Humanity: Raw & Unfiltered
We stood over you with the dropper of oxycodone, trying to get it in the tiny pocket inside your cheek, the three of us, like The Witches of Eastwick, but a lot less funny. Your jaw was clenched tight like a clam because you were about to die, only we Read more
I knew the problem was serious when Greg could not muster the energy to get himself to the ice cream shop at the end of the street. This daily expedition had become his afternoon treat to cool off from the summer heat. We were in Australia to spend Christmas with Read more
Oh the heavy feet that endless tread my threadbare weave, heavy hearts balanced on heavy feet, heavy thoughts filling hollow heads with dread when the nurse with a voice like a cheese grater calls out “Next”, and in you trudge to offer up your blood. Cancer, the teacher with a Read more
I danced with the wind last night watched bits of gold in the sky saw the leaves reflect purple in the pond sat in a tree and screeched with the owls watched slumbering children grimace as visions of ogres beset their dreams felt the bulbs beneath the earth struggle to Read more
My mother’s death was a shock at first. And then it was a relief. She was diagnosed with bone cancer on March 9, 2012. She died in the last minutes of March 21. How long she had had the bone cancer, her doctor would not suppose. What was known was Read more
Well, this is absolutely going to ruin my love of all things lemon, I thought as I held a lemon swab in my mom’s mouth for her. This seemingly benign, care-taking piece of her cancer meds pack. Fresh, sweet lemon scented the air for a moment, but for once in Read more
The word went out. No more surgeries. No more chemo. Send tributes, poems, drawings, photos, and prayers for the end of pain. Those who loved her best gathered around her bed on the mountain. Husband. Daughters. Sons. The women who would tend her for the days ahead. They told stories Read more
Life is hard, it’s even harder when you are diagnosed with a debilitating invisible illness. Once that diagnosis is given, it can feel like a life sentence. You start to work through a pattern of grief. At first, you are relieved to know that there’s a name for these symptoms Read more