MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022 - 26

Love Your Bones STRENGTH FROM WITHIN
Seeing these challenges firsthand as
a young lawyer/cancer patient is what
drove me to pursue my work in Washington,
DC, as an advocate for universal
healthcare and advancing services for
the disabled. As I previously mentioned,
the patient is sometimes a secondary
consideration in the development of a
treatment plan. I wanted to change that.
I had learned to advocate for myself
as a patient, granted that advocacy was
not always pleasant to witness. " When
you're sick and afraid of dying you will
do anything to stop it, even if you have
accepted it. All you want is hope. That's
what really keeps you going, and hope
is inspired by those who say they can
help you. The worst thing to happen is
when you know that someone can help
you and they won't. " (Take Me or Heal
Me: An Ultimatum from a Weary Heart)
If you have ever spent an hour on
the phone with a government agency,
you have a basic understanding of the
frustration that goes hand in hand with
bureaucracy. Imagine waiting four days
to speak to someone about joining a
clinical drug trial that might save your
life. Or waiting five whole weeks to see
the doctor in charge of approving your
inclusion in the clinical trial you desperately
need to save your life. Can you
grasp the devastation at learning the
trial is now closed? Or the hopelessness
at knowing the drug is approved but
your insurance doesn't cover its use?
Half your life expectancy. Gone.
It was experiences like these that
drove me to turn this hard-won knowledge,
stubbornness, and fierceness into
something good. I went to work on Capitol
Hill and became part of the committee
advocating for the Affordable
Care Act. Healthcare should be a right
in this country, not a luxury.
I also worked with the team of investigators
to uncover why insurance
company CEOs were earning tens of
millions in salaries and bonuses, but
their companies were denying claims.
Healthcare should be a fundamental
right in this country. The vast majority
of developed nations provide universal
healthcare to their citizens without
creating the doom-and-gloom prophecies
of opponents of such a program. A
26
MY LIFE MATTERS
SPRING 2022
nation like the United States should be
able to do the same.
Just as we must keep working as a
united country, keeping my own body
strong requires a daily regimen of exercise
and healthy eating to counteract
the calcium and vitamin loss caused
by the steroids and other treatments I
have undergone to save my life. I follow
a regular routine of tests for bone
density, heart and lung capacity, and I
am monitored for a recurrence of the
cancer. In addition to keeping my body
strong, I also need to keep my spirits
lifted, and I do that through my loving
family and my faith.
I could not have made it through the
many trials of cancer, chemo, radiation,
and experimental treatments without
the love and support of my family, especially
my amazing husband. Rocks
wish they could be this strong! They are
truly one of my greatest gifts.
On this journey to health and healing,
I have also been on a journey of faith.
Discovering my strength through a love
for and connection with God has given
me the hope I so desperately sought. My
book is titled Take Me or Heal Me: An
Ultimatum from a Weary Heart, which
has long been my prayer. What I learned
in this discovery of faith is that healing
is sometimes not what we expect or even
want. Life is not free from suffering or
injustice. Physically I may not be able
to run a marathon, but spiritually, I can
lift mountains. l
TAKE ME
OR HEAL ME:
AN ULTIMATUM FROM
A WEARY HEART
I have been on a journey of faith
and healing for the past 20 years,
battling cancer nine times (yes,
nine!), lung disease, and heart
failure.
Faith is not for the weak of heart
or spirit. It takes strength to
believe what you are experiencing-the
pain, the heartache, the
struggle-can have meaning in
your life. My journey has taken
me around the world and seen me
close to death more times than I
want to think about.
I don't think I have all the
answers, but I would like to share
with you what I have learned over
the last two decades. Maybe
it will help you find the right
questions to ask. What I hope,
however, is that it shows you that
you are not alone.
MEMOIR
AND
WORKBOOK
MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2022

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