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The Zombie Apocalypse (and the Therapist) Part II
The Global Pandemic and the Musings of a Grief Therapist
A client of mine — a young mother who also happens to be divorced — is fighting stage 4 cancer. She’s athletic, a hard worker, a devoted and active mom. Cancer is one of the most unfair parts of being human…so, every day, she fights for time. Every day, she fights for more life with her children and the people she loves so deeply.
And, like the rest of us, she is practicing social distancing. She works, she takes care of her children, she cleans her house, she “home-schools.” She must accomplish all of this mostly as a lone adult in her home because of COVID-19. And she is doing this all while receiving intense cancer treatment.
Once every two weeks, her parents drop her off at the major cancer center in our city to get 8 hours of chemo and bloodwork. Before COVID, she especially dreaded the chemo days and few days after, but she was with family, friends, loved ones. They sat by her side. After a chemo day, they’d go home with her, helping to cook dinner and making sure she didn’t overexert. They chatted about whatever they could to take her mind off how sick she felt.
Now, she is afraid she puts her family who drives her to the hospital at risk. Her family are afraid they put her at risk, and that particular risk could mean…
