Fred Hutch I check in. Very dim lighting. Not harsh, comforting. I look around at all the cancer patients, some with hair, some without. Some walking around with a mobile IV. I recognized that I was in a special world of sick people, just sick people and their companions, and I wondered whether or not […]
Critical Second Opinions The lymph node biopsy was another easy procedure. I had general anesthesia. And because it was so easy with only a small incision in my groin, I decided I was fine to get back to my busy routines. Which I did, full force. After one week of acting as though I hadn’t […]
The L–O–N–G Diagnostic Phase I’m glad that my personal physician is sharp and attentive. I only see her once a year because I never get sick. But when she saw my complete blood count (CBC) in August, she called in the calvary. She got me in to see a hematologist as soon as possible, and […]
We are on a journey, our life journey, and ultimately we’re all walking each other home. That’s one of the well-known songs written by Kate Munger (lyrics by Ram Dass) at Threshold Choir. Singing with the Stanwood chapter of this choir, Heart Songs, for about eight years, I’ve enjoyed giving comfort to these people at […]
I want to feel myself part of things, of the great drift and swirl; not cut off, missing things… Joanna Field In 2006 my partner, Gene, and I went to my fortieth high school reunion. This was in a town where appearances mattered above all else, where I’d learned growing up that how I […]
For many of us, writing is a journey of self-discovery, full of delights and surprises. I never set out to write a memoir. I had no plan or outline, no clear beginning and an unknown conclusion. It just became one along the way. Eight years ago, I had just discovered that my daughter was a […]
