Sometimes You Are Powerless To Help

One of my students was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. She is a pleasant student with a winning smile and personality who has now found herself in a situation far removed from the ordinary concerns of teenagers. She has started on her first course of chemotherapy and has had to face nausea and hair loss. She now has a wig that she is uncomfortable wearing. I met with her parents who were completely bewildered by these events. They are putting up a determined front with their daughter but I can see the panic in their eyes as they talk to me about how I can accomodate their child's future absences from class.

Talking to the student is awkward. Teachers are supposed to have all of the answers but I find that there isn't much I can say to help. All I can do is to let her know I will be flexible in allowing her makeup work to be completed. She has been out several days so far and will probably be out much more in the coming month. When she is in class she is now very quiet and does not socialize with the other students. I try to treat her normally but the other students are uncomfortable around her now. After all, high school kids are invincible and anything that indicates otherwise is looked upon with horror by the students. It disrupts their tidy worldview in which they live forever. It's sad to see them have to grow up so fast and face the reality of illness and death.

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