11.19.2013

It's All in Attitude

I'm really not a good blogger. Between a full-time job and a two year old. There really isn't a lot of time to write down stories from my life...because it's pretty boring.
Since my recent job change in July of this year, some inspirational and hopeful stories touch my life pretty regularly. I work for a company that performs genetic hereditary breast and ovarian cancer screenings. My position is less lab-like and more patient oriented. In short: I do the ugly insurance coordinating for these tests.
Someone has to do the ugly work and give news to patient's about how much the test will cost. The magical thing about this company is our promise to call with the cost of the test so the patient can decide the value of the test for them.
A while ago I contacted a very cheerful woman with breast cancer and a family history of breast and ovarian cancer. I had to provide her a higher than usual expected out of pocket for the test based on her insurance.
I loathe these calls because I would love to give the test to everyone I talk to for free, but insurance companies don't agree and my job wouldn't likely remain permanent for people like me.
Anyway, I call this woman and drop the number. I expect my usual routine of quoting her percentage off if paid in full or the 25 month payment option. Instead she keeps this cheerful voice and tells me how thankful she is for her insurance company to pick up some of the cost of the test (even if it was miniscule).
She agreed to the high cost of the test and says, "You know either way this is a blessing. If this test comes back negative, I have hope and if the test comes back positive, I have action."
I could write this on a bumper sticker. Her attitude about such a hard and challenging thing in her life is fantastic.  How great it would be if I approached things in my life like that.  If there's a crap ton of traffic on my way to work, at least someone is driving slowly and safely.  If my two-year-old is screaming at me, she is still trying to communicate with me...very desperately.
This great woman I talked to for a total of three minutes left a lot on my mind. Stuff that changes my life. I think about those three minutes a lot.  It's really all in your attitude; even diagnosed with breast cancer and several deceased family member. Cheryl, or whatever her name was, could look ahead; even with a positive test result for a genetic link.
I'm going to tape it to my fridge.