My Heart to Heart Talk With Tonia

My Heart to Heart Talk With Tonia

After seeing my cancer doctor this past Monday, August 17, 2015, on my way out, I ran into my favorite phlebotomist, Tonia (who I have waxed eloquent twice before on this blog page), who I discovered was suffering from a hoarse voice which she attributed to secondhand smoking. I took her aside from the other women employees of the cancer center and I told Tonia that seeing her in this condition makes me want to rescue a beautiful damsel in distress and I told her of how I've had that deep longing since I was a young adolescent, seeing the beautiful actress Susan Hayward play the part of a wrongfully executed woman in the movie, "I Want To Live!".

I then told Tonia that there was something that I'm surprised that I didn't tell Tonia when I ran into her at Walmart several months earlier and I told her, "I guess it's because I was overcome by your aura," which made Tonia smile and laugh and quite obviously happy.  I told her that it was when I saw Dr. Bari about a year earlier and at the end of my examination, we were talking about Tonia and that Dr. Bari agreed with me that Tonia was very good at her job. I continued, "I told Dr. Bari that out of all of the women who I've ever met, that you (Tonia) are the most feminine......of them all. From Day #1, you've just exuded femininity."

Tonia gushed and smiled and twisted her body a little from side to side, obviously very pleased by my compliment and Tonia told me, "I'm just a Girlie Girl."

And I laughed and I told Tonia, "That's just about right."

A *Moment* That I Shared With My Special Phlebotomist

 Here is a followup story about my favorite phlebotomist, Tonia.



On February 9, 2015, I went in to the cancer center to give a sample of my blood one week before I saw my cancer doctor concerning my Stage 1 leukemia (CLL). My favorite phlebotomist, Tonia (who I ended my 2012 Christmas Letter with a very notable story about), took my blood this day and as I settled into my chair, I told her how I very much enjoyed running into her at Walmart a couple of months earlier and had a nice long visit with her. I then told Tonia, "I hope that you don't mind me saying this, but, and I know that you're always attractive, but that night at Walmart, you were particularly beautiful. I don't know if you remember how you had your eyes done that night, but your eyes were really deep!" And as I finished my sentence, my eyes gazed intently into Tonia's eyes (with Tonia looking down, hovering just over me) and we looked very intently into each other's eyes for several long seconds. After I looked away from Tonia's beautiful eyes, she told me rather sheepishly, "Oh, you're embarrassing me."

I also told her that it was very nice of her to initiate giving me a hug when we said our 'Goodbyes' at Walmart and that that was the most special hug (outside of my family, as I would later defensively explain to my daughter, Holly) that I had received in many years. I told Tonia, "You know, though, there was one 'downside' to that hug you gave me." Tonia laughed and replied, "Oh, what's that? Because I had to leave?"  I told her, "Yes, I had to let you go. You're right on it."