I love my job because working in the Resource Center, I get to interact with patients, caregivers and staff members all day. This week was a week of talking to and learning more about those around me. Now that I have been at Winship for some time, I finally have some regulars in the Resource Center. One of those regulars is Samantha (name has been changed to keep the privacy of the patient).
Sam is AMAZING. She and I talk about art all day long. From critiquing musicals on Broadway to discussing the latest make-up tutorials online, we have become good friends in the Resource Center. As Sam and I talk more and more, I get to learn about how her cancer has impacted her daily life. The other day, Sam’s mother showed me a picture of Sam before she was diagnosed with cancer. She had long beautiful hair and was practicing how to put on studio art make-up. The next picture was of Sam right after she had been diagnosed. Her eyebrows and eyelashes were still intact, but she shaved her head and she was getting ready for her graduation. Sam found an incredibly beautiful wig online and was figuring out the right way to curl and style it without ruining the wig itself. After that, Sam’s mom showed me a picture of Sam trying to do a make-up tutorial of how to draw fake eyebrows on after losing all of her hair. Of course, she still looked utterly beautiful because she’s a great artist and has a passion for studio make-up, but she had to learn a new way to perform a craft she had loved doing for a long time. Sam had to make small, but meaningful changes to her daily routine once she was diagnosed with cancer. Learning how to style a wig or how to draw on the perfect eyebrow may seem like insignificant details in the grand scheme of things, but to Sam they were significant.
Of course, there are many things that Sam is concerned with outside of these issues, but I have come to realize how much the small, daily activities that we take for granted can mean so much to someone going through a life altering event like cancer. This is why establishing the Arts in Health program at Winship means so much to me. I believe that this program will be able to relieve patients, caregivers, and staff members of the daily daunting tasks that they are faced with and reminded of at Winship. For Sam, I hope that providing her with an artistic outlet while she is receiving treatment or waiting for lab results can bring her back to how she felt in the first picture that her mother showed me. A time where she didn’t have to worry about catering her daily routine to the effects of her illness.
That is what health promotions is about: providing individuals with the tools for them to reach the highest quality of life possible. I cannot cure Sam of her cancer. But, I can change things that are inside my control and provide Sam with a surrounding environment that allows her to thrive within the bounds of her disease.