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
“This is an interesting feeling,” I think to myself. My broken hand is floating suspended in a metal box while being gently massaged by warm air and therapy beads. My injured muscles ache after 30 minutes of range of motion exercises. This box therapy is designed to increase the blood flow to my damaged muscles …
It is a rainy Saturday evening. Thunder crashes nearby and heavy rain patters against the window. The constant white noise of the storm is relaxing and I find myself fighting the urge to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. Instead, these are the last few minutes of calm before the …
I open the car door and am struck with a wall of heat. Within seconds beads of sweat are forming on my forehead and between my shoulder blades. The beads of sweat collect and trace down my cleavage. This is the first summer I have had large breasts. It has been mere months since my …
Read Intimacy and Birth Control After Cancer: Part 1 here. This blog is about recovery. This is how I am finding my way back. Now comes the part that is more uncomfortable to talk about. It started slowly with a question. “What do you like?” he asked one evening after sipping a couple whiskies, perhaps …
Today I am marching more than walking. My walk flew by this morning. Lost in thought, I barely noticed my surroundings. My usual calm contemplations were replaced with unrest. I am thinking about recent developments in the world of women’s health and I am feeling much like a second class citizen. Today I am thinking …
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 is muggy and humid. Saharan dust has made its yearly pilgrimage across the ocean and suppressed our normal summer tropical systems. Our heat index is predicted to be 112 degrees today. At 8:30 in the morning I am already sweating. This morning as I walked the sidewalks of the neighborhood village, I came …
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 …