A Small Joy From the Infusion Chair
My son was three. He was getting a long chemo infusion. I was in the chair next to him.
He had been quiet for an hour. He was working on a small Lego car he had brought from home. He had built and rebuilt it five times. He was very serious about it.
His infusion nurse, who we had known for about a year, walked by, looked at the Lego car, and said, "That is a very fast car."
He said, without looking up, "It is a hospital car. It goes to the hospital."
She said, "Where else does it go?"
He thought about it for a long minute. He said, "It goes home."
Then he picked up the car and made it drive across the arm of the chair.
I have been thinking about this exchange for two and a half years. It is a small joy. A nothing exchange. A 30-second conversation between a nurse and a small kid during a long infusion.
I am writing it down because I want to remember it.
I want to remember that, somewhere in the middle of his treatment, my son was sitting in a chair with a needle in his chest, making a Lego car drive across the arm of the chair, telling a nurse about its travel itinerary.
I want to remember that he understood the car went to the hospital. I want to remember that he understood the car also went home.
He was three. He was very serious about the car. The nurse was very serious about asking. The exchange was tender in a way I am not going to be able to fully explain.
The Lego car is still in his toy drawer. I asked him last week where it goes. He looked at me like I was a little weird, and then he said, "It goes to the hospital."
And then, after a beat, "And home."
Dina
Mom of Max | Founder, Maxwell’s Toy Shoppe
Childhood Cancer Advocate 💛
Follow Us On Social
Join our movement to support children battling cancer and their families, year-round:
🎁 Donate to deliver toys to children during long cancer treatment days
🧸 Buy a toy from Maxwell’s Toy Shoppe, and 100% of proceeds support children in treatment
🎗️ Join Maxwell’s Circle of Heroes as a monthly donor to ensure families receive ongoing care
