When hit with a sudden serious diagnosis be it cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart failure or something more innocuous, but nonetheless as devastating like diabetes, or hypothyroidism, one’s life can be sent off kilter; and for a moment, the world as we know it stops. We go through the whole gamut of emotions associated with the grief process; first denial, then the anger, guilt and blame, then the bargaining, then the depression, and finally and hopefully, the acceptance. Some people go through this fairly quickly, but some can be stuck at a particular stage for years and might never be able to make it to the acceptance stage without professional help.

Then the big questions: What’s next? How do I respond to this? What can I do? What is the purpose of this rude disruption to my life? Why me?