MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024 - 8

Feeling Empowered EMPOWERED TOGETHER
" The will to live must come from knowing that
every day is a gift; that simply being alive isn't
enough. We must LIVE in resiliency, not in
fragility. We must LIVE in courage, not fear. We
must LIVE in love, not isolation. And we must
recognize that sometimes we have to want the gift
of life so much, we'll fight for it. "
ing the same, because you love them so
much and hate to see them suffer. But as a
caregiver, you must remain strong for her,
so most of the time, you suppress your own
feelings and support her through hers. It's
such a selfless act. An act of love, empathy,
compassion, and sacrifice. After our
battle with breast cancer, we jumped right
back into life full speed. Jazmine accepted
a job on the day of her last immunotherapy
infusion, and we immediately began
to get back to life. However, we never
took a moment together to reflect on our
breast cancer (BC) journey until now. We
decided to do a Q&A session to deepen our
understanding of how the process was for
me as her caregiver.
What was your initial reaction
to my diagnosis?
Disbelief and denial. I couldn't believe that
something so traumatic was happening and
that there was nothing I could do about it.
Was there ever a moment you
felt like you needed support
and didn't have it?
No, because I completely took myself out of
the equation. I needed support, but because
I was in survival mode, my needs were so
far removed from my mind. I didn't allow
myself to feel the need for support. Also,
I've been in survival mode my entire life
and have had to figure so many things out
while lacking support, so this felt like just
another obstacle I would be facing alone.
After experiencing so much trauma in my
life already, I kind of felt like those experiences
grounded me for this experience.
Did you ever fear you would
lose me prematurely due to
BC?
Not one time. I never thought about that. I
thought about getting you through treatment,
one day at a time.
JAZMINE AND ZACH WANT YOU TO KNOW: TALKING HELPS
Having this conversation provided so much healing and connection for us. We didn't think it was possible to love each other more than we
already did. This conversation felt like the missing piece to a path of healing for us both. To finally take a moment to dig deep and understand
the emotions behind everything he did for me, and what I did for us. I call myself a Survivor. I call myself a Warrior. I consider myself strong. If
I'm all those things, then he's my co-survivor and a warrior, too. Together we are empowered.
8
MY LIFE MATTERS
EMPOWERED | SPRING 2024

MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024