I found this piece of writing to be exceptionally difficult to read. I had to keep putting it down and picking it up because the author was doing such a great job at describing what she was feeling while her mother was going through this. To be honest, I am going through something very similar with my mother as well. She just had a surgery to remove a lump in her breast the doctors described as a borderline phyllodes tumor. Basically, the tumor she had was both benign and malignant. My mom is very confident that they have fixed her. But, As I know so much about health care and the anatomy and physiology of cancer, I am not as confident. I am proud that the doctors were able to soothe my mother, as often she overthinks her many illnesses. But, as Cheryl Strayed demonstrated, the doctors are often not that concerned about calming the people down around the situation, the people most closely related to these tragedies. The author eventually turned to heroin as a form of release from these emotions no one was able to calm, but where will I go? I feel unprepared to be able to take this burden with me; the doctors may have saved my mom, but they failed me.
I’m so sorry to hear about your mom’s illness. I think you bring up a great point here about the burden loved ones carry. I’m wondering what the doctors could have done to help you feel better about what happened? What can we do as healthcare workers to help family members cope?