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as told by Cindy Vieth and Pam Hanson
 he tent was pitched among the trees. Inside were two young brothers from Iowa. There was a flashlight, campfire and camp food complete with s’mores (after all, what is a camping trip without s’mores?).
 A typical camping trip? Well, yes and no. Yes, because it had all the trappings of a typical camping trip...but no, because this camping adventure happened inside a Gundersen Lutheran hospital room.
We had a patient, about 40 years old, who was losing her battle with breast cancer. She had two sons about eight or nine years old at the time. We learned they loved to go camping together before their mom got sick.
We wanted to give the boys some sense of normalcy in their young lives. We didn’t want their memories of their mom to be just a sad, scary time in the hospital. The boys were coming to visit on a Friday night, so we decided to turn it in to a special weekend camping trip.
As a hospital, we’re not exactly equipped for camping so we had to get creative. We had a tent on 4 West. We borrowed potted plants and trees from the solarium, rounded up a flashlight and even crafted an artificial campfire. We arranged for a family meal to be served up camp-style and we made s’mores...in the microwave.
The patient was very appreciative of this special time they all had together. The boys played games, told stories, talked and just enjoyed spending time with their mom. They got to spend the night, sleeping in the tent.
With cancer, life becomes so interrupted. So, we were glad to give them at least a semblance of a normal family life...even if it was for just a weekend. We see patients as so much more than their medical conditions. We know it’s important to treat the entire family. And with that camping trip, we did just that.
The boys’ mother died shortly after that. But at least they got to enjoy one last camping trip. |