The Sound of Crickets

We decided to try attending a cancer support group. I thought it might be beneficial to meet a real live person dealing with the same things Wendy and I are. We found a group close to us through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that meets the second Wednesday of each month at Mission Oaks Hospital (associated with Good Samaritan Hospital) in Los Gatos. I called and talked with a lady in late August who informed us there was no need to register, we could just show up.

We left a little early tonight to give ourselves plenty of time. We got to the hospital about 30 minutes to spare. When we went inside we found it completely deserted. There was no one at the front desk, no one at information and no one walking in the halls. We didn't see any signs with information about any support group either.

Wendy and I tentatively searched for a human being for about 10 minutes before finally reaching behind the front desk for the phone and dialing security. A nice gentlemen came and met us in the lobby and said his best guess for a support group meeting was to try the second floor.

Up the elevator we went and finally found an open office with someone in it. She knew nothing about a support group meeting. As we headed back toward the elevator, essentially defeated, we were met by the security guard who told us another woman had shown up and that the meeting was in the library on the first floor.

By now it was five minutes till the meeting was supposed to start. Back down the elevator we went, down another deserted hallway and through the library doors to find... nothing. Nothing but books. No group, no social worker, nothing but books. We perused the books for 10 minutes, getting more frustrated as time passed. Finally, an older woman approached us and asked if we were there for the support group. She went on to tell us that this was the second time no one had shown up. She had tried to attend last month with the same result. We halfheartedly laughed about our bad luck and made our way back out to the car.

So if anyone in the Bay Area is looking to attend the Cancer Support Group at the Mission Oaks Hospital, don't bother. It's apparently defunct.

We're going to try a support group at Stanford in October that meets every second Tuesday of the month. It's a little further to drive but hopefully we get better results up there.