Most people know Anderson Cooper. He is a famous CNN anchor and he is well known for his show, AC360º.
What a lot of people don’t know is, he is also the host of an American web television news program called Full Circle which broadcasts on weekdays at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. On this show, he talks about stories from people around the world on topics that they care about.
Now I am not here to promote Anderson Cooper, lol. I don’t work for CNN; I’m not getting any royalties for talking about his show. I have never been featured on his show. I am not even trying to. I am not an affiliate getting any money for mentioning his show. In fact, I am simply using the name of his show in order to make a point. There is a popular saying, “To come full circle.” Have you ever heard of it? If so, do you know what it means?
To come full circle means to return to a past position or situation, in a way that is inescapable. If you say that you have come full circle, that means that after a long series of events, the same situation that you started with still exists.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll notice that in my first post, I tell you how it all started. I talk about my trip with my friend and sister Victoria. I tell you about all the fun we’re having and everything we did in Santorini, Greece. All the beautiful places we saw, the wonderful people we met, etc, etc. You get the idea. Well, that trip was a gift courtesy of my dearest Victoria as we go wayyyyy back! (thank you very much, my love!)
She wanted me to live a little so that I would have memories to look back on once I started treatment.
I don’t know if you remember me telling you, but if you’ve been paying attention, I said there are not many, but I have some of the best people in my life, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.
Well, if you read my previous post, I had a small but really special party with my close friends and family. Two days after that party, that was when I took my trip to Greece. But you know that saying, all good things come to an end? You know how Cinderella went to the ball but her fairy Godmother told her at midnight she would have to come home? Well, that trip ended. And guess what? I came back home. And what did I come home to? My doctors waiting for me, to start my treatment battle against an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
Ok…Ok… my apologies to all the Trump supporters; he is not an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. And this blog is not about politics. It is about my breast cancer journey. So, back to my story.
So after my diagnosis, I asked my doctors to delay treatment for a week or two to take care of some things; I had a wonderful party and left on a tremendous trip, but the trip ended and I had come back home (just like Cinderella) to deal with the fact that I had cancer and now, it was time for treatment. In essence, I had come full circle. All these amazing things had happened in between, but I was right where I started: having to face my new (and delayed) reality.
But fear not; just like most challenges in life, this too shall pass. Tough times don’t last, but tough people definitely do. By the way, my name “Ngumabih” is from my paternal grandmother. I was named after her. The name hails from Bafut, a village in the Graffi lands of North-West Cameroon, West Africa). “Ngum” in her mother tongue translates to “power.” Ngum is also the first portion of my African name. I guess it suffices to say that strength and resilience are in-built when it comes to my DNA. Africans are very particular about how they name their children because they believe that children live up to their names. There are even naming ceremonies in some tribes because giving a child its name is like setting the course of their destiny in motion. And every parent wants prosperity for their children.
Growing up, I never had an English name. This time, my maternal grandmother, when I was around twelve years of age, decided to give me hers and I took it gladly. She has passed now, but her name was Rose. And I adopted it. When I moved to the US, most people who couldn’t pronounce my African name would call me Rose, and I would let the really nice ones would call me Rosie 🙂
God bless you Aretha Franklin. And here’s another one of my favorites by the artist Seal…
Anyway, I digress. Back to what I was saying about coming full circle. I come back from my trip to Greece. The very next day, I am summoned to the hospital for a procedure. Now you’ll really want to hear this. And if you do, then keep on reading.
Not sure at what point of my journey you’re on? Be sure to check out The Contents Page.
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