A new door!

Away from work

I have been away from work for a long time now. During spring, I managed to work between the chemotherapies, but the sixth and final treatment hit my body hard. Since then I have been on 100% sick leave.

One of the cities work has taken me to

I have always been passionate about my work, have enjoyed managing my team and working with customers. Returning to work has felt important but double-edged: motivating but lately somewhat stressful. Recently, I have come to realize that recovering from chemo is going to take a lot longer than I first had thought and anticipated. My doctor's mantra has been: "Every patient is unique and it is impossible to foresee how long time it will take for you. Be patient and take it step by step."



As you might know, patience is not my strongest side. I guess I had always thought I would be one of the few lucky ones, who would have a quick and smooth recovery. Accepting that I would need more time to recover and prioritize my health, led to the decision that I could not keep my company and team in waiting mood for an extended, undefined time. Therefore, somebody else needed to take over my position.

My new door

Realizing that I would not come back to my current position has been tough. I felt I did not take the decision, my illness took it for me. Processing that has taken time and my feelings have gone from failure and grief to acceptance and finally to be more forward-looking and excited. This week my successor was appointed and it has been made official that I am not coming back to my position. I am of course still employed and will have a discussion with my boss about new opportunities when I have fully recovered and I am ready to start to work again.

The quote below says a lot, and I firmly believe that a new door has opened and there is no point in looking back. Now I just need to find my door!