Health crisis survivors complications.

Surviving a major personal health crisis.

Every year, thousands of people become terrified because of a significant health crisis or medical condition. It will seriously affect their families, retirement, careers, and businesses. It starts when they hear those dreaded words, “cancer, heart attack, or car accident”.

The good news is that many people beat diseases and recover from car accidents. However, when treatment has concluded, the person’s life has changed. Their vision has changed, as have their priorities. Sometimes, their personal and business relationships can disintegrate for no apparent reason following a significant health crisis.

See a Case Study by Peter Sergeant in the Knowledge Base.

Positive friendships are born during a health crisis.

I can remember the loss I felt when Ron Waller passed away; he was in the hospital with me when I had cancer, and died a year later during his recovery phase. It is a loss I still feel today as this man helped me in my darkest hours. Through all the pain and suffering, I was able to help him through the pain of his operation. We helped each other. I know many people who have passed away, but Ron was exceptional.

Ron’s death hit me at the very core of my being, as it could have been me. The friendship we built in just two weeks was more in-depth, personal, and meaningful than any relationship I had ever had or have had since.  When I told Ron’s wife, Betty, that I was including something about him in the experiences I was writing about, she handed me this letter I had written.

Few people will understand your dilemma.

Until recently, few have imagined that surviving cancer could be an experience comparable to surviving a war or natural disaster. People generally know what to do when they are with a sick person. But they don’t know what to do after the event, so they stay away.

It applies equally to when your business is sick, as my wife and I discovered when we closed our business due to the drought of the early 1980s. I remember one close friend drove past our house four times before he dared to come in and see us. Have you ever felt lonely when people seem to desert you? It has a direct effect on your emotional well-being.

You feel isolated, anxious and disconnected despite the people who stay around you. And you yearn for companionship, which may be there, but you fail to recognise it and reach out. Most people have had no experience either in a health crisis or a business crisis. They might have some thoughts, usually negative ones, but they have no real idea on how to react and help you.

Pioneering research was happening at the time.

Groundbreaking research into cancer survivors was conducted in 2000 by Professor Miles Little and Professor Stuart Dunn of Sydney University.  The study aired on ABC’s Four Corners program at the time and was aptly named Surviving Survival. It showed that for many people, surviving cancer is just the beginning of a process that is more difficult and more painful than the illness itself; my family can attest to this fact.

According to this research, victory over cancer is not the journey’s end. Sometimes, it is just the beginning of a broader struggle, which may be even worse than the original diagnosis and treatment. Professor Miles says this may sound extreme and exaggerated, but it is the message he has received repeatedly. I can certainly concur with his findings. It was hard to believe how much their results applied to me. Not just on my first health crisis, but others I have had since.

As Professor Dun found, most people felt abandoned and lost when the treatment was over. The same is true for family, friends, and business associates; they think it is over when the treatment is over. They believe the business is right when the advisors have left.

“Some survivors are leading greatly enriched lives beyond what they were before. It is incredible just what a change will do. But there are also a large number of survivors who are leading lives that are full of stress”, says research leader Professor Miles Little. “Survivors may find their relationships fall apart. Some feel enormous guilt for having survived, while others did not. They may live in constant fear of recurrence. Unfortunately, some are saddled with stigma and may face discrimination in the workplace.”

Health issues must become a hot topic in business circles.

Quotable quotes

“Are you making yourself sick by not being in control of your attitude to your health and well-being”? Peter Sergeant

“All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming”. Helen Keller