It’s funny, isn’t it, how some places keep showing up in your life at interesting times?
One such place for me is Thorek Hospital, a small urban hospital in the near north Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Lakeview is a very diverse, very interesting,
area that has seen, and will someday see, better days. I first encountered Thorek during my tenure with Adria Laboratories.
Adria was the first drug company I worked for. They were building their sales force in anticipation of the introduction of a ‘revolutionary’ non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for pain and arthritis. Several companies, including Eli Lilly, were in a race to bring the first of this new class of miracle drugs to market, and Adria was an unlikely owner of one candidate wending its way through the FDA.
Adria’s flagship product at the time was a chemotherapy agent called Adriamycin. But, as part of the sales force expansion, I was hired to sell a laughable lineup of “drugs”. The main product was a slow release potassium supplement named “KAON-CL 10”. Potassium supplements were used primarily to offset potassium depletion associated with the use of diuretics to lower blood pressure. KAON CL-10. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? And our main competitors had well-entrenched, simple, descriptive, easily-remembered names like “K-Tab” and “Slow-K”. I also carried a prescription strength laxative, a magnesium-based aspirin product, and a topical analgesic cream (a sort of aspirin in a cream, more commonly referred to by our sales team as ‘placebo cream’). Stop laughing.
Now rounding out this stellar lineup was a bowel evacuant kit called Evak-Q-Kwik. Please stop laughing. This kit was guaranteed to leave your bowel shiny and clean for any procedure that might require it, including colonoscopies and many surgeries. (for the curious among you I will tell you that it included a pint of magnesium citrate, two stimulant laxative tablets and an effervescent suppository…overkill to be sure). Our bonus system was juiced around Evak-Q-Kwik so I spent some time trying to sell it into the radiology departments of hospitals, and Thorek (this is a story about Thorek) was the first hospital account I landed. As part of the sell-in process, I ran in-services with nursing staff and pharmacy to educate them on the product, and how and when to administer this assault. I had to do presentations to each shift in order to catch all staff.
So it was that I found myself finishing the graveyard shift presentation and walking out to my car parked in the street in front of Thorek Hospital at 3:00 in the morning. Understandably concerned about the neighborhood, I peered out the side door of the hospital, checked the situation, then stepped out into the dark night. Sure enough, before hitting the street, I hear a hushed but urgent: “Hey, Hey, you! Hold on!” and look back to see a young man running my way carrying a large bag. I quicken my pace toward my car, recognizing that I’ll never reach it before getting mugged by this thug. As he gets closer he says:
Hey, wanna buy a suit? Wanna buy a suit?!
Me: What!?
A suit! Wanna buy a suit?
No, I don’t wanna buy a suit.
C’mon, it’s a good suit. What size are you?
What size am I? Don’t be ridiculous.
No, really, (and begins to unzip the garment bag he is carrying). What size are you?
Now I have him. At that time I was a perfect 37 short, an all but impossible size to find in stores. So I tell him: 37 short.
He pulls out a brand new charcoal grey suit with understated white pinstriping, looks at the label and exclaims: “37 Short; Perfect!”
More than dubious, I look at the suit, check the arm label, the coat label, and the pants label. Impossibly, they all read 37 Short. How could this be?!
He says “Got a hundred dollars?”
No, I don’t have 100 dollars. I have to go home.
What do you got?
I told him I have 40 dollars but he doesn’t believe me. He sees me well dressed in a suit and thinks I have more money. I reluctantly take out my wallet, half expecting that he’ll just steal the whole thing, but I show him what I have and he says… “I’ll take it.” I give him my $40, he gives me the suit along with the carrier and disappears down an alley.
So not only did I not get mugged, but I must tell you that to this day, that was the best damn suit I have ever owned. I don’t even want to think about where it came from.
BELLA UPDATE
Following diagnosis, it was explained to 8-year-old Bella that she was now in a battle against cancer. She quickly became a Warrior Princess and often channeled Wonder Woman, even dressing up as her alter ego. Of course, the release of the Wonder Woman movie a year or so ago helped bring the superhero back into popular culture. Critics and the public gave the movie rave reviews. Gal Godot, who played Wonder Woman, turned out to be charismatic, accessible and a positive role model on and off screen. She also became a popular guest on many TV talk shows, charming millions of fans.
Fast forward to late January when a regional newspaper called the Northwest Indiana Times published this story about Bella and her family:
It turns out that somehow, some way Gal Godot got wind of NWI Times article and learned of Bella’s battle and her admiration of Wonder Woman. Amazingly, she arranged to send her this sweet, positive video message.
While news outlets are eager to reveal the latest shortcomings of those in the public eye, this is an example of someone taking the time to use her situation to make a positive contribution in a little girl’s life. Personally, I wasn’t enamored by the Wonder Woman movie, disappointed even, but Gal Godot is easily my new favorite actress.
So Bella’s battle continues.
After 5 initial rounds of powerful chemotherapy, surgery to remove tumors, another round of chemo before a Stem Cell transplant, 3 weeks in the hospital and 1 week at Ronald McDonald House, this week she goes in for another 4 day round of chemo before her second Stem Cell transplant and at least another month in the hospital. And this does not even mention the numerous return visits to the doctor and hospital due to side effects and complications thus far. And there will be more work to be done. Still, Bella is channeling Wonder Woman, battling hard and winning. I want to thank those who are supporting her with your thoughts and prayers. And ask consideration to include her amazing parents Mike and Brandy who’ve been charged with executing the battle plan while balancing the needs of the family, the physical demands of the plan, and their own deep emotions. Brandy periodically makes journal entries on a site called CaringBridge to keep folks up to date on the battle. I am including a part of her last entry which gives insight into what it is like to lead the charge against this evil disease.
Being home for myself has given me more time to reflect. I try in my head to keep pushing forward and stay the course. Onward always. Each day forward is another day of treatment done. We are winning. She is getting better. So onward we go. Always onward. Along with all the constant prayers and support we have received, that is what I tell myself every day to keep getting through. When we received Bella’s diagnosis last July, it felt like a bomb hit our family. It felt like an explosion that just blew us all up in the air. I honestly feel like Mike, myself, Bella, Viviana and little Siena have been suspended in the air ever since and are floating together, yet separately, all the while trying to hold on to each other and keep together. Like confetti floating in the air, but in slow motion. We are together, but constantly physically separated. We come back together for a short time but then off in another direction further away from each other. I just keep telling myself and everyone to hold on, we can get through this. We will come back down and when we do, we will come down TOGETHER. We will be different, we will be changed, but we will move forward and move forward together. Oh, and then I look at my daughter Bella and I think, well if she can do all of this with such courage and grace, I can push onward too.
I humbly ask once again to continue praying for our sweet girl, as I know for certain that is what is keeping her mentally and physically strong through everything. Both of which you must have, in order to do well through all of these treatments.
As you can see, there are many Super-Heroes involved here.
Let me be Frank... 
Thanks for sharing the update and it is so well written! We will continue to pray and lift Bella and her family through this difficult time.
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Thanks for sharing Frank. We are continuing to pray for Bella and her family.
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