By Back in 2015 I woke up one day to a very painful infected spot on my body. Having no clue where it came from or what caused the infection, I went to my doctor. He prescribed antibiotics and a topical ointment to deal with the pain. I was hoping that that would be the end of the infection once I finished my antibiotics. My hope was not to be. Over the next several months, I took several more rounds of antibiotics and went to a specialist. Despite all the tests and antibiotics where the infection came from to this day remains a mystery.
Eventually my specialist, who is a skilled surgeon, and I decided the best course of action would be to remove the infection through surgery. As tough as I am I do not like doctors and the idea of having surgery was not high on my to-do list. That said, by November of that year I was more than ready to be out of pain and done with endless doctor’s appointments. The surgery was a success. All the tests for cancer came back negative and for any serious infection did as well. To this day neither my general practitioner or my surgeon has any clue what caused the infection or what exactly it was.
Recovery was a slow process that made me frustrated because I wanted to get back to my normal life. I was struggling with all the feelings dealing with the infection for months had brought. Back then I often processed my feelings and gave everybody updates via social media. One such post got the attention of one of the ladies in my mom’s Bible study. She told mom that she thought I was struggling and might be suicidal. To say I was floored when mom mentioned it would be an understatement. I assured her I was not, and it was just me processing.
Unfortunately, I had been called suicidal before except this time I had the support of my chosen family in a way I did not when we were teenagers: my cell phone. My chosen family assured mom that I was indeed just processing, and I would be fine. Together got us through that experience as it has every other difficult experience we have ever faced. I am so thankful for my chosen family and the power of together every day they make me a better human. That experience reminded me of something I want to share with you all. It is more than okay to lean on the people that we love when we need them and allow them to lean on us when they need to. The only way we get through life well is together. I truly believe that.
