“My daughter, Susan, was a brain tumor patient who passed away almost three months ago.  During the last year and a half of her life we made many trips into the hospital, as well as the Perelman Center, for various doctor visits, brain scans, chemotherapy, etc.  Susan loved Mr. Lee's chicken salad, served on top of a green salad, which she always pronounced the most fresh and delicious she ever had!  There were a few times Susan was with me when we visited Mr. Lee's cafe, which allowed him to meet her.  Most of the time, however, I would run over there to see if he had the chicken salad to take back to my daughter as she sat for chemotherapy.  There were quite a few times when he was out of that particular item, but when he saw me he would immediately ask how my daughter was, and then proceed to make her a fresh salad.  He would even throw in various fruit items because they were "healthy."  On December 23rd of last year we arrived for chemo and as soon as Susan was settled, I ran over to the cafe only to find Mr. Lee all packed up and ready to leave for the holiday.  When he saw me he put everything down to look through one of his bags and came up with the chicken salad!  He also threw in some fruit and would not take any money at all because the register was already closed.  I offered to give him money anyway, but he refused, saying he hoped we had a nice holiday.

It may seem like a small thing, but kindness like that, in the midst of dealing with such pain and trauma, touched me deeply, and I want to let everyone who reads this HUPdate to know of this caring and generous man.  I will never forget him.”