Prescription: Ice-Cream

Dude! You’re everywhere!

I stared at the text on my phone, confused. It was from a close friend of mine living in London.

What do you mean? I hurriedly texted back. I was out with friends and didn’t want to appear rude.

That thread on Twitter – It’s all over the news! Everyone’s talking about it!

At that moment, my phone started to vibrate. It didn’t stop for the next two hours. Texts and WhatsApps from family and friends asking if I was the author of a thread that was rapidly circling the globe; journalists trying to get in touch; members of the public reaching out; Twitter notifications that began as a river, but one that started to rapidly flood and soon quickly burst its banks. The more I tried to keep up the further I was falling behind. And then, quite suddenly, with more than fifty per cent of its battery remaining, my phone decided it had had enough and shut down. I exhaled. What the hell had just happened?

After collating all the kids’ thoughts I had collected over the past few months, I had decided earlier that day, rather randomly, to post them on the app formerly known as Twitter. At the time I had a modest following (around 2 000 followers), and most of my tweets received around ten ‘likes’ and two or three ‘retweets’. During my lunch break, I quickly composed a thread summarising what I had found. It went as follows:

Alastair McAlpine, MD @AlastairMcA30, 1 Feb. 2018

For an assignment, I asked some of my terminal paediatric palliative care patients what they had enjoyed in life, and what gave it meaning. Kids can be so wise, y’know. Here are some of the responses.

(Thread)

First:

NONE said they wished they’d watched more TV.

NONE said they should’ve spent more time on Facebook.

NONE said they enjoyed fighting with others.

NONE enjoyed hospital.

MANY mentioned their pets:

‘I love Rufus, his funny bark makes me laugh.’

‘I love when Ginny snuggles up to me at night and purrs.’ ‘I was happiest riding Jake on the beach.’

MANY mentioned their parents, often expressing worry or concern:

‘Hope Mum will be okay. She seems sad.’ ‘Dad mustn’t worry. He’ll see me again soon.’

‘God will take care of my mum and dad when I’m gone.’

ALL of them loved ice cream.

ALL of them loved books or being told stories, especially by their parents:

‘Harry Potter made me feel brave.’ ‘I love stories in space!’

‘I want to be a great detective like Sherlock Holmes when I’m better!’

Folks, read to your kids! They love it.

MANY wished they had spent less time worrying about what others thought of them and valued people who just treated them ‘normally’:

‘My real friends didn’t care when my hair fell out.’

‘Jane came to visit after the surgery and didn’t even notice the scar!’

MANY of them loved swimming, and the beach: ‘I made big sandcastles!’

‘Being in the sea with the waves was so exciting! My eyes didn’t even hurt!’

Almost ALL of them valued kindness above most other virtues: ‘My granny is so kind to me. She always makes me smile.’ ‘Jonny gave me half his sandwich when I didn’t eat mine. That was nice.’

‘I like it when that kind nurse is here. She’s gentle. And it hurts less.

Almost ALL of them loved people who made them laugh:

‘That magician is so silly! His pants fell down and I couldn’t stop laughing!’

‘My daddy pulls funny faces, which I just love!’ ‘The boy in the next bed farted! Hahaha!’ Laughter relieves pain.

Kids love their toys, and their superheroes:

‘My Princess Sophia doll is my favourite!’

‘I love Batman!’ (All the boys love Batman.) ‘I like cuddling my teddy.’

Finally, they ALL valued time with their family. Nothing was more important.

‘Mum and dad are the best!’

‘My sister always hugs me tight.’

‘No one loves me like mummy loves me!’

Take-home message:

Be kind. Read more books. Spend time with your family. Crack jokes. Go to the beach. Hug your dog. Tell that special person you love them.

These are the things these kids wished they could’ve done more. The rest is details.

Oh…and eat ice cream.

Want to read more? Find Prescription: Ice Cream by Alastair McAlpine at leading bookstores and online.