A Review of Everybody's Got Something

On July 31, 2007, Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I was watching and paying attention. As I watched Robin, she reminded me of my coworker who told a group of us in the teachers' lounge that her lump was breast cancer. "I know I have the support of you all," my coworker said. Robin told America about her breast cancer. Good for her! As she said in her book, "Make your mess your message."

On June 11, 2012, Robin made another public announcement. This time her diagnosis was myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). When I was diagnosed with MDS in 2017, one person said, "Isn't that what Robin Roberts had?"

What is MDS?

Myelodysplastic Syndromes is an umbrella term for a group of diseases that affect the blood and bone marrow. The range of diseases ranged from "mild and easily managed" to "severe and life-threatening."  The only cure for MDS is a bone marrow transplant.

Robin Roberts (with Veronica Chambers) tells about her experience with breast cancer, then MDS, and her bone marrow transplant in her memoir, Everybody's Got Something. Robin dedicated the book to her sister, Sally-Ann, for saving her life. And to all donors: your gifts are the definition of selflessness. When Robin asked her older sister, "Do you want to do this?" Sally-Ann said, "I don't want to do this, baby sister. I was born to do this."

I have always loved to look at family photographs, anyone's family! The first photo you see in Robin's book is her wearing a Brownie Girl Scout uniform as a cute six-year-old. (Did you know that she is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts?) She proudly smiles for the camera. The last photo also shows Robin smiling for the camera. This time, she held her Authur Ashe Courage Award in 2013. There is also a section with pictures of family, friends, and coworkers throughout her life and career.

Robin's rules for surviving

1. We are stronger than we think.
2. Feel what you need to feel. Sometimes even people of deep faith become angry with God.
3. Let people in, and tell them what you need.
4. Assemble your team - find people you trust.
5. Fight, not fright!
6. Have rituals that calm you. Robin looks up to the heavens before her show starts, says good morning to her father in Heaven, and tells him to watch over her mother. Many people cuddle with their animals or listen to music.
7. Celebrate NOW. Find peace in your present.
8. Share your message. Make your mess your message.
9. Everybody has something. Don't compare your life to others.
10. Your family will keep you humble. Robin's mother told her, "Your message is no more important than anyone else's story. When you strut, you stumble."

Transplant Day: September 20, 2012

After the doctor inserted the syringe into the port of Robin's chest, millions of Sally-Ann's cells flooded her bloodstream. "Go Sally, go!" Robin said to herself. Robin remembered seeing the doctor's mouth moving under his mask. He was praying, a prayer that his wife and mother-in-law taught him: Let God do His work, and it will work.

"You can't put a limit on gratitude," Robin's mother often said. So, in conclusion, she thanks God, her family, friends, and her Good Morning America co-anchors. She is incredibly thankful to her doctors and her dream team of nurses and other medical staff. Robin decided to let her mother have the last word: "God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do!"