This I Believe – The Power of Personal Stories

On June 4th, faculty member Ann Marie Potter was a survivor speaker at the opening reception for the PA Breast Cancer Coalition’s “67 Women, 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania” photo exhibit at the New Bloomfield Public Library.  Ann Marie shared her “This I Believe” essay that she wrote when teaching OT 529.  Her essay speaks to the power of narratives in living through illness.

This I Believe

by Ann Marie Potter, MA, OTR/L

It seems rather obvious with the purpose of “this I believe,” my belief is in stories. Stories connect people and help us make sense of our lives. Many researchers in many disciplines recognize the utility of stories in society in their work.  As I go through life and gain experience and insight, I recognize that I need to tell my story as well as listen to the stories of those around me.  As a young adult, I was a storyteller. My classmates in school at an end of school banquet gave me the storyteller award. At the time, I was embarrassed and felt like I was being mocked. Now I am proud because I understand the relationship of stories to living.

Now I am going to share a story about living.  I was very sick while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. I was unable to do many of the things I love to do. My ability to enjoy life and my children was never lost. This is a story about superheroes. These superheroes are extraordinary little boys.  They would wear capes of their favorites – Batman and Robin, and Superman. However, they did not have super physical strength; one had just learned to walk. They had the super power of enjoying life and making everyone smile and laugh.  These superheroes loved to polka on the coffee table and dance in the rain.  They were able to fly to faraway places in a laundry basket. The same basket became a crab pot for fishing off the couch in the Bering Sea.  The playground adventures took us to a sunny place of eagles flying in blue skies. I would travel with them in their stories and knew in the bottom of my heart that we would be together for a long time to come and we would continue to write our stories. These stories are written in indelible ink. They will never be erased and they will always symbolize the joys of life, living and learning.  Too many times, we get away from these types of stories and consumed in those focused in our despair and exasperation with living.  Although these stories do share the human experience, they can drag you down. I will always have the uplifting stories of 3 superheroes singing and dancing on the coffee table – healing their mother’s body and soul.  Here we are still creating new stories as a family.  The story is not about living with cancer, just living.