Yesterday the world celebrated International Cancer Day. This day certainly brings up a slew of emotions for me. This year as I reflected upon all the marvelous blessings and challenges of cancer and the remarkable miracle of my survivorship, my thoughts especially turned to the tireless efforts of caregivers. A cancer battle requires a great deal of the one diagnosed but I believe the real battle is fought by the caregivers. I was blessed with incomparable care. My family, my friends, my physicians, and even strangers were the triumphant, faithful, hopeful, selfless stalwarts who bore me up. Though I unequivocally credit God with the preservation of my life, I credit my support system with my survivorship. They were the victors of my fight. Every caretaker in my life made a profound impact and taught me something valuable and precious. Here are just a few examples.
During my cancer battle my mother taught me PATIENCE. My mom attended every one of my appointments. She drove with me across the country to live in Texas for two months with virtual strangers in order for me to receive needed treatment. She sat with me in the waiting room for two hours every afternoon before I went in for treatment, she waited an additional hour beyond that while I was treated. She endured my mood swings and even somehow lived through the two weeks I was prescribed steroids to control the swelling… She has made 1 to 2 trips to Texas every year since for my follow up appointments and has seen me through every subsequent side effect. I would estimate my mother has attended over 100 doctor appointments for me over the course of the past six years.
During my cancer battle my oncologist taught my INGENUITY. She was on the forefront of her field and specialty. She was innovative and pushed for continuing to develop and research a treatment that would eventually save countless lives. She took special care to tweak and perfect my treatment plan. She made adjustments in order to best care for me. She taught me the importance of continually following your passion, perfecting your craft, asking new questions and continuing to work toward contributing all one could to alleviating the sorrows of others. (Her influence made up almost half of my personal statement for my Harvard application.)
During my cancer battle my sister in law taught me SERVICE. At the time my sister in law was not yet my sister in law. She and my brother weren't even engaged at the time. However, when I completed my treatment I was so physically exhausted I was not able to make the drive with my mom home from Texas. As my mother was also exhausted my sister in law flew to Texas and drove my mother home. Can you imagine taking a cross country road trip with your future mother in law? My mother also happened to be one of my sister in law's former professors… My mother is one of the most lovely people I know and a wonderful driving companion but I am still in awe that my sister in law would have taken on such a task, especially when she was still the girlfriend!
After my cancer battle my eye doctor taught me LISTENING. My eye doctor has dedicated 6 years to saving my eye after radiation ravaged it. I always marvel that whenever I am in his office he will always sit back, listen and think before preceding with any sort of treatment. He will often make decisions based on his intuition, explaining he just has a feeling about certain things in specific moments. Sometimes when at an appointment he will say something to me along the lines of "I was thinking about you last Tuesday around 3, was something going on?" Without fail, I will have been encountering some kind of challenge (often relating to my eye) in the very moment he recalls having thought of me. He has given me his cell number in case I ever need anything. Over the summer when I got a terrible infection he would see me every single day including Saturdays and Sundays until he was sure I was out of the woods. He didn't charge me.
These are only a few examples of the extraordinary service rendered to me. Regardless of whether one encounters illness, tragedy or hardship, we are all surrounded by caretakers. It is crucial to take frequent inventory of what caretakers contribute to our life.
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