Day: July 14, 2025

“Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is a superhuman achievement” 

I don’t know who said this but it really hit me between the eyes. When anyone has been around for as long as I have it’s more than likely that they have seen people enduring such difficult situations that they indeed think such folks are made of steel. Somehow we wonder how such individuals have been able to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other. We talk about superheroes all the time but rarely think to put those who overcome common everyday challenges in that category.

I have a cousin who is battling a ferocious cancer that has metastasized to many parts of her body. She is a single mom with two very young children and in spite of the uncertainty of her prognosis or perhaps because of it, she is focusing on her little ones every single day. Somehow she summons the energy to appear to have super powers that none of the rest of us have. While getting chemotherapy she found the energy and wherewithal to continue doing all of the things that good mothers do. She made jokes about losing her hair and smiled at her children even when she was worried about the future. Not even the bravest soldier in combat has exhibited more courage that she musters to make sure that her babies will feel safe and secure. 

She is getting stem cell treatments that will hopefully be the miracle that she needs to chase her cancer into remission and keep it there long enough for her to enjoy a normal life with her children. Somehow her focus on them has been the driving force that pushes her out of any doldrums that might attempt to bring her down. She remains optimistic even in the realization that there are so many unknowns that lie ahead.

When I think of my cousin’s situation I applaud her great faith in God but I also consider the doctors and researchers who have quietly created treatments for illnesses like hers that were not available even ten years ago. They are quiet and often unheralded heroes whose names we never know. They work in their labs using all of the scientific methodologies available in pursuit of cures for the many diseases that stalk humans. Were it not for them people like my cousin would be hearing messages without hope. Instead there is a good chance that she will live on to be the fantastic mother that she is to her daughter and son. 

Of late many people not only question our medical and scientific community but even go so for as to suggest that they are somehow nefarious and intent on hurting us. While there have been rare cases of incompetent or nefarious doctors, the overwhelming majority are dedicated to using their knowledge and skills to keep the rest of us as healthy as is possible. They work long hours caring for others, often to their own detriment. 

One of my husband’s uncles was a renowned cardiologist. He sometimes existed on four hours of sleep at night. He often had to miss family gatherings and leave in the middle of the evening to tend to an ailing patient. Even when he got to be at home among family and friends it was not unusual at all to see him falling asleep for a few moments to catch up with his need for rest. He often commented that doctors put so much stress on their bodies with the brutal workloads that they carry that they often die earlier than other groups of people. He himself left this earth much sooner than we expected, no doubt because he had put so much stress on his body by dedicating his life to his patients. 

It is popular these days to question our medical community and to imply that most of them are experimenting on us for fun and profit. Ordinary souls with little or no education claim that there is a powerful complex of greedy men and women getting rich from the suffering of those who are sick. Some even insist that the doctors and scientists are causing the illnesses. They do not take into account the years of study and experience that lead to incredible discoveries designed to save people, not hurt them.

I am rooting for my super cousin. I pray that her doctors will beat her cancer. I hope for a miracle for her while also understanding that if one happens it will be because some brilliant souls were able to discover a way to deal with her illness because of their diligence and genius. They worked hard to find a treatment that may keep her mothering her children for many more years to come. Superhumans do not always wear cloaks.