One of the scariest thoughts I had after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma was:
“I might be on a time limit here.”
I had a young daughter.
I had Googled my diagnosis looking for answers, and what I found scared me. I later learned that some of the survival information I had seen was outdated, but in that moment, the fear was very real.
Years later, I’m still here.
I recently sat down with Living Well Together: Big Life in a Small Town for one of the most personal conversations I’ve shared publicly.
We talked about multiple myeloma, months of chemotherapy, my stem cell transplant, fatherhood, a custody battle, anxiety and depression, writing my memoir Rise Anyway, and finding purpose after some of the hardest years of my life.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned through all of it:
There’s always a bounce-back period.
When you’re in a valley, it’s easy to convince yourself that the way life feels right now is the way it will always feel.
It isn’t.
There are still good days you haven’t experienced yet. Memories you haven’t made. Goals you haven’t reached. Versions of yourself you haven’t become.
The difficult parts of your story don’t get to decide how the whole story ends.
You can be scared and still move forward.
You can go through something that changes you and still build something meaningful afterward.
You can rise anyway.
If you watch the conversation, I’d love to know what part stood out to you.
And if you think someone else needs this message right now, feel free to reblog it.
