Angels on Wheels

When my husband, Bruce, required chemo and radiation five days a week at the hospital in Manhattan, there was no way he could handle the hour-and-a-half commute every day from our home on Long Island. So during the week, we took up residence in Manhattan at the Hope Lodge, which provided rooms free of charge for people being treated for cancer. Still, going back and forth was a grueling schedule, and the treatments left him weak and exhausted, hardly able to manage the trip.

We eagerly awaited the weekend when we could go home, but at the same time, we were spent from being at the hospital for hours every day. It required energy neither one of us possessed at that point.

Imagine our surprise when we passed through the doors of Hope Lodge on a Friday and saw our friends Deb and John waiting for us. “We’re driving you home,” they told us, “but first we’re taking you to lunch.”

Tears sprang to my eyes and Bruce slumped in relief. For the entire six weeks, these dear angels took us home to Long Island every Friday evening and back to Manhattan every Sunday night.