Big sister steps up in time of need
“Last summer, my dad was diagnosed with renal cancer. It was a really big surprise. We were on a road trip, and he got food poisoning eating at a Chili’s. We ended up going to the ER. They did a CT scan of his stomach, and that’s how they found it. Thankfully, it hadn’t spread. But it was very devastating to me. I was so scared at the prospect of losing my dad.
“They needed to remove his right kidney. He was going to be OK, but it had to be done within a certain period of time. My mom was out of town, and he didn’t want to stress her out and have to come home early. So at 19, I was the one to drive my dad to MD Anderson (Cancer Center). While he was in surgery, I was just outside in the waiting room.
“That was a pretty rough day. Part of me wanted to cry, completely fall apart and just be a wreck. But I have three younger siblings, and they were looking up to me to help them through this time. I was in a position where I felt like I had to act not just for myself, but for them, too.
“Fortunately, everything turned out fine, and my dad is doing well. Before it all happened, I used to get easily agitated about silly things. I would let things get to me and be in a bad mood for a while. But after this moment, I thought about how it’s not really worth the time and energy to be so negative about insignificant things. Because you don’t know how long you’re going to be healthy or how long you’re going to have your life. So why spend any time just being miserable?”
— Pamela Johnson
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