Survivor Response: A Time to Speak Truth

Longtermsurvivor 1

One of the hardest jobs a survivor will ever have—especially one who’s made it this far—is answering questions no one wants to ask. And we don’t get paid for it. We just carry it.

I’ll be brutally honest:I hate answering these questions.I hate it with a passion.Because there are no right answers.There’s only the truth you’ve earned through decades of survivorship.

Sixty years in, some call it a blessing. Others call it a curse.Because survivorship isn’t just living—it’s living with everything that came after.

Believe me, I’m happy to be alive.I’m happy to help.And I’ll do my best to do that right now.

But I know this may be hard to hear.

None of us know what our Father has intended.But this may be a time for your father to understand what he’s going through—To make preparations.To make peace.To tell the people he loves what they need to hear.

I’m not saying this is the end of the road.But this may be the place where the road widens.Where survivors learn that it’s better to finish the job we were put here for—To complete what we were intended to do.

Let me tell you something personal.

Two years ago, I was at the edge.I’d had a subdural hematoma and a stroke.I was coming out of a recovery center when the doctor said:“You have lung cancer. And kidney cancer.”

I only have one kidney.It took them two years to figure out what was going on.Before I got to the hospital, I was told I might bleed to death on the operating table.I knew it for a month.I didn’t tell my girlfriend.

She drove me to the hospital thinking it was a minor procedure.I walked into the operating room happy as a lark.The nurses couldn’t believe it.

One nurse pulled me aside.She said, “We need to talk. I spoke with your girlfriend. She doesn’t know what’s about to happen. You need to tell her—so she can make peace with you.”

I did.And that moment changed everything.

I know this may not answer your question.It may even complicate it.

But I want you to know:I will keep your family in my prayers.I will pray for your guidance and strength in this courageous moment—The one no one else wants to face.

May God bless you and keep you in His arms. Survivor Advocate | CSDH StewardTruth is timestamped. Legacy is teachable.