nice story..nice man...written by a Jersey City resident!

Using His Wheels and Generous Spirit to Help Cancer Patients



OFFERING HIS TIME Earl Hart of Jersey City volunteers by driving people battling cancer to their appointments in New Jersey and New York.

By JENNIFER V. HUGHES
The New York Times
Published: December 26, 2008

EARLIER this month, Earl Hart spent about five hours driving a friend, Mita Shah, from her New Jersey home to several medical appointments in Queens.

Ms. Shah was successfully treated for breast cancer last year but needed to follow up with her doctor about pain in her side. She can?t drive, and her family is scattered across the country, unable to help her.

A year ago, Mr. Hart and Ms. Shah were strangers. The two were brought together through the American Cancer Society of New Jersey?s program Road to Recovery, which pairs drivers with cancer patients who need to get to treatments or doctor?s visits. When Ms. Shah needed radiation treatments in New York City last April, it was Mr. Hart who took her, five days a week for six weeks.

It?s easy to form a bond when you spend that much time together traversing the congested roadways of New Jersey and New York ? and one of you is battling a life-threatening illness.

?You can?t help but become friends and family after a while,? said Mr. Hart, 55. Ms. Shah was the first patient he helped. Now, two or three days a week, he drives people from Hudson, Union and Essex Counties to their appointments as far away as Long Island. ?I?ll take them wherever they need to go,? he said.

?I love it,? he said. ?It?s a service that people really need, and they really appreciate what you?re doing.?

About 175 people volunteer statewide, and last year they drove 461 patients, said Patti Allen, division director of patient and family services for the cancer group. With more than 46,000 people in New Jersey expected to receive a cancer diagnosis in 2009, the need is great.

?For many people, getting to the treatment is really giving them the chance for survival,? Mrs. Allen said.

Often patients need someone else to drive because they are too sick, she said. Many can?t rely on family members who work during the day. Some patients have to see far-off doctors because of insurance restrictions.

Mrs. Allen said she had heard of patients delaying treatment or failing to seek second opinions because of transportation problems. Many volunteers drive only locally, but Mr. Hart will take patients almost anywhere they need to go. Mr. Hart said one of the keys to his work was an optimistic attitude.

?I try to stay positive because the most important thing is to keep them upbeat,? he said.

On the morning of her doctor visit, Ms. Shah said she had always appreciated Mr. Hart?s sunny outlook.

?He?s very positive and gives me a lot of moral support,? she said. ?My whole family feels good because he can take care of me.?

Not long ago, Mr. Hart took a woman from New Jersey to her Manhattan doctor in the morning, returned to his home in Jersey City and picked her up in the afternoon. Sometimes he stays in the waiting room, reading. Some patients prefer to chat on the drive, others enjoy silence or soft music.

?I don?t ask a lot of questions,? he said. ?If they feel like talking, I?m there for them.?

Mr. Hart was forced to retire from Delta Airlines in 2005 because of knee problems. During his three decades there he worked a variety of jobs, including ticket agent, baggage handler and painter. Mr. Hart and his wife, Brendolyn, raised their five children in Jersey City.

For several years, Mr. Hart helped his wife with her volunteer work for the cancer society?s fund-raising walk. When he heard about the need for drivers, he was hooked. It was only after he had been driving cancer patients for a few months that it occurred to him there might be a thread between his volunteering and his mother?s death from breast cancer 30 years ago.

?I wasn?t really doing it for any other reason other than it is the right thing to do, but then I made the connection one day,? he said.

He recalled his mother as the kind of woman who sent leftover dinners to neighbors in the housing projects in Newark, where they grew up. One of her sayings was: ?Always think about what you can bring to the table, not what you can take away.?

?She always taught me to give back, and I kind of broke down and cried about it,? he said. ?She?d be proud of me. This is what she?d expect me to do.?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/nyr ... /new-jersey/28hartnj.html