A young physician's journey of recovery from surviving breast cancer to coping with the traumatic stress of providing front line care during the COVID pandemic
Read Tears and Unexpected Setbacks Part 1 here. I awake with a start. Like most mornings “Ouch!” is the first word that crosses my mind. The sun is filtering grey early morning light through the bedroom shades. I must have tweaked my broken hand in my sleep. It is already throbbing. It has been more …
This evening I sit on the beach watching the waves crash against the shore. My Aussie leans her weight against me. Her ears twitch as she eyes the sandpipers dashing through the waves in front of us. The sun slowly sinks behind me as the sky turns a soft pink. This is the “magical hour” …
This morning I am laying on the couch staring out the window at a gorgeous summer day. A light breeze rustles the palms. The sun is shining, the sky is blue. It is a perfect day for a picnic or trip to the park. I, however, roll over and groan struggling to scrape together the …
This morning I walk on the beach but I am not on vacation. I am here to say goodbye to a place I have known and loved since childhood which within three months will be sold and gone forever. I can not say I am happy about this, it is just one more loss on …
Today started peacefully enough, a walk at sunrise, some work in the garden. My mind was quiet as I carefully set up a new solar watering system for the tomato plants. The birds were singing. A light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. A few butterflies flitted and floated through the yard. I was …
Dear cancer fighter, I think about you often. I wonder if you are out there thinking about me. Life has been hard for you and I and it has been very unfair. While the world turns normally for everyone else, we are fighting for our lives. We are picking up broken pieces. We are struggling …
It is foggy this morning. It is a Sunday so I will be one of the only walkers this early. I pass the Sunday morning gathering outside of the church pantry. Times are hard, many people gather to receive food staples. The skyscrapers of downtown disappear into misty clouds. The bay is calm and glassy. …
Living through cancer is hard. I mean really hard. The kind of hard where some days you deserve a medal for even waking up in the morning. But I made it through that. And here I am. I’m considered, at least for now, cancer free. I was lucky. I didn’t have to go through chemo …