How a dog provides unconditional love and lessons in caring in the life of this stage 4 cancer patient.
PUBLISHED July 20, 2019
Martha lives in Illinois and was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in January 2015. She has a husband and three children, ranging in age from 12 to 18, a dog and a lizard.
Several years ago, during the early days of my life with cancer, my oldest daughter added me to a Facebook group that is all about dogs. There are no discussions about the best kind of care, alternative ways of training, or whether or not any one breed of dog is better than another. Instead there are a lot of pictures and an entire, adorable language built around the group members' lives with their dogs. There are calls to help with naming a new puppy and thoughts sent when anyone shares that their dog is ill or dying. Facebook being what it is, I soon found myself in a couple of other all-dogs, all-the-time groups and I wasn't complaining about it. In fact, I once joked that the only things I see on Facebook are dog posts and the posts of a friend of that same daughter.
I joked about it, but it was true. Early in my life with cancer, I "silenced" a lot of people, including friends and family members, because I was going through enough without having to hear their thoughts about my life, my care, my loss, my sadness.
I joked about it, but it was true. Early in my life with cancer, I "silenced" a lot of people, including friends and family members, because I was going through enough without having to hear their thoughts about my life, my care, my loss, my sadness.
No comments:
Post a Comment