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December 15, 2007

A Personal Anniversary Post

Forgive me a personal post but I felt I needed to write this one. It's a special anniversary.

Ten years ago this week I was diagnosed with fairly severe cancer. I was excited about heading to Online International in London to give a speech and had an MRI for back pain the Friday before leaving. I was told to call my neurosurgeon right away and he told me to cancel my trip because he had to remove a huge tumour from inside my spine. He did so on Dec. 9 and a week later the results came back - non-Hodgkins lymphoma - about ten and half inches of it wrapped around my spine and ribcage.. So I set about the long trek of chemotherapy and radiation through 1998. My wife was told that the outlook was not too good and thankfully she never told me that for years. I learned to walk again. I made my cancer 'fun' for my young kids (we did whiteboard markers on my bald head). I actually never missed a day of work or an SLA meeting that I didn't cover with a vacation day. I survived.

On the 10th anniversary of my MRI I gave that speech at Online International in London. Life does go in circles.

I won't bore you with the details here. It was a pre-blog era so I sent e-mail letters to a wide group of friends and colleagues. It was therapeutic for me and I enjoyed writing them every time I had an event such as an appointment, chemo or radiation treatment. These letters still exist on the web and you're free to read them here. They're called: Stephen's Most Excellent Cancer Adventure... . It is a series of 10 letters. If I had to do this today it would be a blog but e-mail was state-of-the-art in 98. I am grateful that this SLA chapter has archived the letters and they tell me they're still one of the more popular pages on their site. I hear other cancer sites link to my story. I hope it helps folks.

Anyway, here we are in the holiday season and it's always a time for reflection for me. Every year has its ups and downs. This year was no exception. When you hear you have cancer you have a choice of how to react. I chose to be positive, open and keep working. It worked for me. Today I am ten years cancer free. I visit my oncologists regularly and get regular X-rays, blood tests and MRI's. So far every one of them is clean and my doctors tell me I am cured. I like to believe them. I talk openly about my experience since I often discover folks who need to talk. That's a gift to me.

Anyway, this time of year is my Thanksgiving. I am thankful every day for:

1. My wife, Stephanie. She puts up with more than her share being married to me. Without her I would be nothing. After almost 36 years together I can't imagine any other life.
2. My kids. Zachary and Sydney are the best son and daughter I could ever have. I learn so much from them. At 22 and 19 they seem almost 'done' and with so much more to do. I get excited for them. They're both home for the holidays. Yay.
3. My friends and family. I have many friends and love them all. Some are so close that I feel like they're family. I couldn't survive without their support and friendship. I don't see them enough.
4. My colleagues. I have so many good relationships with the people I meet at work and through work. My great colleagues I meet and get to know through my volunteer work and associations are awesome. From them I find inspiration and a connection to a passion for libraries that has sustained me for my entire career.
5. My passion for libraries and librarianship. I can't imagine a better career. I love meeting my colleagues and I especially love teaching new library students, meeting library users and sharing that passion with others. Together we are great and brimming with potential.
6. Writing and Speaking. I told a friend once who was considering stopping writing that you can't take the writing from the writer. It will damage you more than you know. I am glad he didn't stop and found other ways to rebalance his life. I need to write. I am driven to speak. This blog is just one way I let the steam out of the kettle. I am thankful for this and readers.

Anyway, forgive me a highly personal post. I am a pretty open person so blogging this just seemed natural and it has been written in the air for months as I approached this anniversary.

From me to you I hope that you know joy. May all the wishes of the season come true for you. We are a profession that shares. When we make choices about what to do, what to say and what to feel, we must make those choices positively. I know. I faced a challenge and won. Even if I had not won the battle over these past ten years, I know I've lived my life with passion and a modest attempt to make a positive difference. I chose to. 2008 will bring us new challenges and new choices. I hope to approach them with with a positive attitude.

Either way we put up the tree today. We're going to a few parties. We having family over a few times for dinner. Tis the season to remember that we are all gifted with time and a choice of how to use it. I hope your wishes come true.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year.

Stephen

Posted by test.user at December 15, 2007 9:56 AM

Comments

Posted by: Meredith at December 15, 2007 2:59 PM

Posted by: Linda the Ozlibrarian at December 15, 2007 10:39 PM

Posted by: Carolyn Foote at December 16, 2007 8:53 AM

Posted by: Dennis Richards at December 16, 2007 9:25 AM

Posted by: lemon at December 16, 2007 9:04 PM

Posted by: Meg Kribble at December 17, 2007 12:53 PM

Posted by: Juanita at December 17, 2007 12:58 PM

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Posted by: Michael Stephens at December 18, 2007 7:59 AM

Posted by: Lynne Post at December 19, 2007 11:37 AM

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