Chemo patient wearing hat asked to leave restaurant
"I was irritated. It was all I could do not to stand there and cry ... It was very embarrassing. It still kinda hurts," Rachel Bruno, a two-time cancer patient, tells WRTV, recalling her experience at a local entertainment restaurant Latitude 360 in Indianapolis.
She posted to her Facebook page, explaining what happened. "Staff stopped me and informed me of their 'no stocking cap policy'... I explained I'm a cancer patient & this is how I keep my head warm since I have no hair. He apologized & said it was policy."
Rachel Bruno told WRTV: "I keep my head covered just because I don't want to get cold, and that's the last thing a cancer patient wants, especially going through chemotherapy. You have a compromised immune system; you don't want to end up with a cold."
Bruno's sister Alicia Murray says, "At that point, my heart actually hurt for her. Because it's not her fault that she's had to deal with cancer a second time."
The majority of commenters on Bruno's Facebook post were incredibly angry about the incident, and ready to take action by boycotting, writing letters to corporate and even suggesting to shut the restaurant down.
A very similar incident to Bruno's happened to a man in Nashville back in 2013.
According to The Huffington Post, the post-chemo cancer patient wore a beanie into a steakhouse restaurant and was asked to leave because he violated the dress code.
Guests dining with the man tried to explain his condition to the workers, but they didn't budge. And because of social media, Nashville Scene reports the restaurant's reputation was ruined within about 48 hours.
With the Indianapolis incident, the restaurant quickly apologized to Bruno. The apology reads, in part:
"It is unfortunate that our door greeters and managers decided to enforce our dress code under your current condition. They have been spoken to and they know now that in special circumstances like yours that the dress code can be interpreted as to allow special considerations."
Bruno's outing was in celebration of the end of her chemo treatment.
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