2020 Fall Voices

but I had already learned how to
soldier on despite the circumstances.
I went on to get a master’s
degree in exercise physiology,
worked in community health as
a research coordinator for twenty
years, and built meaningful
connections to others along the
way. By the time I received a
positive diagnosis, I was firmly
living my life with no intention
of changing trajectory. Unlike
Mom, I grew up with an awareness
of the malady that ran in
our family, and I factored in the
possibility of my own diagnosis.
For thirty years I continuously
thought about, but suppressed
talking about, the way Mom was
devastated by this condition.
Our stories, similar and yet so
different, exemplify how easily
the mind attaches itself to the
narrative it creates. Our thought
patterns each aligned to reinforce
our appointed stories,
even in the face of contradictory
or inconsistent facts. We took in
and digested new information
only as it related to our past experiences
and current narratives.
From a young age, I very consciously
chose a story that was
inverse to hers. For years, her
path was blazed subconsciously
by fear. Mine would be marked
by decisions that put myself in
the best possible position to
continue traveling after a bump
in the road. I relied on living just
as I had so far, not allowing fear
to drive my decisions as my
mother did. When the moment
came to confront my diagnosis
head on, I was in a much better
place.
Dana Creighton grew up learning
how to shroud her pain in
silence.
15 · SITES.DUKE.EDU/VOICES
PHOTO CREDIT: QIANG MIAO