Then Something Very Profound Happened…

On March 22, 1996 I was diagnosed with Stage III, High Risk, Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  The prognosis was grim.  We visited UCLA for a second opinion, then Stanford for a third opinion.  The myriad of doctors didn’t agree on a course of treatment, but they did agree that the outlook was extremely poor.  My oncologist told us to prepare for the worst and estimated that even with aggressive treatment I would probably not be alive to see the New Year. 

What a blow.

We were faced with some very difficult decisions.  Medically we opted for aggressive chemo to begin treatment, followed by surgery, then radiation and chemo together, and then if I was still alive, more chemo.  With that decision behind us, we had to determine how we should spend our limited time together.  The decision was easy for me.  I “caught” that this new entity, called DrGreene.com, was impacting lives all around the world.  I also realized that if I died it would be very difficult for Alan to continue to provide his wisdom online.  We were (and still are) a team.  He wrote.  I created the world where his writing lives.  And in that world parents from around the globe find answers that empower them as advocates for their children’s health and development.  Without hesitation I asked Alan to spend, what might be our last months together, writing because I felt it was the most powerful thing we could do.  Of course we spent time together and as a family, but we didn’t travel to all the places that I’d longed to see, but now might never have the chance.  We didn’t indulge in leisure activities.  We worked – together.  And in the working we found inspiration, meaning, and joy.

I’m pleased to say that today, nine years later, I have a totally clean bill of health.  But that experience was like the refiners fire – the things that were of little value melted away leaving the things of true value.