06/14/2019 By Christian
Gryt Health Team member Christian shares his experience with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and why he is so committed to helping people who need support while tackling healthcare diagnoses.
Transcription:
Hi Everyone. My name is Christian Bullock, and I work as a Digital Campaign Architect at Gryt Health.
I wanted to share a little about my story, my experience as a cancer patient, and then I’m going to talk a little bit about why I do what I do at Gryt Health.
So 2 years ago, I was diagnosed with blood cancer. It was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and it was really scary for me because I know no one – friends, family, acquaintances, etc. that has had cancer.
So as I went through the process of getting a diagnosis, which I think if you’ve gone through a cancer diagnosis, you know that it can be a very long and drawn-out process.
Ah, once I heard that I was diagnosed, it was a really scary point in my life. In fact, when I got home, I compiled every and all of my usernames and passwords just so my wife could have them and my kids could have access to my account. Weird stuff that you wouldn’t think you’d want to do getting a cancer diagnosis on the day of, but I was so frightened, and I was so scared. I had nothing to expect and no idea what was going to happen.
And so, you know, going through the chemotherapy experience and then radiation as well, Gryt Health was there for me. At the time, it was connecting with other folks on the app, and it was really great to be able to talk to people that have gone through exactly what I was going through. To get an expectation of “Okay, how is ABVD actually gonna hit me?”
Because we can all go to Dr. Google. We can all search for that, and you can see all kinds of varying answers that people type out, whether it’s on a website, a forum, social media, etc. But to me, I feel I really embraced the power of having that one-on-one connection with somebody, and, um, after I got through that diagnosis and all the treatment and moved into a survivorship phase, um, to me, when I kind of got that all-clear from my oncologist it was…it wasn’t really a happy experience.
Meaning, you know, I didn’t go out and start celebrating because you spent how many months actually fighting the disease that you’re diagnosed with – you know, you had chemotherapy, you had radiation and surgery before that, right?
And then, all of a sudden, it stops, and you kind of deemed, you know, “free of cancer,” and it’s one of those things where it took me a while to get back into the natural rhythm of things.
So once I did get through that and work through that, I reached out to the Gryt Health team because I wanted to, I wanted to give back. I wanted to be able to volunteer my time and help an organization that really helped me. And thankfully, the Gryt Health team was really accepting of everything, and ever since then – a little over a year now, actually. I’ve been helping them, and really my primary goal is to ensure that if there are patients out there that have been newly diagnosed, or that are struggling through treatment or otherwise. There are caregivers out there with any questions since they are also struggling with, you know, how do I emotionally support, um, you know, my partner or a family member or a friend, whoever it may be.
I think there are all kinds of people with questions, and while it’s so easy to find the answers or at an actual institution, like a cancer center, nothing beats the experience of actually talking to someone that has gone through exactly what you’re seeking, what you’re wanting to have answers about.
So, um, my experience with Gryt Health is really trying to help get our company in front of people that would find it useful and, um, you know, we’ve all seen the numbers of how cancer affects everybody and the number of people it affects.
There’s all kinds of people that we really need to continue to try to get in front of because they’re in need of help or the support and I feel really honored, and…and I’m really happy to be working with such great, compassionate and loyal group of people that really our mission is to be able to do that.
So that’s my experience, and that’s why I do what I do with Gryt Health.
