Courageous is Spelled MARIAM RUTH MEDLIN
“I have cancer.” That’s how Mariam started a long voicemail message to me, with those three words. Her voice was calm and unwavering. She downplayed the devastation that she must have been feeling, instead she focused on what this news would do to me, her best friend. “I know you’re going to be upset,” she said. “Please don’t worry because I am not going to.” She said that until she had met with an oncologist there wasn’t much more to say or do and that she’d be back in touch in a couple of days. I sat on the side of my bed and cried. My face was wet with salty tears that would not stop flowing down my cheeks. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” I kept repeating to myself. What would I do without my best friend? Life-changing events bring out the worst in some, the best in others. Mariam chose to take this unwelcome news and turn it into a lesson in courage. Several days went by before I worked up the courage to visit her. As I drove up to the house, my courage was failing me at this moment. How was I going to act and re-act? I did not know the answer to that. I just knew that I had a lot of questions, but how much did Mariam want to tell me? We sat in her living room facing each other on twin red leather sofas. I was silent, afraid that if I spoke, I would start to cry. Mariam explained where the cancer was and what she planned to do about treatment. Cancer. The words chemo, radiation, and surgery drifted unspoken through the air like sharks circling their prey. Finally, I burst out crying and asked, “aren’t you afraid?” Mariam calmly got up from her sofa and came to sit beside me, a box of tissues in her hand. She said nothing, waiting 24
