When you meet a little
girl like Caroline Carter, you can’t possibly imagine the words blood transfusion or chemotherapy or surgery being remotely used to describe the regular activities of her
life. Instead you’d think: there must be
some mistake because this kid is so alive, so bubbly!
I had the pleasure of being introduced to
6-year-old Caroline before a talk I gave years ago, and I personally asked her
permission to share her photo and story with the audience that day. At first
she seemed shy about the notion of being in the limelight, but then, grinning ear-to-ear,
she consented. An hour or so later, as an image of her beaming in her princess
tiara filled the large projection screen at the blood center recognition banquet, Caroline beamed as well, even stood on her chair so the entire audience could
acknowledge her strength and beauty and, well, bubbliness.
I had learned the
details of her medical challenges from her mother, Karen, a sharp and well-spoken
business woman who was determined to give her little girl as much happiness, joy,
and normalcy as she could for as long as possible. At 4½ years old, Caroline had
been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given a 30 percent chance of survival.
When the chemo, radiation, surgeries, stem cell transplant, and experimental
antibody treatments took their toll on Caroline’s body, blood transfusions
became a regular part of her regimen as well. In true childlike form, Caroline
renamed the blood components to suit her youthful perspective. Red blood cells
were “go-go juice,” for their ability to give her considerably more energy
after being transfused. Platelets were “mustard,” and I believe their color pretty
much explains that nickname.
Many of us often refer
to blood transfusions as the “gift of life,” but to Caroline, go-go juice and
mustard offered the gift of play: the
chance to ride her bike, kick a soccer ball, or climb the rock wall. Go-go
juice and mustard allowed Caroline to be normal – as normal as a kid could be
between hospitalizations and invasive medical treatments. And allowing her
daughter to lead a normal life, Karen would later tell me, was one of her
greatest goals, no matter the ultimate outcome of Caroline’s struggle with
cancer.
For three and a half
years, go-go juice and mustard helped a bubbly little girl forget, at times,
that she was a patient, and allowed her to simply focus on being a kid. A kid
who loved to play.
This Thanksgiving, Nov. 22,
would’ve been Caroline’s 13th birthday. My own daughter, who is
nearing the age of 13 herself, typically makes a “gratitude tree” each year for
Thanksgiving, and then we each write down things we’re grateful for on its paper
leaves. This year, I’m going to write “go-go juice and mustard” because, as a
mom, I am grateful for the gift of play that these two blood components
offered a beautiful and bubbly little girl who once touched my heart.
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Download a PDF of the first 4 chapters of Lauren's memoir, Zuzu's Petals: A True Story of Second Chances, free. Click here and go to the link below the "Buy the Book" button. Zuzu's Petals is also available on Kindle and Nook. Hardcover signed and inscribed copies are available at www.laurenwardlarsen.com. Happy reading!
