Thriving Past Cancer: Marine's Journey

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the after effects of cancer. There are no ands or ifs about it. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association (AADA) of America, PTSD is apparent when individuals “re-experience trauma through intrusive distressing recollections of an event, flashbacks, and nightmares.” I’m now four months out of my last chemo session and I still feel the effects of distress whenever anybody talks about cancer or the death of a mother, or the lonesome life a child will live after losing his/her parent. In last week’s blog I described how my middle school students wrote letters to the little nine-year-old boy named Jacob, who is dying of cancer. What I didn’t tell you is that I did not sleep much that week. I awoke with tremors every night, barely able to breath. But awareness of a malady and action to resolve the effects are two distinctly different beasts. So, I started researching. I wanted to know what the indicators of PTSD were so that I c...

Active or Passive. Since returning to work, I've felt pulled between actively jumping into situations or sitting back passively and letting waves crash where they may.  How much is too active? How much is not active enough?  What is the right balance? What if I get too invested and the cancer just comes back? What if I waste my life away because of my fears? Although in remission, doubts and questions have become my new companions.  The "AHA" didn't hit until this last Saturday. My hubby handed me his tablet and said, "Read." I found the following article about a nine year old boy named Jacob Thompson who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of four and is now facing his last days at 9. All he wants is to experience Christmas one more time. Something  in me actively awoke. I didn't think twice about it. I planned to set up a Christmas table the following day, sharing Jacob's story with middle schoolers. The result was inspiring and astoundin...