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When Life Gets In the Way
Sometimes life just sucks. At least that’s my conclusion after hearing recently from too many friends who are suffering various horrible things – health related, money related, death related, job related. And that’s just the friends who have shared their sucky situations. Some of those friends are patient advocates, and among them are some very difficult health situations – cancer, a brain tumor, a stroke, a car accident… sometimes affecting themselves, other times affecting a loved one – a spouse, a child, a parent. I’m stunned, floored, worried, and my biggest frustration is that there is not a darned thing I can do to help any of them except to think good thoughts for them. But then I get thinking more about their situations and I wonder…. are they prepared for what lies in front of them? I can almost guarantee they are not, and that they never even considered they would reach a point when they were not at the tops of their games, able to help clients and keep their practices growing. None of us ever expects to be faced with such debilitating hurdles; therefore we are rarely prepared to handle the consequences. What are we supposed to do when life gets in the way? I’ve been there. In 2004 I had a thriving marketing business, a panel of almost 100 clients. Then I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. At first, like everyone else, I was just stunned, frozen, totally unable to process the news of my diagnosis. As I was called upon to make life changing / saving personal decisions, I disregarded my clients for almost two weeks, cancelling meetings, not returning phone calls or emails. I couldn’t cope with my own situation much less help someone else. It was impossible. And I was healthy! (If you don’t understand how this could be, find more information here.) So I have to ask – if I, as a physically healthy person (despite my emotional devastation at the time) couldn’t cope – how can someone else cope, someone who is truly sick or upset about a loved one? Of…