Diana Register has had an incredibly tough time of it. When her husband, Chad, started experiencing jaundice back at the start of 2015, they could have never imagined he would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer – one of the post deadly forms of the disease.
Diana recalled the moment that her family’s life was changed forever as the doctor revealed the devastating diagnosis.
“The world stopped. At least mine did. His did. People rushed by doing their jobs, talking about what they were doing that weekend, yet my eyes were fixed on the doctor in front of me who was explaining what was happening. Her lips were moving, but everything was in slow motion. Sounds were coming out of her mouth. I assume they were words, but I can’t remember any of them,” she wrote at Love What Matters.
Just 18-months later, Chad died. The Diana’s grief was almost unbearable. The tears flowed, and the overwhelming state of emotion and heartache failed to subside. Diana explained how she would find certain places to cry freely. “Parking lots became my go-to place,” she detailed. “Big shopping centers worked best because the other people who were there were busy. They were on a mission to get inside or get out and get home, and not usually super interested in the girl sitting in the car screaming into her steering wheel.”
Then, one day she was out getting coffee when a small act of kindness and compassion changed absolutely everything. “I was stuck in the coffee line,” Diana explained to Love What Matters. She was feeling terrible and was completely overwhelmed with grief. But instead of fleeing the situation, she decided to pick up her coffee. That’s when a young barista noticed that Diana was in a terrible way.
“She took one look at me and saw how disheveled I was and said nothing. She just handed me my drink. A drink I didn’t order because I couldn’t even muster the words, but a drink she would know I wanted,” Register explained.
“I tried to smile when I took it from her and drove away and finished my call. By this time, I had pulled into a parking stall and was trying to regain my composure. I reached for my iced coffee, and when I looked down in the cup holder, I saw it. A pink straw, and the words “We love you” written around it. Ugly crying again.”
It was a small and simple act of compassion, and one that didn’t cost much – but it meant a huge amount. “This girl barely knew me. I don’t even think at the time she knew my story. All she knew was that at that moment, I was hurting. She couldn’t fix it. We couldn’t talk about it. She couldn’t hug me. So she used the only tool she had in that instance – a pen, and a pink straw,” Diana explained.
“This girl barely knew me. I don’t even think at the time she knew my story. All she knew was that at that moment, I was hurting. She couldn’t fix it. We couldn’t talk about it. She couldn’t hug me. So she used the only tool she had in that instance – a pen, and a pink straw.”
Read the full story here.