My hematologist told a story about one of her patients suffering from an incurable blood cancer. To her surprise, he was incredibly cheerful when she met him – so cheerful, in fact, that she wondered if he understood the gravity of his situation.
His cancer had led to a deterioration of his bones, causing the vertebrae in his neck to collapse. When he walked into the hematologist's office, he was wearing a large neck brace to keep his head immobile. His only hope of survival was a bone marrow transplant – a procedure that involves life-threatening risk and a long, delicate recovery process.
He understood the gravity of his disease and he understood the risks of the transplant. But he refused to let it cloud his naturally cheerful disposition. He chose to continue laughing and finding joy in life.
In a challenging situation like this, it would be easy to get discouraged and feel like the light has disappeared from our lives. But it’s good to remember that even when the sun is hidden behind a thick growth of trees, its light continues to shine.
As the yogi Choa Kok Sui said, “The Light is always there. How much light comes to you depends on you.”
Facing my own bout with an incurable form of blood cancer, I'm committed to focusing on the light: that source of love and goodness which has no beginning and has no end. I'm committed to optimism. I find inspiration all around me, including the patient in the neck brace who was so cheerful that the hematologist at first suspected he didn’t grasp the seriousness of his disease.
How did his story turn out? On the day of his bone marrow transplant he remained as upbeat as ever, telling the medical team gathered around him that “Today is my second birthday!” And he was right. The transplant was a success, giving him hope of spending many more years basking in the light that's always there.
Photographer’s Footnote: This photo is part of a series I shot during a recent one-hour walk in Freedom Park near our house in Charlotte.
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