Surviving
lung cancer is still about living. Yes, there are moments when I surrender to
the whole “he who must not be named” syndrome of Harry Potter and do not want
to even “say” or “hear” about the mathematics of surviving lung cancer. Yes,
there are moments I stare in disbelief at the confidence of friends expressed
in emails that “everything will be OK” while they themselves fade further away
in the real world.
Last
month I had written an entry called "fading red capes" in my blog about being a Multiple Sclerosis spouse
caregiver. In closing I had mused, why can’t life be
like a comic book? Where better to find that answer than 'Gotham', 'Metropolis' or as Google Maps labels it, New York City.
It was
time for a quest! I’m not sure about the whole bucket list thing especially only 10 months into my diagnosis. However, in Summer my
oncologist shared with me she gives all her patients regardless of
type of cancer or stage of cancer the same advice – live in today do not put
off life.
Accessorized
with my lung cancer survivor cap, I headed to New York Comic Con in search of a
superhero. I was not disappointed – thousands and thousands of superheroes
walked and talked.
.jpg "New York Comic Con 2012") |
| New York Comic Con 2012 |
I was 'man hugged' by Superman, high-fived by Spiderman, given a thumbs up by Batman and embraced
with positive reinforcement by everyone I interacted with … almost collided
with Kevin Bacon (the real one and a whole new variation on the Six Degrees of
Kevin Bacon) got a sketch made of myself by a graphic artist, talked with
artists, fans and even WWE Divas ... I had an absolute mesmerizing and
enjoyable day where for a moment in time the walls, screens, and pages that normally separate entertainment and reality simply do not exist.
Now don’t
get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t have confidence in thoracic surgeons and
oncologists but in the words of the King of Comics, Jack Kirby “… today we have
our superheroes. We believe in them because we believe in ourselves.”
Patrick Leer
BLOGS:
Caregivingly Yours, MS Caregiver @ http://caregivinglyyours.blogspot.com/
My Lung Cancer Odyssey @ http://lung-cancer-survivor.blogspot.com/
health
lung cancer
comic con
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