I’m Jennifer -I’m 50 —- I was diagnosed February 2023 —- I am a Type 1 Diabetic, I have Lynch Syndrome but I’m generally healthy—- I’m a nurse and a fitness instructor so here is my small story about the turmoil I had of “ringing the bell “.
The Arby’s Bell
I rang it! That bell that hangs on the wall at Arby’s with the plaque that reads “If your service was great, please ring the bell. Thank you for thinking Arby’s.”
When I rang the bell, one of the workers said, “Thank you for ringing the bell and have a blessed day.”
Had she only known the real reason I rang that bell.
When I walked into Arby’s a couple of weeks ago, I walked in knowing I was now cancer-free. Over the past months, I had completed a round of radiation (25 treatments), a round of chemo, and 5 infusions, and had also completed a week’s stay in the hospital at Cleveland Clinic for a specialized round of radiation. And as of this day, I’m recovering from a precautionary radical hysterectomy to keep the cancer from returning.
I completed my treatments at Holzer Center for Cancer Care, where I received excellent care. And while I thought I was tough and able to take it, it took everything in me to fight the fight! But still, I felt so lucky, because I didn’t feel like my fight was as rough as what some other people had been through.
Every day, I went to treatment and saw people who just broke my heart. People who were pale, sad, hairless, broken, and sometimes hopeless, all fighting for their lives.
When you finish treatments, you’re supposed to ring a bell. But how could I ring that bell, if I didn’t have to fight as hard as the other people in that room? How could I ring that bell in front of them? And how could I ring a bell not knowing, at that point, if the treatments had even worked? Why would I ring a bell signaling I was done with treatment, not knowing what was ahead. I left the clinic without ringing the bell.
I couldn’t! I just couldn’t!
Because I’m so grateful that I ended this fight in fair condition. I still have most of my hair. I’d lost a ton of weight, and I’m still skin and bones. I feel so weak. But all of that’s fixable. All of my side effects are fixable with time.
I went on, saying to myself that I was not gonna ring that bell.
But when I stood in that Arby’s line, waiting for my order, I looked over and saw the bell. I read the inscription on the plaque, and something washed over me. I was cancer-free. I was standing in that nearly empty restaurant—just me and the workers—and it hit me.
I was cancer-free.
Through it all, I had received great service. From God!
I walked over and this time, I RANG THAT BELL! I rang it because I had prayed for all of my treatments to work. I had prayed we made all the right decisions. I had prayed everything would just fall into place.
I had prayed for all of it as a cancer patient.
I rang that bell, not in celebration, but in gratitude for the service I received from God.
So, if you’re like me and you’re fighting that fight, then don’t hesitate when it’s time to ring that bell. Ring it with joy. Ring it with gratitude. Ring it in celebration.
Ring the bell.