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August 7, 2008, 9:57 am
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The room in which my sister takes her chemotherapy is a large one and there are many people in it. We see new people almost every time we go there.

The last time we were there a youngish man (maybe twenty-five at most) came in to get his chemo and he was accompanied by his elderly mother. I could see that the mother was tired right away as she sat next to me. She fell asleep almost right away and immediately the son called out to her to come and get his hat. He had room to set his hat down next to him but he kept calling to her to wake up and hold his hat.

I got up and took his hat and went to his mother to give it to her. She was so tired I couldn't wake her up easily. I asked him if I could just put the hat near her, it was still in his sight range, but he insisted that I wake her up and hand it to her.

I finally got her awake and gave her the hat and she just shook her head and said, "He keeps me up all night and won't let me sleep." She looked terrible. She has to be over seventy years old.

For the whole time that this guy was there in chemo, he complained, asked the nurses to do special things for him, like change the TV channel when everybody else was already watching the program; asking for more blankets and to turn the heat up, complaining that he was cold when all the other patients were hot and trying to cool off.

Every time he saw his mother close her eyes he called to her to get him something, and what he asked for was usually something small and wasn't badly needed. I felt so bad for her.

My sister also saw this happen. She also felt so bad for the mother and told me that if she ever became so selfish that she woke me up from a sound sleep for no real reason that I should smack her and tell her off.

Not all people who become sick are angels. How should we act towards ill people who were probably always just not nice people. Is it OK to tell them that they need to remember that they are not the only people around and that they need to be thoughtful of others too?

I still feel a bit uncomfortable that I disliked this ill guy so much. He is sick, after all, but SHEESH, being sick isn't an excuse for not being nice to others.

Or is it?

I would have told him he needed to allow his mom to rest, or soon he wouldn't have a mother to ask to get him this or hold his hat any longer.

Thats awful. It seems as though he is being very unfair to his poor mum who obviously needs some help in caring for herself and her selfish son.

People act this way sometimes and I really do not understand it. When his mom is gone he will understand what he lost.

Many people will act this way when they are sick, and lets face it this guy is really sick. It does not excuse his actions but we have also seen only a glimpse of either lives too.

Poor lady... She needs someone to help her, and instead she's got this big selfish baby who uses his illness as an excuse to be served and waited on. I agree with what the others have said - he will understand what he has lost when it will be already too late.