To Bedouin travelers it would be an oasis in the desert. But these people are not Bedouins, this is not a desert, and they wish they could have stayed home. For hundreds of reluctant travelers, the Hope Lodge is an oasis….an oasis in a desert of depression, confusion and pain.
Hope
Lodge is a program of the American Cancer Society. The Lodge is a "home
away from home" for cancer victims and their families who live outside the
Kansas City area but must stay here while undergoing treatment at area
hospitals. There is no charge and no limit on how long they can stay. To many,
Hope Lodge is the answer to their prayers.
Just ask Janet and Al Hampton of Chanute, Kansas. Janet has breast cancer. She came to K.U. Medical Center for surgery and is now receiving radiation treatment there. The trip to and from Chanute took more than two hours each way. Beyond the time and expense, the long car ride was physically draining for Janet. They decided to stay in a nearby hotel, but that expense combined with the cost of eating out and growing medical bills was almost too much to bear. That’s when they heard about Hope Lodge.
Janet says, " All we had to bring was our clothes, food and a toothbrush. Everything else was provided. We have our own private room, complete access to the kitchen and laundry facilities, even our own shelf in the refrigerator." She adds, "Each room has two beds. It really feels like home. Al has been able to stay with me, which I appreciate. He’s been my pillar of strength in battling this thing."
All guests are encouraged to have a "support person" stay with them. They become the guests’ personal assistants, helping them bathe, cook or eat, perhaps go shopping or do the laundry. More importantly, they help the four full-time and five part-time staff members provide moral support. You see Hope Lodge is more than a place to stay, it’s also a place to share.
The
guests feel comfortable in striking up conversations with people they’ve never
met before, because they feel like family. That’s how Janet met Stacy Griffith
of Lawrence, Kansas. Stacy was four months pregnant when she found out that a
growing tumor the size of a football was wrapping itself around her heart.
Doctors had to induce labor two months early to make sure her daughter, Paige,
survived. She only weighed three pounds but is now doing fine.
Stacy is now undergoing bone marrow transplant at St. Luke’s Hospital, while she stays with her mother at Hope Lodge. Her husband, Kolby, brings their daughter over several times a week after work and sometimes they stay overnight. They try to all go home together on weekends. Like many cancer patients, Stacy lost her hair during chemotherapy, but now it’s growing back. If Stacy isn’t feeling well, all she has to do is look around to see what others are going through, to be energized by their strength.
Besides a place to stay, Hope Lodge offers information on counseling and coping, connections to other cancer-related services, transportation to the hospital, even a massage therapist. At the Lodge, you’ll find people crying together, laughing together, even rubbing each other’s heads. They share both the highs and the lows. For families touched by cancer…and even those of us who haven’t been… it’s comforting to know that CFC and the Hope Lodge are working together to help.