Ten minutes of writing, ten minutes of editing — give it a try!

Dream, cancer, introduce, obstacle, parachute, point, scenario, horse, visit, block (courtesy of your friendly internet random word generator)

Non-Fiction

I want to be of service and of benefit with my hands, my heart, my humanity.

I believe no one should be left to fend for themselves while simply trying to survive an illness. A simple smile, a gentle touch, the slow circles of lotion on a crepe-skinned foot and calf, these are things that cost nothing to give, yet offer so much. To an oncology patient, bits of humanity that are stripped away with each treatment and the progression of their dis-ease can be returned with tiny moments of care and compassion.

I start my training in massage therapy for cancer patients next week. I have dreamt about this sort of work while still studying for my initial licensure. Too many people are blocked by unnecessary and easily removed obstacles from receiving care and compassion while in the trenches of illness warfare. The point of gentle, educated touch visits is to renew someone’s humanity, by introducing someone to your own, in a scenario where they are often left to cope in isolation – it’s a parachute opening in the last moments before you pass the point of no return.

My sister-in-law had a horse when she was growing up. She gushed about the love she had for it. She spoke about the secrets she would whisper in its ear, knowing it would never betray her confidence. I want to learn to be like that for these medically fragile patients – I want to be there if they need a repository, someplace safe to deposit things they can’t tell others on this step of their journey, in the moments when they mostly need just a gentle touch.