The day after his surgeries to install his port, do a bone marrow aspiration, inject chemo into his spinal column and receive his first chemo through his port, he started to want food, but wasn’t sure what he wanted. We kept telling him we will get you whatever you want amidst the constant barrages of “Go, Away!” from him. Finally, he rather aggressively (especially for him) insisted that he wanted a Banana. Knowing that ordering food would take about an hour I told him I would go find one to get him to calm down. I went down to the first floor and looked all over the cafeteria for a banana, none to be found. I even asked if they had some in back (Something I find very hard to do, ask Amy). I was told there was supply chain issues and they hadn’t received any, but expected them sometime soon. So I asked where the other cafeteria was. I ran across the sky bridge to another building, got trapped in a few stairwells that didn’t lead me where I needed to go and finally found the other cafeteria. No bananas. As I was walking back this scripture popped into my head.
Luke 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
I only remembered the bread and stone part, but that was enough to make me break down a bit when I thought, He asked for a Banana, but I’m letting them give him Chemo (If that isn’t scorpion poison I don’t know what is). I know it is what he needs, but it was hard non the less.
I wish I could tell you there was a happy ending to this little parable, but there wasn’t. I didn’t miraculously run into someone with a bunch of bananas on the way back to the room. In fact when I made it back to the room Lane no longer cared about the banana at all. The next day, when we finally got him a banana he didn’t care. I think about that scripture differently now though. I would do anything to take away his pain, to alleviate his suffering with whatever he wants and needs. But sometimes we will just sit and endure together an unfulfilled want.