the wound that still needs to heal

 

You don't have to be a healthcare provider to share a medical narrative with the world. If you have ever been sick or injured, or if you have cared for someone who was ill or injured, you have a story to tell. Why should you? Because people everywhere are experiencing some iteration of the same ordeal...pain, fear, shame, anger...and no one knows how to navigate it. They need to know how you made it through. Where you found the strength and courage to heal. How you overcame obstacles to recovery. How many tears you shed...and how you learned to smile again. 

"Healing yourself is connected with

healing others."

~Yoko Ono~

Perhaps you recall the time you had to remove the splinter from your child's foot. It seemed like a trivial enough incident...until you are reminded of her pain, her fear, and what you did to ease her through it. Or maybe it was the day you learned your newborn needed open heart surgery...when your fear and your dread outweighed his. Perhaps your narrative started with nothing more than the bruise you tried to ignore, until it morphed into leukemia. Maybe it began when the doctor missed the diagnosis, or botched the operation. Oh! You have a story to tell, all right. Emotions to explore. Sorrow to express. Anger to release. These things happen every day, and people never stop struggling with them. They need your help. What will you tell them?

"The final stage of healing is using 

what happened to you to help other people.

That is healing in itself."

~Gloria Steinem~

If, on the other hand, you are a healthcare provider--a physician, nurse, EMT, or therapist in any field--your narrative may have different layers, each emerging from your unique perspective as a healer and/or caretaker. When and why did you decide to enter your chosen field? What was the hardest thing about your training? About your practice? Is it what you had hoped it would be? Your story embraces your victories and defeats, successes and failures, your motivation and your frustrations, your determination and your insecurities, your joys and your sorrows. If you have ever been seriously ill or injured, you can also write from the perspective of the patient, in light of your special insight and expertise. What will you reveal? What still needs to heal?

"The healing that can grow out of

the simple act of telling our stories 

is often quite remarkable."

~Susan Wittig Albert~

Oh! It's in there, all right. We all have a story to tell because we all embody a wound that needs to heal. Won't you tell us about yours?

"Write hard and clear 

about what hurts."

~Ernest Hemingway~

jan