Starting the healing process is like letting out a sigh, a breath you’ve been holding for far too long. Healing is physical. It’s emotional. It’s spiritual. Healing takes time.
My mom’s mastectomy was a complete success. She practically bounded right back into the swing of things, but healing is far more than waiting for the stitches to be removed. Healing is more than a faint scar.
Now that chemo has begun I realize that sometimes healing is painful. Sometimes healing is hard. It is not the absence of pain, nor is it the absence of fear. It’s standing firm even in the face of suffering. It’s laughter as well as tears.
Sometimes healing can come in the form of a woolen cap, a hug, a tear, or a laugh. Healing is a process, not a destination and there is a long road between healing and healed. Chemo has just begun for my mom. I won’t lie and say the path ahead is not daunting. However, I know that my family and I will get through this. I know that there is a light at the end of this tunnel and I know that someday, perhaps in the not so distant future, my family and I will get to say “healed”, as opposed to “healing.”
