a different point of view

It's funny how things can change depending on your viewpoint. When I was at the car place yesterday paying for the new sensor thing I got, I had placed my book, Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology, on the table, and the guy working there was like, "Man, that's terrible", gesturing to my book. And I explained that, no, it's not terrible - kids are kids, and sick kids aren't so different from healthy kids in many ways. 

Driving home, I was talking to my grandmother and she was telling me about her lymphedema sleeve that she recently got. And I know she's very frustrated and disappointed about having lymphedema, which is totally understandable. She said, "I thought I would be one of the lucky ones. But I guess I wasn't." And I thought about it and said, "No, you are one of the lucky ones. Your cancer was caught early, it didn't metastasize to even the lymph nodes, your surgery was successful - you were, you ARE one of the lucky ones." And I'm not an overly optimistic Pollyanna, as many of you know - especially when it comes to health issues, sometimes I can be a little too blunt - but I honestly have come to look at things differently. I think in order to survive in oncology, I've had to do that.