Discovering Resilience
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PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Discovering Resilience Lisette Curnow
Received: 19 October 2011 / Accepted: 16 November 2011 / Published online: 8 December 2011 # National Society of Genetic Counselors, Inc. 2011
Keywords Defining moment . Genetic counseling . Professional development . Resilience
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”—Confucius I have always considered myself a resilient person. This is certainly not to say that I have endured much suffering in my life, quite the contrary. But in my fleeting considerations of resilience in the past, I have always felt I was one who could deal with hardships if I had to do so. As time has moved on, my perception of the world has been moulded—as it invariably is—by my work, my community, my family; and my understanding of resilience and what enables someone to be truly resilient, has been challenged. But I have not dwelled on it, did not really consider the importance or impressiveness of the word and it’s meaning, until one event shone a light on this phenomenon. Throughout my 13 years as a genetic counsellor I have been fortunate to have worked in a variety of areas, leading to my current role in adult neurogenetics and predictive testing. In the midst of trying to comprehend the tragic situations of families who have adult neurodegenerative disorders L. Curnow (*) Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia e-mail: [email protected] L. Curnow Royal Children’s Hospital Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
(I remember describing the first neurological clinic for Huntington Disease (HD) I observed as “wading through nightmares”), I found myself acknowledging that I also felt buoyed by my contact with these families. For quite a while I resisted contemplating this feeling, instead preferring to be impressed by the drama of each family’s story, most of which seemed more shocking than the last. Until I met Anna1. “I wouldn’t change my family history, it has shaped me into the person I am” Anna told me during a pre-test genetic counselling session. She had lived through more than I could easily comprehend—the deterioration of her beloved father whose undiagnosed HD made people wrongly suspect him of being alcoholic when Anna was a child; witnessing his escalating aggression and ultimate violence towards her and her mother; and his diagnosis with HD and subsequent death after being cared for entirely at home. At the time I met Anna she was directing all of her energy toward finding a cure for HD and supporting other young people faced with similar situations—all the while living in the shadow of her own risk. Yet she claimed she wouldn’t have it any other way. Later, when receiving her result which showed she had inherited the HD gene expansion, Anna’s immediate reaction was “It would have been so much worse if I didn’t have it and had to worry that my sister would—I can cope with it better than she can.” The result did not break Anna, but instead gave her further resolve. In the weeks afte
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