Parenting with a Life-threatening Illness

On December 5th, at a live storytelling event hosted by Health Story Collaborative and WBUR CitySpace, we heard stories from three courageous women parenting in the face of life-threatening illness. You can watch the video of the event here. 

Lila, 45, is a psychotherapist by training and the mother of two daughters, ages 8 and 11. She has stage 4 lung cancer and each day she is practicing the difference between “choosing to live rather than trying not to die.”

Caroline, 35, is a writer and the mother of two sons, ages 4 and 7. She is living with glioblastoma—the most aggressive form of brain cancer—and was given a life expectancy of one year when she was diagnosed in 2017. She used to only write cookbooks but just published a children’s book with her sons in mind. Her message: “Whether or not Mommy’s body survives, my love is permanent and will shape them forever.”

Betsy, 42, a chemistry professor, lost her husband Chris to glioblastoma - the same cancer that Caroline has - in January 2019. She has not only been grieving his loss, but forging ahead as a now single parent 

What questions have they been grappling with? How do they care for themselves and their children? What lessons have they learned?  Their wisdom transcends illness and parenting and is relevant to all of us as human beings.