Until Further Notice

by Natalie Meysembourg

If you’ve ever experienced a catastrophic life event like cancer, death of a loved one, divorce or an accident, it is so important to deal with the emotional trauma that comes along with these events.  The way that I've learned to deal with this is through my writing.

“I remember being in the doctor’s office,” Eric begins.  “The oncologist and healthcare coordinator came in, and I knew it wasn't good by the look on their faces.  Ashley was holding Madelyn when we got the full cancer diagnosis.  They gave us the news, started talking about survivorship, and asking us all sorts of questions. 
 
“I remember thinking that I was going to be a single dad to a new baby.  I’m like, ‘how are you going to do that, Eric?’ 
 
“I got up, said I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to get out of the room.  But I also knew I couldn’t leave.  I’m standing there, and the next thing I know, I passed out.
 
“I wake up and nurses are checking my blood pressure and I’m saying, ‘Don’t worry about me - Ashley’s the one who’s sick.’  I’m looking over to her.  She comes over, holds my hand and says, ‘Live with no regrets.’  That was something my dad used to say.
 
“I knew that from that point on, whatever happened, everything was going to be okay.”