I am sorry, honey

I had run the hill past the Montessori school hundreds of times
But now I couldn’t, breathless.
Then, blood in my eye, in my nose.

An exquisite April day
Under a flowering tree in the park
I told my husband they saw blasts in my blood.
Leukemia.
A turn in the course of our lives.

 

*First published in 2021 Voices from the Faculty

I am a Family Medicine physician with 18 years of experience as a clinician educator. I served as the University of Utah Family Medicine Residency Director from 2005 to 2018, working to create a dynamic residency training program responsive to the needs of the community and our trainees. I enjoyed supporting the creation of our residency blog and contributing posts as an author. My areas of interest are leadership and provider wellness. In April 2020, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and took a medical leave of absence for treatment and recovery.