life was worth celebrating again. Dr. Vickers said Chloe would have to come back at certain intervals for testing but as of now she could go home.
We triumphantly left the hospital and drove home. Our house was once again a place of warmth and love that I treasured each day. We looked around for Willow but she was nowhere to be found. All of the doors and windows were closed so she could not have gotten out. I told Cindy that while she and Chloe were looking for Willow, I wanted to go and tell Mr. Haggerty the splendid news. I walked over to his house, knocked on the door but there was no answer. I tried one other time, several days later but still no answer. We were all so exuberant over the good news, Mr. Haggerty slipped our minds.
About a week after Chloe's return home, I was out cutting the grass and I noticed a Police Car parked in front of Mr. Haggerty's. I turned off the lawnmower, walked over to the Cop and asked what was going on. He said the old man who lived here had a heart attack and died in his reclining chair. They figured he had been dead about a week. I was crushed. The man who I didn't know, who was ridiculed by all but had offered his special cat as a gift for my dying daughter was now dead.
A neighbor from down the street came up to me and said he was happy to hear the good news about Chloe. Then he said he was glad "Old Man" Haggerty had finally kicked the bucket. Now we could finally get a nice neighbor in there and tear that eyesore down. I just nodded foggily and slowly walked away as if in a trance. The conflicting emotions in my head were almost too much. My beautiful daughter was alive, snatched from death's doorstep. Now the neighbor I never talked to and ignored, who did a tremendously kind thing for my family was now dead. I walked home and told Cindy and Chloe of Haggerty's death. We hugged as a family and cried, mourning the death of the much maligned Haggerty. To this day, I have no idea how my daughter survived and what relation Mr. Haggerty's kind hearted gift had in restoring her health. I like to think that the kind gift from a true heart helped her to survive. We never did find the special cat Willow.
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