Daily Archives: September 9, 2018

A new day

I went to bed early last night because I was feeling depressed. Sleeping is generally one of the least harmful activities one can engage in while under the influence of overbearing sadness.

Depression is a funny thing. Never a welcome guest, it arrives unannounced, moves on in like it owns the place, and then proceeds to do whatever the hell it wants, including but not limited to, absolutely trashing everything.

Oy. And never a clue as to when it might decide to pick up and leave.

Well, I woke up on the same side of the bed as usual this morning and yet…something was different. By the time I got home from walking Lily and Kumo I realized that I was in a good mood.

Yeah. That was more like it.

Suddenly everything that felt like an overwhelming burden/impossiblity yesterday now looked a whole heck of a lot more like an opportunity today.

I got on my laptop and started cruising not just the classifieds but also websites for grants and residencies for artists and writers both. And as I did, I started to feel a wind in my sail. I can do this I said, and unlike yesterday, I wasn’t talking myself into anything. Nope. This was true affirmation, the can-do that is my usual MO. I am an overcomer. It’s not for nothing that ‘Adversity Expert’ is one of my tag lines on my current curriculum vitae.

Nope. Challenges are something I eat for breakfast. So let’s get back on track. 😉

So this is pretty fabulous

I want to share something wonderful with you. As a member of the ALKPositive group, I offered to start an Instagram page where photos and stories of ALK+ patients could be shared. I knew it would be special but I had no idea how special. Nor did I realize how moved I would feel as I transcribed these individual stories of suffering but also formidable grace and courage. So many beautiful faces. Almost all of them stage IV. Far too many of them young, including a number of women who were diagnosed either while pregnant or just after giving birth.

But what shines through the most? Love. Lots and lots of love. Please go to Instagram and check it out at alkpositiveworldwide. Follow us. If you are ALK+ (or if you have lost someone who was–this is intended to function as a memorial as well) and you’d like to be part of the wall, submit a photo to me as well the following information: Date of diagnosis, stage and age. And a brief statement about living with ALK+ lung cancer.

This is our opportunity to show the world the faces of lung cancer. Brave, beautiful, loving, living, finding ways to cope and always, always hoping.