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@mezzojo

My adult son lives with me, so he’s been taking me to the doctor’s appointments. Unfortunately, he is moving away for his job in a few weeks. I do have a network of friends who have pitched in as well. I was really touched at how many people rallied around me when I got my diagnosis.

Right now, I’m just waiting for my appointment on Friday to discuss the plan going forward. I was having some kind of heavy bleeding which unnerved me, but the doctor got me in right away and said everything was ok, and it was likely just from the stitches dissolving.

I’ve been handling things pretty well, but now that I’m feeling better physically, I’m worrying more about what’s coming. Even though I still have a couple of weeks left on my medical leave, I will probably log in to work from home for a couple of hours, just to give me something else to think about.

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Replies to "My adult son lives with me, so he’s been taking me to the doctor’s appointments. Unfortunately,..."

@mezzojo How nice for you that your son is living with you. Although he is moving away in a few weeks due to his employment it’s great that you have a friend network to rally around you. Isn’t it heartwarming and frankly amazing what our friends will do for us if we just let them know?

I want to reassure you that worry is normal under these circumstances. Until I was in treatment I did the same even though I have learned mindfulness skills to lessen the worry. But it was still there. It still is.

Working remotely is a good plan. It’s isn’t helpful to “stew in worry” which is what I used to do thinking at the time that I had no choice on where my mind went. Now I realize that I can gently turn my mind back to the present and do activities that matter to me. I hope that working a few hours from home will do that for you as you await your next appointment.

Can you schedule time with friends while you wait? Maybe meet up with a friend for coffee or tea and decide ahead of time that while your friend may want to know about your health concerns that this won’t be the focus of your time together?