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Elizabeth Boronat and Rashi Grover
Rashi: I will never forget my first patient with ALL. This gentleman was working and taking care of his family. And all of a sudden one day, within a week's time, he was in the ICU and being told that he has a life-threatening illness. It blew me away. I remember going home to my mom and thinking, what do these people go through, this is so sad. It's sort of like somebody falling down a mountain and being hurt. And then now we're telling them they have to climb right back up. In the midst of all that, they're feeling terrible and they're terrified. And that's when I think I found my calling. I could be one of those people to hold their hand and get them back up the mountain.
Elizabeth: I met you when I was first diagnosed. You were my go-to person for every one of my concerns. And a lot of what I said to myself when I became ill was this is not going to define me and this is not going to defeat me.
Rashi: I remember when I saw you in the clinic for the first time and we could see that you were going to be OK because you have that positivity, you have that inner strength. And I've learned over the years that that's such a big, big component of how a patient does. I remember you talking about your little boys. How did you tell your children the first time?
Elizabeth: That I think was one of the hardest things that I had to endure while I was sick. When I first was diagnosed, I knew nothing about it. I was extremely sick. It was like a 24-hour turnaround time. One day I’m fatigued and turning kind of greenish to ending up at urgent care and rushed immediately to an ER to get blood. I had to think how to explain what mommy's going through to three little boys that are not understanding or processing what has happened.
I explained that mommy's gonna be gone for a bit. When I come back, I may not have hair, but I'm gonna be okay. I was in isolation a lot and the only time that I was able to see my sons, they spent about 15 minutes with me, which filled my heart, because I had not seen them in over three and a half weeks. It was good for them because they got to see that yeah, she's all right.
Rashi: Sometimes I feel that if cancer were a monster, we are defeating it to its inner core because of how much stronger people become. That keeps me going. Patients will tell us that we're their angels or we're helping them go through the most difficult time in their lives. But I feel it is the opposite. People like you have made me a better person. You've made me a stronger person. And when I see what you're going through and how strong you are, that reminds me every day to be thankful we have a special connection together.
Elizabeth: Absolutely. Without you, I would not be here.
