My good friend Carol H had been fighting cancer for 4 years, but continually remained positive. All the doctors were telling her that without chemo or radiation she would eventually lose her battle with this dreadful disease, but of course there were no guarantees that they would actually help either. Carol was determined to fight her battle without either chemo or radiation. In May Carol was able to schedule an appointment with an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She also was able to schedule a flight through Angel Flights, and a room at the Miracle House which houses patients and their caregivers while in town for appointments and/or treatment. Carol’s husband was unable to leave his job to go with her so she asked me if I would like to go. It was such an honor for her to ask me to go with her. She needed someone with her to attend appointments, but she also wanted us to take in as many sites as we could while we were there. Angel Flight services scheduled us on a Jet Blue flight and we left on a Sunday 6/5 in the afternoon and got to NY late Sunday night. We headed straight to the Miracle House and got checked in. The Miracle House is an apartment building so we had one room in a 2 bedroom apartment. The other room was reserved for another person who was not there when we arrived. The other thing that we found out right away was that we happened to get a room that had been refurbished and decorated as a gift to the Miracle House from Oprah. It was beautiful and comfortable.
On Monday morning we had breakfast across the street at a little café that provided breakfast and dinner every day to the Miracle House patrons. It was poignant to meet with other people that we knew were there for appointments/treatment or with friends or loved ones who were. Many stories to share. It was hard to believe that Carol was going through anything because she looked and felt healthy, and most people that talked with us did not realize how sick she really was. 
After breakfast we were off to the first of two appointments that Carol had. This appointment was at a clinic in the Upper East Side. We took the subway and got there quickly. Her appointment was quick and was in preparation for her appointment the next day with the oncologist. When we left the doctor’s office we went to get a bite to eat, then we headed down to do some site seeing. There was so much to see! We had purchased a City Pass which included an entrance to the Guggenheim Museum which is up on the east side of Central Park. It is a small museum, but has a lot of character and unique architecture. We left the museum and walked through Central Park and found a castle.
We then made our way to Rockefeller Center then we walked along 5th Avenue, stopping at Trump Tower and Radio City Music Hall.
On Tuesday we got up early again and made our way to her appointment with the oncologist which was at the hospital. Sloan-Kettering is a big hospital up on the Upper East Side of NYC. We took the local bus and got there in plenty of time for Carol’s appointment. She wanted me to come in with her which was difficult. When the doctor met with us she encouraged Carol to reconsider the chemo or radiation and was not able to offer any other options for her. It was hard to realize that this positive, loving friend was probably not going to be able to survive unless she was willing to reconsider. Carol remained positive however and she thanked the doctor for her time and said she would give it more thought. After several hours at the hospital we were starving so we stopped near there and got a bite to eat.
Then we made our way back to midtown and went to Bryant Park and other sites around midtown. Later in the evening we went to the top of the Empire State Building and saw the lights of the city. We used the audio headphones and walked all around the observation deck as we listened to a description of each stop. Afterward we walked back and stopped in Time Square which was so amazing with all the tall billboards/signage. On Wednesday morning we left right after breakfast and road the subway down to lower Manhattan. There we visited Ground Zero
and the little church
across the street that played such a part in ministering to all the rescue workers. We walked down to Wall Street, and over to Battery Park to ride over to Liberty Island to visit the Statue of Liberty.
The boat stops at Ellis Island on the way back from Liberty Island but we chose not to get off the boat at that time. The weather was hot and we both had walked so much in the last 2 days. We had a harbor cruise scheduled that evening so we wanted to get back to the Miracle House to freshen up before our cruise. The Harbor Cruise took us south around Liberty Island then up and under the Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridge. Our guide pointed out sites along the way including the United Nations Building with its unique architecture. On Thursday morning it was time to leave so our airport shuttle picked us up early at the apartment to head for JFK. Once we got checked in we found that our flight was delayed due to a storm in DC where we were changing flights. All flights there were grounded. Since there are several flights out each day we were told to wait for the next one which was a couple more hours. That one was canceled too, so we waited some more. Finally around 4pm they told us we would not be flying out today. They didn’t offer anything so we quickly called the Miracle House to see if there were any rooms still available. They were able to get us in so we headed back during rush hour traffic.
We were finally back around 6pm, just in time for the last call for the dinner across the street. After getting settled back in again and eating dinner, we headed over to Times Square for one last look. A lot of time wasted today, but fun to be able to stay one more night. Up Friday morning to try again – this time successfully. Under other circumstances I would say this trip was ideal. It gave me a taste of NYC and I am determined to take Doug sometime in the future. Additional note: My friend Carol lost her battle on March 17th the following year. She never did have chemo or radiation, but she enjoyed every day to the end and always remained positive believing that God was in control. I miss her! To see more pictures from this trip, click below:
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