WACO, Texas — Living with a debilitating disease is incredibly difficult. For cancer patients, treatment can be overwhelming. At one Central Texas hospital some four-legged friends make sure that even on the hardest days there is some sunshine.
The sound of laughter is not the first thing you'd expect to hear when you walk the halls of a hospital, but at least one day a week at the Baylor Scott and White McClinton Cancer Center in Waco, laughter fills the air.
It's all thanks to a group of therapy dogs with wagging tails and full smiles, bringing joy, one patient at a time.
Kristen Risinger has been battling cancer for several years and she said treatment can be exhausting, but this gives her something to look forward to.
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"I was so sick for so long that coming up to the cancer center was kind of my social event of the week, and you know, seeing those dogs and those handlers, those are my friends that I got to see," Risinger said.
Their names are Stella, Maggie, Sunny, and Maslow. They're part of the PUP Program made up entirely of volunteers.
Pam Kosarek, one of the volunteers, said it's exciting because her pup Maggie loves going to the hospital.
"Anybody that comes through the hospital doors and cancer center doors, we're here for them. Our pups are here for them," Kosarek said.
The program began in 2000 to bring some comfort to people who were facing unthinkable adversity.
Marti Koch said visiting the hospital is as much a blessing for her and her pup Sunny as it is for the patients.
"It just brings a little light into difficult times in people's lives. No one wants to be in the hospital, but sometimes you need to be," Koch said.
So many of the patients are in the fight for their lives, facing anxiety, doubt, and fear. For Cindy Lewis, the program allows her to take a break from all that, if only for a moment.
"When you have cancer your brain is always thinking, 'What if, what if, what if.' So it just kind of takes you a step back just to calm down and enjoy the little four-legged guys that come in here and are so eager to please," Lewis said.
In hospital rooms where disease can change you, shatter your confidence, and rob you of your pride, sometimes some unconditional love is exactly what the doctor ordered.
"They don't care what you look like. You could be bald or have hair, they don't care and they're still going to be lovable," Lewis said.
There are people from all walks of life at the hospital and every time the dogs visit, that unconditional love always shines through.
"You just forget your troubles for a minute and just get some little four-legged love," Lewis said.
Proving that even in the darkest of hours, there's always someone willing to show you some light.
"We've bonded, we love each other now, and that's just a nice pleasant surprise out of all of this," Risinger said.
Baylor Scott & White is always in need of volunteers. You can find various volunteer opportunities on their website.
You can also join the Cindy Lewis' Fight Like a Girl Fundraiser, which is raising money for a woman who is fighting ovarian cancer for a second time.
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