We are more than our challenges

by Jennifer Bober

When we first started having conversations at RENEW about potentially working with CUSA, I was immediately excited about this possibility. I have had friends and family members with disabilities and chronic illnesses around me my whole life. I have come to know and love amazing people who were often dismissed by a world that idolizes unattainable perfection.

There was another reason, though. You see, I know what it is like to hear a doctor say words that will change your life forever. For me, the word was “cancer.” For such a short word, it is huge and terrifying. In spite of all we did with my initial treatments and surgery, it came back less than a year later. I will live with this disease for the rest of my life, however long that may be. I will never not be in treatment. The rest of my days will have constant appointments, treatments, tests, and blood draws. I have a chronic, terminal illness, but it does not define me.

As huge as all of that is, it is only a small part of who I am. I am still a sister, a friend, an employee, a musician, a writer, an artist, and, most importantly, a woman of faith. I am so much more than my diagnosis, and my faith centers me. It gives me the grounding I need to face the constant testing followed by an interminable wait for results; the days my energy tanks, and I can’t accomplish what I want; and the knowledge that there are many things I will never live to see.