“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyse you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.”

- Bernice Johnson Reagon

I love this quote. It speaks to the struggle that we all face. To be human and to have a human experience undoubtedly includes the fact that sometimes things do not go the way we wished for or planned.

It is what we do in the face of adversity that is important.

It’s ok to be flattened by bad news. That is a totally normal response. No shame there. We are not talking about toxic positivity here. But how do we come to terms with a life changing diagnosis, how do we adjust and adapt, how do we integrate this new way of being into our lives while also never losing sight of what is most important. How do we not just maintain those important relationships and goals, but to also help them grow and become even more fulfilling and meaningful?

The Opportunity for a Better Illness Experience

Learning about and reflect on the following 7 keys for navigating a life-changing diagnosis can significantly influence your illness experience. Along the way you will:

• Learn about yourself and how to walk two roads

• Learn about perspective and illness trajectories - when it might be most beneficial to zoom in to the finer details or to zoom out for an overall picture

• Learn to recognise your own coping style so that you are able to feel more in control

• Reflect on what is most important to you, identify the areas of your life where you want to spend your precious time, energy and resources and what you will or won’t compromise to help you in your decision making

• Consider who is on your team, who you want on your team, what their strengths are and how to recruit them (and keep them) and to also understand how your illness journey might affect your loved ones

• Understand a little more about your health care system and don’t assume that information is shared between teams. In an ideal world this would happen, but often doesn’t. Who might help you to keep track of all the appointments, test results and so on?

• Learn how to ask great questions to get the information you need from health care professionals and anyone else involved in your care so that you and your family can make decisions that suit your particular set of values, beliefs and unique context

from The Waiting Room Revolution also check out their book Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest