New Look . . . New View

I’d like to share some personal news that may be surprising to some, but hopefully inspiring to all.   

In 2020, I received a shocking health diagnosis: aggressive (triple negative), advanced staged (3C), breast cancer. It changed everything.

The treatment plan since has been extensive: five months of intravenous chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy, one month of radiation, as well as an oral chemo program all while coping with added anxieties from the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic. My treatment process has been a challenge, but the opportunity to do what I love… for those I love… through it all was and remains a blessing.

There were obvious physical changes from treatment, but the greatest difference is least visible—the filter with which I view life—my perspective. I have been amazed with what I have seen during my journey:

·  Angels on earth in the treatment centers and doctors’ offices as well as in the infusion chairs next to me.

·  Love as a verb. Personified by coworkers and clients, friends and family.

·  Power in vulnerability, and the impotence of pride.

·  Beauty in the details of the day—each day.

·  Tears redeemed with hope.

·  Some prayers answered, some not, and maybe some yet to be.

·  The value of “being where my feet are”.

·  Strength from surrender; gain from loss.

While I may look different, I am thankful to see differently too.

Today, I feel strong and am one day closer to being cancer free.

Treatment results have exceeded expectations, recovery has outpaced timelines and the prognosis is promising. I am humbled to be the beneficiary of a grace and healing that I do not understand, and prayerful for the courage and opportunity to be worthy of those gifts through service to others. I believe the best is yet to come and includes more than just surviving, but also thriving.