Day 2 - Tshwane Hospital and Heidelberg - Sun Sept 23, 2012

Another day with just one community visit, but it was a very emotional one, as we set off to visit oncology patients at a local public hospital. The afternoon would see us heading back to Heidelberg at the invitation of Sanette's family to attend a luncheon in honor of her birthday.

It was a beautiful day - and when we arrived at the hospital we all pitched in to fill up gift bags for the men, women and children that we were planning to visit with.

Many of the group wanted to visit the kids, so I elected to visit with the adults. We had lots of Revlon and other goodies to give to the patients, as well as lots of creams and nail polishes in case any of the women (or men!) were interested in a quick manicure or pedicure or just a soothing hand massage while we were visiting with them.

It was a large hospital and quite clean and orderly - much better than lots of public hospitals here in the States. The sisters who worked there seemed very attentive and caring - so on that front it was encouraging. I took several gift bags and headed into the women's ward. There were a number of beds in the ward, and I was immediately drawn to a woman with a bright pink robe and a big bright smile.

It turned out her name was Lilly, and she had been diagnosed in April with cervical cancer. The diagnosis was apparently not early and the cancer had spread to a point where surgery was no longer an option. She had received chemotherapy and was undergoing daily radiation treatments. Though our ability to communicate was limited, her english was good enough to communicate that she was the mother of 8 children - 4 boys and 4 girls - ranging from the oldest in his early thirties to the youngest, who was just 7 years old. Her home was far away so she had been staying at the hospital for months while her treatment was ongoing.

I sat with her and showed her all the goodies in the bag, and she was just overcome with delight. I helped her put her new Revlon buff on, which she found very soft and comfortable on her bald head. These luxuries were probably more than she had seen in her lifetime. She chose a lotion that she liked the scent of, and a beautiful shade of red nail polish, and I set to work, chatting with her all along. She kept thanking and hugging me, even though I did a pretty poor job of the polishing - and made sure she knew which bottle was the remover and how to use it!

Next I saw an older woman quietly resting in a corner bed, and went to talk to her next. Her name was Nora, and the communication with her was not easy, so instead we used gestures and other non-verbal communication. She chose a sparkly white glitter polish that she was so thrilled with she couldn't stop looking at her newly polished nails!

Of course I left Love and Hope charms with both of them as well before we all headed out to the balcony to hear Myra Maud sing her beautiful renditions of Hallelujah and The Circle of Life. There was not a dry eye in the house!

After the visit we also heard an amazing story about how a mother and child, whom Myra had looked in on earlier in the visit, asked Elsje if she could find the singer again ask if she could come back to the room. When Myra returned, they heard singing in the room, and looked up to find the movie Shrek playing on a television, and the song Hallelujah was being sung at that exact moment. The same emotional song Myra sings at every show! A goosebump moment for all!

Other stories were sadder, as we were reminded of the reality of where we were and the possible fates of those we were visiting, as a few in the group witnessed a very ill young man being taken off machines - his doctors saying that death was imminent for him. A very sobering story for all of us.

After gathering on the bikes once again, it was time to head back to Heidelburg for a party in honor of Sanette's birthday. It was a nice lunch at a beautiful venue surrounded by gardens and greenhouses and fountains. It was a very nice lunch with Sanette's friends and family, and Myra sang Sanette's favorite song - The Story by Brandi Carlisle - after which we all joined her onstage to sing our "Cancervive" song for the other guests.

And I just have to add this weird side note about these chairs they had there. Some of you might remember that a few years ago I came across these fabulous red leather "alice in wonderland" chairs while on a trip to Washington DC - they were at a sidewalk/yard sale in Arlington VA, and I was crazy about them and they were like $70 for the pair, but I didn't get them because I was flying home in the morning and had no idea how I'd get them home. But I couldn't stop thinking about them and tracked down the guy who held the yard sale the following week to see if they were still available. Alas, they had gone. Well lo and behold at this venue, in Heidelburg South Africa, in the bar, there were the exact same chairs! In black/white fabric instead of red leather, but still! How's that for a coincidence?? Made the logistics of trying to get them home from Arlington Virginia seem like a piece of cake by comparison...Maybe they are still in my future somewhere, somehow...

After the luncheon, it was back on the bikes, on a beautiful sunny day, and off to our accommodation for the night. This ended up being a gorgeous ride, and along the way we were joined by a group of local bikers (fellow club members of our survivor/biker Yolande), and about 30 or more bikes ended up roaring into the Stable Inn Lodge in Spring

The evening's accommodations were - interesting! It was a large property, and the buildings with the rooms were very spread out. After much searching and backtracking and zig zagging (the building blocks were designated by letter, but were not in any alphabetical order), I finally found our building - much further than I thought anyone should have to walk with luggage! Once I found the door to the building I discovered that it was a 2 bedroom rather rustic cabin, no screens, no ac, the ceiling fans didn't work, and we were sharing a bathroom with the girls in the other room. I was feeling a bit snarky until I reminded myself that many of the people we had met today, and would meet along the way, would look at this place as luxurious. So I counted my blessings and set off to find my roommate for the night, Amy, get our bags, and get changed for dinner.

A wonderful buffet of typical South African fare awaited us - roast chicken, beetroot salad, yams, and various veggies, we went around the room sharing our stories from the day and feelings about the event so far. It was a very special evening of sharing and bonding with each other, and for me in particular, gave me additional insight into this incredible group of survivors and supporters that I'd be sharing this experience with over the coming week.

See link here to the public Facebook album, and enjoy the video of the day!