CARTI has locations to treat cancer all over Arkansas. Homebase is in Little Rock, but I'm thankful they also have a center in my hometown that provides most of the services I need. For my six-month checkups, I needed to return to the Little Rock offices. Their four-story building can be a little bit foreboding. The fourth floor is where I began my chemo before I transferred to my local center for the remainder of the year of treatments. I hadn't returned to the big chemo lab since that initial infusion.

Peering out through the window and watching the hundreds of people waiting to receive chemo that day brought a flood of emotions and memories that I wasn't expecting. I was only there for some quick blood work, but I felt gut-punched. My body is slowly rebuilding muscle and stamina, and my prognosis is good. As I watched people be lifted out of vehicles and into wheelchairs, I felt extra gratitude for my current situation. 

After I finished my two morning appointments, I met a friend from junior high downstairs. We used to sing in choir together, and now we are both cancer survivors. We joked about starting a club, in fact, another one of our sweet friends from our choir days also has tackled and beaten breast cancer. So our club is small, and nobody would really want to join our elite membership requirements! Rebekkah played piano along with me on cello, and we made the lobby festive for an hour with Christmas carols, spreading joy and hope and encouragement in a place where it's often hard to find those elusive qualities.