Writers are prone to living in a bubble. We work by ourselves with limited interaction from the outside world. And occasionally, it can be hard to separate dreams from reality until an event from the real world occurs.
We can be so removed from this world that such an event can feel like a meteorite has hit the Earth. The effects can last for months, even when it's clear the episode is over.
I was happily living in such a bubble until Christmas day when I decided that a lump I'd had for a while had gotten considerably bigger.
Now most people assume the worst when they discover a lump and they automatically think of cancer, but as I am only twenty-nine with no family history of such disease, I didn't jump to that conclusion. Besides, I'm a healthy weight, don't smoke and don't drink that much so I wasn't in any high risk category.
Only when the doctor said she was going to send me to see a specialist straight away under urgent care did I start to panic. She said she didn't think the lump was anything nasty but better to be safe than sorry. By this stage I thought it would be too late if it was anything nasty.
I went to the hospital, trying not to panic. The specialist sent me for a biopsy and an ultrasound after saying he was absolutely convinced it would be nothing to worry about. He said he was sure it was a fibroadenoma, a benign lump which is common in my age group. Never the less as it was so big, I'd have to have it out regardless.
Fortunately the results came back and it wasn't cancer. I had it removed, feeling extremely lucky that the lump was just benign. Even so, I'm still quite shaken by the whole thought of the results coming back as something else, especially as I met someone my age who has had aggressive cancer. Twelve months later she's had chemotherapy and seems to be all right. But even though you don't expect to have cancer in your twenties it can still happen.
So now my ordeal is over (it could have been much worse, so I'm still thankful,) I'm even more focused on my writing and living life as much as I possibly can.
Now it's over to you. Has any event occurred in your life that's made you determined to see things through?
