written by Beth Keathley
preparing for my future
Last November, I was in nursing school with aspirations of caring for oncology patients. My long-term goal was to return to my first love—caring for those in hospice. Graduation was around the corner and I was set to go on to the registered nurse program. No one or nothing was going to get in my way.
That is until the day after Thanksgiving when my doctor told me that my CT scan revealed a mass entangled amongst major blood vessels. I wasn’t sure I was hearing words correctly. The world slowed to a crawl, my knees turned to jelly, and I found myself walking around in a kind of dream. But reality kept coming at me hard. The biopsy confirmed that I had cancer.
In one life changing instant, I’d gone from caregiver to patient. But from that moment forward, I was determined to have a positive influence on my physical, spiritual, mental and emotional healing. Where I could, I would do my part. Where I could not, I would lay it at God’s feet.
the power of journaling
Through a totally unexpected twist of fate, a wonderful friend introduced me to CaringBridge, an emotional lifeline that provides a two-way flow of love and connects me to a heartfelt community of personal cheerleaders!
My journaling gives me a safe haven to share my innermost thoughts, and to my amazement and delight, awesome people return an outpouring of love and encouragement back through my site's guestbook. I don’t even know some of them!
inspiring and helping
A completely bewildering benefit of cancer is personal growth. It allows you to experience a heightened sense of life and ultimately, hold dear what is important. It's new for me, but I'm learning to intentionally participate in my life's purpose.
Each of you has your own powerful, personal story. You are special—whether you are a patient, caregiver or well wisher—and you can know first-hand the value of channeling love through CaringBridge. No matter what your circumstances, I believe that love is the most valuable gift you can ever hope to give or receive.
related information
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