With relish...
There was a good chunk of my life when the people I surrounded myself with were either dead or in the process of dying. When I was 19 I started working in a funeral home as a receptionist. At 21 I started volunteering with a non-profit hospice, left the funeral business and started working for the American Cancer Society. Not long after Robbie and I moved into our first home, I became the Volunteer Coordinator for the same hospice I had been a volunteer with.
I am extremely familiar with what happens to our bodies after we die, how stressful making funeral arrangements are for family members, how crazy people get when it's time to pay the bill for those funeral arrangements and how hard it is to say goodbye . I am also keenly aware of what kind of mess the center of a Stargazer Lily can make on black clothing and that there is an art to arranging the flowers around a casket (and unlike PhotoShop, this was a medium I excelled in).
I am also extremely familiar with what happens to our bodies when we are in the process of dying; the noises, the irritations, how crazy family members get when someone stops eating, and how hard it is to say goodbye. I am also keenly aware of the difference between a "good death" and a "bad death."
However, I cannot say I ever became extremely familiar with the actual process of fighting and overcoming cancer. You'd think I would have had more exposure to that working for the American Cancer Society, but let's face it, they are in the business of raising money to cure cancer. Very little time is spent sitting next to the one fighting it and listening to their story. I met plenty of cancer survivors with 5-40 years of cancer-freeness but I am sure I spent more time telling people not to smoke than actually listening to people talk about the side-effects of their chemo treatments. When I finally started to listen to people and their stories they were already in the process of accepting that they were going to die from their cancer. The process of treatment and cure was no longer the main topic. I learned so much, particularly how to listen and how important it is for people to have a chance to tell you what they need to tell you. Sometimes it is easy to hear and other times it's down right brutal.
When I read the email announcing Jennés' fight with cancer had begun her blog became part of my daily ritual. I am learning so much about the cancer fighting process and am continually amazed by her brutal honesty and wicked sense of humor. She has allowed others to tag along on the cancer ride, a nasty little roller-coaster you knew you had to find courage for, but vowed you never wanted to ride again. Yesterday was Jenné's last treatment and I have been thinking a lot about how overjoyed and relieved she must be to have made it to this moment. She also makes me think of all the many people I've known who did not survive cancer, but who also wrote their signature on my heart.
Congratulations Jenné on your final treatment and thanks for all of the posts, pictures and dedication to loving life and relishing in all of its' tiny details. Continued prayers for healing.
I am extremely familiar with what happens to our bodies after we die, how stressful making funeral arrangements are for family members, how crazy people get when it's time to pay the bill for those funeral arrangements and how hard it is to say goodbye . I am also keenly aware of what kind of mess the center of a Stargazer Lily can make on black clothing and that there is an art to arranging the flowers around a casket (and unlike PhotoShop, this was a medium I excelled in).
I am also extremely familiar with what happens to our bodies when we are in the process of dying; the noises, the irritations, how crazy family members get when someone stops eating, and how hard it is to say goodbye. I am also keenly aware of the difference between a "good death" and a "bad death."
However, I cannot say I ever became extremely familiar with the actual process of fighting and overcoming cancer. You'd think I would have had more exposure to that working for the American Cancer Society, but let's face it, they are in the business of raising money to cure cancer. Very little time is spent sitting next to the one fighting it and listening to their story. I met plenty of cancer survivors with 5-40 years of cancer-freeness but I am sure I spent more time telling people not to smoke than actually listening to people talk about the side-effects of their chemo treatments. When I finally started to listen to people and their stories they were already in the process of accepting that they were going to die from their cancer. The process of treatment and cure was no longer the main topic. I learned so much, particularly how to listen and how important it is for people to have a chance to tell you what they need to tell you. Sometimes it is easy to hear and other times it's down right brutal.
When I read the email announcing Jennés' fight with cancer had begun her blog became part of my daily ritual. I am learning so much about the cancer fighting process and am continually amazed by her brutal honesty and wicked sense of humor. She has allowed others to tag along on the cancer ride, a nasty little roller-coaster you knew you had to find courage for, but vowed you never wanted to ride again. Yesterday was Jenné's last treatment and I have been thinking a lot about how overjoyed and relieved she must be to have made it to this moment. She also makes me think of all the many people I've known who did not survive cancer, but who also wrote their signature on my heart.
Congratulations Jenné on your final treatment and thanks for all of the posts, pictures and dedication to loving life and relishing in all of its' tiny details. Continued prayers for healing.
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