Post #23 - The Waiting Room

July 15, 2026 | The Waiting Room

Today I found myself back at the Taussig Cancer Center for another six-month check-up.

I also brought my mom downtown for one of her own doctor’s appointments, and somewhere between the drive, the waiting rooms, and these familiar hallways… I realized I was in a funk.

At first, I thought maybe I was just tired.

But the more I sat with it, the more I realized it wasn’t exhaustion.

It was this place.

Walking back through these doors brings me right back to the day my life changed. Before the diagnosis. Before the surgeries. Before the fear, the uncertainty, and the countless appointments. It brings back memories of the woman I was before cancer and reminds me of everything I had to walk through to become the woman I am today.

There is a heaviness here that is hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it.

As I looked around the waiting room, my heart breaks for every single person sitting here. Every family. Every caregiver. Every patient silently carrying a burden that most people will never fully understand.

Cancer doesn’t just affect your body.

It touches your heart, your mind, your family, and your future.

For a few moments today, I found myself feeling sorry for myself.

And then God gently reminded me…

Look what I have done through your pain.

Because of my diagnosis…

Grateful Hearts was born.

My faith became deeper than it had ever been before.

And Our Pink Wish Foundation was created so that other families walking this difficult road would know they are not alone.

None of those things would exist without the hardest chapter of my life.

Would I choose cancer?

Never.

But I would choose the woman God has been shaping through it.

So today, I’m choosing to shift my perspective.

Yes, these six-month appointments are hard.

Yes, they stir up emotions I wish I didn’t have.

Yes, I’m still taking Tamoxifen, and while it’s protecting my future, it also brings daily reminders and challenges that aren’t always easy.

But I’m still here.

I’m still healing.

I’m still growing.

And most importantly…

God is still writing my story.

If you’re reading this while sitting in your own waiting room - whether it’s for cancer, another illness, or simply a season of uncertainty - I hope you know this:

God hasn’t forgotten you.

He is present in the waiting.

He is working in the pain.

And one day, you’ll look back and see that even the chapters you wished away became part of the story He used for His glory.

Today, I’ll keep showing up.

I’ll keep trusting.

And I’ll keep moving forward - one appointment, one prayer, and one grateful heart at a time.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5 - 6 ❤️