By Bruce Davis (Class XIV)
I really could not have picked a worse time for my cancer diagnosis. Late February/early March at exactly the same time, people were beginning to voraciously hoard food, toilet paper, and other daily necessities, fearing the coming pandemic and scarcity of supplies.
This was pre-George Floyd and all the protests everywhere. Still, there was a foreboding in the air. And I think everyone was feeling it. A panic and uproar was coming.
Medical supplies were being hoarded. It was like panic in the streets. Do you remember back to early March?
The California Presidential Primary Election on March 3rd? It seems like ancient history, right? Even with my diagnosis, I worked for 3 weeks on the election like I said I would. I was not contagious, just cancer-ridden.
I had just been diagnosed with aggressive cancer that obviously required treatment of surgery or radiation. This would not be elective. After much consultation, it was decided on surgery. However, no surgeries were yet being approved then, and none of my doctors had any better advice.
Friends and family also became concerned with my immediate need for before-and-after medical supplies, and a small circle of folks came together to help me gather what I would need to prepare for my yet “unscheduled” cancer surgery and my post-surgical needs.
We also had to consider what supplies (daily food and medical) I would need for post-surgery convenience.
The internet was actually a great help here with medical advice. Officials here in Santa Clara County were overwhelmed with the local coronavirus pandemic panic and local hospital needs.
I decided to reach out to personal connections I had at Sloan Kettering Medical Center in New York, to help guide me through this. They were of great help online.
Our local medical system was overwhelmed at the time. And I needed advice quickly.
I was living in a “play within a play” that of my own personal medical emergency in the middle of a much larger societal one.
Eight weeks ago, during the initial “peak” of the local hospital “surge” of coronavirus victims at the ICU, I finally had surgery to remove my cancerous prostate at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara. I had surgery on Friday, April 17th.
Everything points to a full recovery. I thank the Kaiser Medical team for their brave work on me during that difficult time.
I have recently Zoomed with my ALF Class XIV Classmates at our online Class reunion and updated them at Check-In on my current medical condition. I also want to thank my Class XIV brother Minh Le, for helping me along the way.
I think ALF and Suzanne are doing a wonderful job during the political turmoil currently engulfing us all, keeping ALF relevant and engaged.
In a very odd way, my own personal pandemic over the past three months has prevented me from engaging in political activity I might have normally been excited to be a part of.
Maybe, I will write a song about that.
These days, whenever I see a greeting or closing remark in an email that says, “how are you doing?” I pause and give it some thought before replying.
That is a very tough question, these days for me to answer.
Bruce W. Davis is a member of ALF Class XIV. He served for nearly 20 years as Executive Director, Arts Council Silicon Valley (now SVCreates). He is also the former President/CEO of ArtsKC, the regional arts agency for Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, he is a founding Board Member of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and is a professional singer/songwriter.
