Do you know what it feels like to be chosen?
When I was a small child, I usually wasn’t chosen first, second, or even third. My small stature and being a girl typically put me in the back of the line for the games played during recess.
As an adult, I worked hard as a special educator, but even so, was overlooked for the recognition that my colleagues received. So now, in my later life, I have finally been chosen
Last night, I attended a ceremony to recognize and rally behind all the others who, like me, have been chosen.
As I stood in the midst of the crowd, I felt a bond toward these strangers, many who are walking a path filled with pain, suffering, and the unknown. The main speaker with her two small children stood in front of the hundreds before her and shared how her journey hadn’t gone in the direction she had hoped. She asked the question everyone could relate to. “Why me? Why have I been chosen?”
With held back tears, the speaker praised the doctors and medical staff at Duke, emphasizing that they had become more than people wearing white coats; they had become her family.
As tears were wiped away, we walked outside to the lighting of the Tree of Hope, where the Duke Student Chorale were singing and my friend Ben Weast eloquently closed out the ceremony.
In ten days, I’ll have my surgery and hopefully will be cancer free. My journey isn’t over, but I can say without hesitation, the care I’ve received from everyone I’ve come in contact with has been exceptional. Thank you, Duke Cancer Center, for not only being competent but being compassionate!
